watering with swampy water? pros/cons

[Rob547]

Hey everyone, didn't know where to ask this, so figured this was a good place. So I'm growing in a swampy area, partially swamp partially pine forest, the area itself is relatively secluded but not too far from civilization (suburbs). It's essentially a peninsula kinda thing one way is swamp water the other way is water out in the open in kind of a wetlands/field kinda thing. The first way I would say the water is pretty stagnant, the other way less so. I had always heard against using swampy water but was considering the possible organic benefits... mostly was just thinking ahead to next year.

My main question here is, what are the pros/cons of using this water to feed and/or flush with? Pots or ground..
Mostly I was looking for Ph aside, as it is probably the first thing people will mention, I have no idea what it would be but probably not ideal...
- Does it/would it contain beneficial microorganisms?
- Does it contain groundwater or other contaminants/pollutants?
- Algae benefits?
- some unforeseen problem waiting to happen?
- stagnant water is (generally) stagnant water and commonly advised against?

discuss (thanks in advance)

 

[tommy1984]

Like you said, PH will be off. I know that pine needles are acidic so Id assume that the water would be too. Other than that It should be fine. But Im no pro at this...

 

[The Revolution]

Sounds very similar to the area IVe been growing successfully in the last couple seasons.
I would call it a fen, as its fed by natural springs, and tends to stay moist year round. In the dry summer months it will dry out just enough for me to give a few waterings. It is on the edge of a forest aswell, with large towering pines. The ground is mostly peat and decayed forest, with some skunk cabbage and ferns shooting up. What drew me to the area was the unusual size of the ferns that grow there. They get very massive.

Ive had excellent luck with this area. No PH issues. There is a steam the rises from some spots on the ground during cold mornings, which tells me there is a rapid decomposition going on at or below the surface. The plants are started in pots filled with promix, some are transplanted to the ground, some are left in the pots and allowed to grow thru the plastic pots into the earth, and some are transplanted into larger homemade smart pots.
Like I said, Ive had excellent results in this area. I cant say there is the same composition as where you are growing, but it sounds very familiar. There are pine needles that fall down on the the plants late summer through fall. I had originally thought Id have ph issues, but havent seemed to be a problem. Im also in the northeast. Best of luck to ya.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

Hey dude, your area sounds a lot like where I grow...

If you are going to grow on a spot like that I recommend digging big holes instead of using pots... The high water beds will work as a bottom feeder and you won't need to water the plants too much or at all... I've used swamp water to foliar feed and didn't notice any issues. I doubt the water will cause issues, as long as you got some circulating water you should be ok... but like I said, if you are worried that plants will be hungry for some water, I wouldn't worry too much.

Swamps are perfect for growing Guerrilla style, not much maintenance needed at all.. just prep some big holes and throw some lime/gypsum and some organic ferts and your are pretty much good to go the whole season. Make sure to put a thick layer of mulch to stop the top few inches of the soil from drying up!

Best of luck,
BW!

 

[Rob547]

Thanks for the tips guys. I've been staying away from in-ground because of the pine forest thing but maybe next year I'll throw a few in the ground.
A fen is an excellent way of describing it, here's a quick pick of where they are now, was touch and go at the beginning and just seemed best sunlight wise. Here you can see basically swamp in the background and what you can't see is more open wet area to the left.