bog question ?

[yorkshire pudding]

good morning everyone, i have a bog question i completed my bog last year this is my first year as a bog owner, my question is im starting to get a build up of crud on the top of the gravel, not in all areas but i would say 60% of the bog the crud is about 1cm deep. i have been re routing my outlet into the garden and just hosing the crud off which is ok will the crud cease to be once the plants start taking off or is it just a part of having the bog ? its only started this in the last month is it with the water warming up a little ? its not in full sun, some of the plants are a little yellow (iris,watercress,umbrella grass,arum lily,forget me not,creeping jenny,hostas) normally this time off year i would have blanket weed but none up to now which is great i have a uv but its not turned on hasnt been since november so again that is great, im just concerned about the crud as i dont want it running into the main pond, any ideas as to why i have crud ? thank you for any responses. cheers mark.

 

[Lisak1]

I have the same thing every spring in my bog. 've done it both ways - stir it up so it all moves along and left it alone. In both cases, like you said, once the plants start it's gone. When I do stir it up, it goes into the pond and that's the end of that. It settles and doesn't cause any issues.

 

[yorkshire pudding]

I have the same thing every spring in my bog. 've done it both ways - stir it up so it all moves along and left it alone. In both cases, like you said, once the plants start it's gone. When I do stir it up, it goes into the pond and that's the end of that. It settles and doesn't cause any issues.

thank you lisak1, like i said its my first year as a bog owner so getting an answer from a long term bog owner helps a lot and i appreciate it, so, as long as i can put up with how it looks, its doing what it is supposed to ?. i have been washing it off with the runoff going to my veg/salad patch and i imagine that will be full off nutrients my veggies will enjoy ? i will add the water im using to spray it off is going through a dechlorinator so i hope im not killing off any goood bacteria ? thank you for reply. mark

 

[mrsclem]

Give it another year and you won't even see the gravel! The plants in mine have taken over and I cant even see the frame of the bog.

 

[addy1]

I ignore it get rid of it the stuff comes back. I used to think of rinsing off, now ignore. If you walk or work in the bog some of it flows into the pond and gets sucked back up and is gone.

 

[addy1]

Give it another year and you won't even see the gravel! The plants in mine have taken over and I cant even see the frame of the bog.

Same here, the only time I see gravel is in the spring while the plants are growing

 

[yorkshire pudding]

thank you all for your replies, i have just hosed it off and i think that will be the last time, and will just wait for it to work its magic and bloom

 

[mrsclem]

There's a bog in there somewhere! This is after I pulled out 3 -5 gallon buckets of water celery.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Water celery does tend to get carried away with its own sense of importance.

 

[mrsclem]

I thought it was strictly a water plant but it is growing on the ground around the pond from the pieces that were pulled out. Groundhogs love it!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

From what I can tell, that stuff will grow anywhere! Good thing you have a groundhog to keep it in check (as long as he's not mowing your entire garden down as well, that is!) Those guys have voracious appetites!

 

[addy1]

From what I can tell, that stuff will grow anywhere! Good thing you have a groundhog to keep it in check (as long as he's not mowing your entire garden down as well, that is!) Those guys have voracious appetites!

I gave up fighting the ground hogs, they get to live here. They do snack on stuff, but I have enough stuff growing, don't really miss what they eat. The deer eat all my day lily buds, no way to stop them. the bummms!

I never tried water celery, maybe I should give the hogs something else to eat!

 

[poconojoe]

Blanket algae is normal in the Spring. Every surface in my pond is covered with it, as is the surface of the gravel in the bog. Green chunks peppered all over the bog.
The bulk of the plants have not matured yet. It's nature's way of balancing out the ecology. After your plants mature and draw the nutrients out of the water, the algae will go away. If it doesn't, maybe you need more plants.