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Floating gardens, simple hydroponics with living soil for difficult plants

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partisangardener:
Living soil is a term which includes symbiotic relationships found in natural habitats. Including mykorrhiza, animals and the relationship between different plant species.
Since Corona began, my moveable floating gardens increased in number and beauty.
A simple form is this one, floating on my rainwater tank. This one is from beginning of August and the picture is about end of October.
It comes in handy when you have cuttings or seeds which would need maintenance. I just put them there and everything takes roots or germinate.
In addition it looks good and no animals drown there.

I had started when Corona came a new bog garden. Since it is so easy and takes next to no time for care I started now at every available space now a lot of these floating gardens. Especially for plants which take a lot of expertise to grow. Like Cypripedium and alpines.
The best thing is, you can leave it for month without anybody taking care.

https://forum.carnivoren.org/forums/topic/36569-patchworkmoorbeet-erweiterbares-moorbeet-im-baukastenstil/page/11/

brianw:
I would like to try this in my new small pond but I suspect it would have to be protected from birds stealing the moss for nesting in the spring. It is fed from water butt overflow at present. Now to find some suitable seed. "Dacs" seed themselves in my pots in the garden but nothing else at present. I only really had water lettuce floating on it this year, which I got for nothing.

Brian Whyer, Thames valley.

partisangardener:
I had on this special one no birds acting. Maybe it is a bit irritating that the island moves when a bird is landing on it.

I have now about forty water filled 90 liter buckets with my islands.
But the ones shown in the link just a few meters away have a netting. My blackbirds are pretty bad here. Since the one shown exists only since last August, I will see how it works in the next nesting season. I am also working on solutions which are not as ugly as the usual ones.

I am too already working on ceramics which would hide the plastic optic. Pretty similar to the ones I put around my bog in the link.

Here are some of the plants thriving therein:

Cypripedium tibeticum (low ph)
Cypripedium reginae   (medium to low ph)

Pogonia ophiglossoides
Epipactis palustris seedgrown there in acidic ph
Dactylorhiza praetermissa (neutral ph)


Drosera binata
Drosera anglica
Drosera intermedia
Drosera filiformis
Drosera linearis*+seeds

Pinguicula grandiflora
Sarracenia alata
Sarracenia rubra

Sarracenia purpurea dwarf form
Sarracenia leucophylla seedgrown and plants from BG Prag
Darlingtonia californica mountain population Oregon seed grown

Chamaedaphne calyculata nana  seedling
Andromeda polyfolia
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium myrtillus
Vaccinium uliginosum

Iris chrysographes seed grown black form
Iris setosa
Mentha requienii (weedy)grows extremely well, very hardy there but overgrows everything
Fritillaria meleagris
Fritillaria camtschatica grows very well, pretty low plants without ferilizing

Primula veris red form (seedlings)
Primula integrifolia
Primula matthioli
Trillium grandiflorum
Soldanella hybrid

Gentiana acaulis
Gentiana pulmonaria

partisangardener:
There is no substrate below the waterline, so it is always aerated. It simulates  the conditions of a natural seep, or a rock constantly washed by water.
Even plants which grow usually under quite dry conditions grow quite well. Especially alpines and mosses do well.
The water tank and evaporation on the moss cools this environment (could be interesting for city climate, if used a lot)

The soil conditions vary of course with the thickness of the substrate. Through seeds I try out what works best. for a desired species.
To get different mycorrhiza I took small pieces from interesting habitats to to inoculate different floating pieces.
The thickness of substrate is only one method to vary moisture. Another one I use, is flat pieces of styrofoam, stones or even plastic onto the soaked fleece.
So in result I get different moisture levels without much substrate.

This system is maybe adabtable for a lot of problematic eco-systems
https://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18727.msg424682#msg424682

partisangardener:
Cypripedium reginae was for many years in my old bog garden. 2020 in spring I transplanted it in a new setup. The original 2 olants had made two seedlings.
Not jet flowering. These flowered this year.
Growth was slow but good in the past years. But in the new setup with continuous water supply it seemingly exploded.
It is so dense I will have to make three out of it.
first picture 2020
second 2021

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