how to propogate a begonia "making the cut"

Backyard Ponding Part 2: Bog Filtration

Part 2: build DIY bog filter

Bog filtration is another way to keep your water clean in your water feature that does not require and expensive filtration system. I know it sounds really complicated and scientific but the science behind it is really simple. Bog filtration is natures way of removing algae and excess nutrients as well as debris from the pond. Simply, the plant roots and the pea gravel catch all the bad stuff and clean the water. Bog plants are plants that loves water ( http://hoskingnursery.com/hardy_plants.html) FYI not an advertisement but a good list of bog plants.  The cool thing about bog planting for me is that it combines my love of gardening with a functional and cheap filter for a small pond. There are many beautiful plants and blooms many people have not heard of because they require "wet feet".  Plants such as water lettuce, duckweed, water hyacinth, yellow iris, water lilies and some types of canna work great as bog plants.

Steps to a simple bog filtration:

Step 1: Pick a container that will allow the circulating water to drain through it.  I also had this big plastic drum left over from a previous project. I cut the bottom 1/4 of the drum and left it open.  I then used the cut portion as the planting container. (see below)

barrel with bottom cut off

 

the bottom turned upside down as "planter"

Step 2:  Drill holes in the bottom of the planter portion (above).  These holes need to be big enough for water to flow through easily, however,  small enough to not let the pea gravel at the bottom seep through the holes.

Step 3: Make the medium for the plants to sit in.  For my bog I poured a bag of pea gravel at the bottom of the planter. Then in a separate container I mixed top soil and sand (probably more sand then dirt). I found the dirt tends to rise to the surface. At this point, you can also add some pond fertilizer to the mix. Place your plants in the container.

place plants in it...water lettuce and purple pickeler

Step 4: Make the leftover barrel useful by adding another filtration system similar to the rain barrel system (see part 1)  The nursery pot holding the filter medium(below) will sit inside this barrel giving further place for filtration.

use plastic porch screen to catch large debris

      a) attach screen to barrel by using the original lid to tighten the screen in place.
      b) Find another nursery pot that fits in the barrel snugly. Drill holes in the bottom 4 inches.

tip: drill holes with dremmel or wood burner tip

      c) find some medium again that will catch debris and create biofilters like plastic screen, bath scrunchies and I even read cut up milk jugs. The more nooks and crannies on the medium the better...it provides a more suitable surface for bio to attach. The layers are the same. pea gravel, plastic and then batting.  All of the medium can be replaced cheaply and easily. However, you should not do it at all at once since your goal is to set up a little ecosystem. You need the bacteria that is going to grow on these surfaces.

screen, bath scrunchy, batting. it does not need to be fancy

pea gravel

plastic medium scrunched up

batting on top

       d) cover top with hardware screen or galvanized screen. (below)  Place nursery pot in the pond and barrel over the pot. Place your planting container on the barrel. Make sure it is dry otherwise it is way too heavy to lift. VOILA!

galvanized wire

put it all together and wet it

Step 5:  Get the water from the pump to the bog.  This can be done many ways.  I simply redirected  my flexible plastic 1/2 inch tube by using a plastic splitter (found in any hardware store that sells sprinkler adapters).  One side can go to your bog and the other to another filter (ie like my rain barrel filter).  You can insert it either under the pea gravel or on top. In my pond, I had this cheap waterfall I had bought at Lowes and hated to waste it. So, I placed it with the pond liner in the soil so the water comes up the 1/2 inch tube and into the waterfall container. The waterfall container dumps the water into the planter.  Roots catch the debris and excess nutrients, drains through the gravel and into the nursery pot with the plastic and batting and ultimately back into the pond. whew!!!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

cutting the pond liner to put into barrel

 Now, Part 2 is complete and we are ready for my final phase of this pond...The decorating!  I am planning an elaborate fairy garden all with miniature chairs and moss grass.  This will be Part 3 of my backyard ponding blog.

Happy Gardening!
Nicki

Backyard Ponding Part 1: DIY Pond Filter

It seems that a few things go together in the gardening world: birding, gardening and water features. I have never met an avid gardener who didn't secretly desire a water feature somewhere in their garden.  I have an obsession with combining the three. I wanted a pond for the relaxing sound and for the birds to bathe (including my 8 hand raised mallard ducks). The ducks are what has forced me to research and design many filters for this little pond.  This area also floods every time it rains due to my pond overflowing and a gutter that empties all in the same area.  So, as I always do...I had elaborate, grand ideas on how to give my little pond a facelift without spending hundreds of dollars on a new skimmer, filter and pump.
     Step 1: Enlist the "volunteering" of my husband by presenting my plans to him one night at the dinner table. This full disclosure had words like: "detach" the gutter from the new siding, and "drilling" holes in the house...I had no idea that this would spark such eager volunteering? (evil laugh with hand wringing!!!)
     This is the original pond and before picture. This is a prefabricated plastic pond with a wooden "box" like a raised bed made out of cedar fence posts.  I back filled dirt around it for stability and planting.
    

Before

Step 2: attach the gutter to the pond via a DIY rain barrel and then use that same rain barrel as a filter for both the contents of the pond and the north side of the entire roof.

we cut the cutter and attached the elbow higher than rain barrel to use gravity

Step 3:  Make a rain barrel out of an old effluent septic tank. 

old plastic septic tank

drilled an outlet hole for a 2 inch pipe to dump the rain water into pond

inserted a threaded pvc adapter and caulked it

the filter: a large plastic nursery pot with holes drilled in the bottom

The filter needs many layers for the water to flow through catching debris and dirt and giving good bacteria a place to attach to as gravity pushes it to the bottom of the tank.  The layers were lava rock(bottom) 4-5 inches, quilt batting 4-5 inches and then foam pieces. All of the items were just left over from other projects, and with the exception of the lava rock, all can be thrown away when cleaning is needed.

Pot is place inside the rain barrel with lava rocks at bottom

then batting and foam

I used a laundry mesh bag to assist in cleaning the filter (mesh bag just fits inside the pot). I just take out the bag, throw away the foam and batting and rinse the lava rock in the mesh bag.

Step 4: Make an overflow valve just like the exit hole above higher up and in the back just in case we get so much rain that the tank cannot empty fast enough. The overflow rain water will exit and drain into a pvc pipe and into my garden.

Step 5:  attach the rain barrel to the gutter.  I used the preexisting 4 inch hole and glued and caulked a  black 4 inch PVC adapter so that I can connect the barrel to the gutter. I learned that most drain pipes and gutter accessories fit a 4 inch pipe.

the mesh bag gives another barrier to leaves and debris, etc.

make sure gravity is assisting the whole process

 

You can find this adaptor for gutters in the gutter/drain area at any home improvement store

Step 6: Connect the Pond pump to the top of the rain barrel/filter.  There was a predrilled 2 inch hole in the plastic lid where we connected a piece of bamboo that was approximately 2 inches in diameter. We connected the bamboo with a flexible rubber PVC connector.

finished filter on the left hidden by the tree

For visual effect, I drilled many little holes in the bamboo to make a water curtain over the pond. I had to tie some twine around to make sure the water didn't lick the side of the bamboo on the outside. I used a regular pond pump placed in my pond and 1/2inch black plastic tubing.  I  split the tube so one tube is threaded up the bamboo and overhead,  and the other goes to the waterfall and second bog filter. (ie plants in the plastic barrel)

Step 7:  Make overflow valve in pond.  A lot of water gets put in this little pond when it rains so we drilled a 3/4 inch hole a few inches from the top of the pond and connected a hose bib and garden hose (or you can use a soaker hose). Gravity assists the water out of the pond and out in the garden via the hose.

Step 8: Easy Bog Filter. Just for fun and I had an another barrel laying around, I created a simple bog filter. I will explain this filter and how to make it in my next blog. I am also making a "fairy garden" around it which will be another blog too.

This system is working so far with crystal clear water and the area that once was flooding is now dry!  I wish I could tell you approximate cost, however, most of the items I had laying around.

A few days later, my youngest daughter decided she would test my filter system with out notifying me. She went fishing at the pond next door and carried back 3 fish that are now living in the pond!

 

If you have any questions about this pond, feel free to message me in the comment section below.

Happy Gardening!
Nicki

Winterizing The Garden

This blog is for Leta, a family friend, who emailed me recently asking me to tell her what I do to heat my greenhouse. No matter how much I know in advance that winter will be around the corner, I am always panicking at the last minute to winterize my garden.  I get the 7 day forecast and it says chilly arctic air blowing down in our area and temperatures will drop, I start to panic. I think, "Do I have my garden and greenhouse ready for the cold?" Here is a short list of what I try to do every fall about this time. The funny thing is I am totally aware that winter is coming the entire summer and fall. However, when that forecast is aired, it is as if  I didn't know it was coming. I jump into action like it is the gunshot at the beginning of a sprint. So, I usually try to complete this list in a panicked stressed out 3-4 days...impossible right?

1) Take all the clippings of plants that I can let root in water. (ie sweet potato vine, coleus, confederate rose, ivy, any running plant or vine)

sweet potato vine

coleus

2) Get all the cuttings that will require a moist medium. (ie begonia, coleus, impatience, sedum, geraniums, hibiscus, jade tree, tomato and herb clippings, succulunts and most perennials)

perlite and sand with geraniums and going to be impatience

 

another technique of sand and soil with tomatoes, strawberries and impatience

 

soda bottle seed starter

3) Dig up anything that won't last through winter (ie caladium bulbs, impatient plants, volunteers that might be too small)

gardenias

4) Mulch. I am a fan of just good ol' pinestraw. I have used plastics, bark, weed barriers, rock, peat, cedar and pine and all have had some negatives. I have found a good 3 inches of pinestraw lasts longer, covers better, still degrades (but slower), adds nutrients, cheaper and harbors less bad bugs. I cover the begonias, strawberries, bulbs and anything else that could use a little warmer soil, more moisture and frost nip protection

5) Greenhouse: Apply bubblewrap to ceiling to reduce heat loss, close all windows and holes along the top and bottom, set heaters up and make sure ventilation is adequate constantly on plants.

2 foot sections. layered and stapled to the ends.

This is the second year I have used this bubble wrap. I bought it on Amazon under shipping supplies. The bubbles help insulate with air and  provide light to still shine through. This technique helps heat up the greenhouse during the day and keeps it warm at night. At the end of the year, just take down and roll back up for the next year. I am anxious to see how many years I can get off this one roll. ( I believe 100ft roll).

I bought these utility heaters at Lowes last year. My requirements were that they were rustproof, tip shut off (in case they tipped over they would shut off vs burn down the greenhouse), most BTU's I can afford, thermostat ( my top priority). These were around $25 and worked better than the high powered high priced "Greenhouse" heaters.  I place 2 of them in the greenhouse in front of fans for circulation. The second picture (below) is how I control the temperature. I found this outlet online and I think paid around $30. I set the temperature I want the heater to turn on to and it automatically pops on when it gets below that temperature. The utility heaters do this as well, I will turn the knob at the temperature I like (right now it is 58 degrees) and when it gets below this temp they pop on too.

Lastly, I have a wireless thermometer I set up next to my plants. It has a high/ low temperature for that day, a humidity level, inside and outside temperature reading. So at night, I put this beside my bed and I can keep up with the temperature in my greenhouse in case something goes wrong. Last night, It got down to  the 40's and the low in the greenhouse was a consistent 58 degrees. This shows my thermostats were working perfectly. My next addition will be a ceiling fan or rotating fan/heater placed on the ceiling facing down to push the hot air down and improve circulation further.

Last year when we would have a hard freeze, I would drape a frost blanket over the plants just in case, but never lost any to the cold. I only lost  plants to other things like diseases, etc. Make sure you continue consistent watering, especially during cold spells. I hand water once a week till I see it coming out the bottom (avoiding the leaves). When I potted the plants, I used water absorbers mixed with the soil to keep it moist longer and I ALWAYS use miracle grow potting soil for containers.

Right now in the greenhouse I have avacado, pineapple, cherry, mexican lime, lemon, kiwi, pineapple, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, papaya, strawberry, onion, basil, green pepper, thyme, parsley and all my perennials I am attempting to start for next year.

So far so good. If you have a question about how I do things in my garden, just leave a question in the comment section below or email me. Until then...

Happy gardening!
Nicki

A Walk Through The Fall Garden

This morning in my walk through the garden, I noticed a few more migratory butterflies. I mentioned earlier the Monarchs were hitting my garden around September on their way to Central America and now I have two more species that are trying to find warmer weather. The Common Buckeye (below) is commonly found in the Northern United States and Canada. In the fall they migrate south in response to light and temperature where the overwinter in larvae form.

common buckeye

enjoying morning sun in my lantana patch

 The second butterfly is the Gulf Fritillary. This species named for the Gulf region can live year around in southern climates, but usually fly to the midwest in spring and then migrate back south in the fall. They are distinct for their feeding patterns, mostly the passion vine and their cocoon that looks like a dead leaf.

gulf fritillary on lantana

 Some bloomers right now, mid October, are the salvia's. I wait all year for these 8-10 inch yellow blooms to tower over my perennials.

giant yellow salvia

cardinal spires a hummingbird favorite

mexican sage with giant salvia and a volunteer cosmos..stunning color

red shrimp plant a simple bloom and pretty chartreuse green stem and leaf

again mexican sage, yellow salvia and firecracker bush to the left

and we can't forget about the simple bloomers...good ol' begonia, a repeat volunteer four o'clocks and butterfly ginger all in white. Lastly the beautiful white bloom of the chinese snowball viburnum.

begonia

white wonderful smelling ginger

simple volunteer four o clock

chinese viburnum

So just to give you a heads up...upcoming blogs winter seeding in the greenhouse, how to create a bird feeding station, hydroponic strawberry bed, how to make a diy filter for pond and diy fairy garden.

Happy Gardening!
Nicki