new pond and bog - status report

[poconojoe]

Be careful of cat tails they can be very invasive as well as poke right through the liner.
Dont know about skunk cabbage it explodes in the spring then slows way down but maybe its sending runners below grade

I remember your post on the roots of a papyrus or umbrella plant last year!

 

[allif]

Another update here
2.5 months in and the pond is still clear! We had given up washing the gravel early on, that cleared up within a few days and
most of it seems to be settled on the bottom of the pond (we didn't stir it up because we prefer that to raw liner).
The ducks are loving it and have yet to foul the water. The plants are struggling but that's because they lacked nutrients early on and are in full shade. I'm not going to add more plants until spring - honestly even the raw gravel was working well.
A highly recommend a bog as the best way to keep a duck pond clean!

 

[poconojoe]

Another update here
2.5 months in and the pond is still clear! We had given up washing the gravel early on, that cleared up within a few days and
most of it seems to be settled on the bottom of the pond (we didn't stir it up because we prefer that to raw liner).
The ducks are loving it and have yet to foul the water. The plants are struggling but that's because they lacked nutrients early on and are in full shade. I'm not going to add more plants until spring - honestly even the raw gravel was working well.
A highly recommend a bog as the best way to keep a duck pond clean!

That's great!
Another bog enthusiast!

I built my bog last Spring and I'm still amazed at the water clarity. It literally looks like you can drink it!

This Spring, I did have some suspended algae, but once the bog woke up and the plants matured, it all cleared up.

 

[allif]

Another update, just for fun.
We went away a few weeks ago, for a few weeks. Almost all the plants in the bog died in that time.
I had put a few fertilizer sticks in not long before, after having added a few more ferns. Not sure if that could have
caused the die off. Or it might have been the torrential rains post-Henri and post-Ida. But I think it was a wayward chicken or two.

I'm holding off on replanting until spring, the pond is still keeping itself remarkably clean even without the plants. Guess there are
enough microscopic things doing the work.

And we have at least one bog frog! I'm super excited about that. He/she's even apparently figured out which side of the bog is safe.
Hoping for more, and maybe a even a turtle eventually. It's too shady over there for many insects but maybe in early spring before things leaf out.