bog

So there is some very cheap land in a heavily forested bog. Most of the soil is peat moss. The realtor tells me it's a bad idea. I'm guessing he's right but I'm going to be thorough and ask you people. Can it work? I want to grow fruit trees, mostly shrubs on hugelkultur beds inculated with porcini.

You'll want to see if it is classified as wetlands or not. If it is classified as wetlands you will be under heavy regulation regarding what you can or cannot do with the land.

http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Wetlands-Mapper.html

If it's not classified as wetlands, it is most likely super fertile, amazing soil that you can do a lot with as long as you understand how the water moves with the current vegetation.

I'm in Manitoba Canada. I don't believe there are any regulations. I think Ducks Unlimited has anything that is protected. Is it an evil thing to convert this land? It sounds evil now that I'm thinking about it.

Thomas Olson wrote:I'm in Manitoba Canada. I don't believe there are any regulations. I think Ducks Unlimited has anything that is protected. Is it an evil thing to convert this land? It sounds evil now that I'm thinking about it.

It is hard to think of these types of things as purely good or evil. But I would say that as long as you keep the area as a wetland anything you add would probably only improve the wetland habitat (providing animals with additional food/shelter). Evil (if you want to think of it as such) would be draining the wetland (and then monocrop farming it). As long as you work within the ecosystem I think you'd do more to improve it than to harm it.

Hope you enjoy adversity ;> The list of obstacles for fruit trees in a bog is formidable: access, sunlight, forest succession, super-low soil PH, wet feet (yours and the trees), cedar rust, fire blight or other fungus, deer, mosquitos...
But there is always high ground somewhere, hopefully around the house, and the hugels should help. If you keep the scale small it might work. You should probably scope out actual sites there before getting too fired up.
Best of luck