uses for boggy land

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PGD1

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Hi,

My wife (and me I guess!) is looking for a piece of land to call our own. She is interested in horticulture, organic growing etc and keeps some bees but she would like a bigger piece somewhere to "experiment with".

We pulled out of a deal last year on 13 acres of mixed woodland as there was boundary/access issues, but it would have been ideal.

Recently we saw a small 3 acre plot going for not much money. However it turns out the land is very boggy. I was told it would be suitable for keeping some sheep on but not horses. This means nothing to me and we have no interest in keeping animals but perhaps it would indicate the quality of land to some reading this.

My question is... what uses could this type of land be put to? One idea we had was to plant a % with willow to harvest for fuel. My understanding is that willow would love this.

Any other ideas? What type of trees would be suitable to grow. She does just want to plant some trees too, for the sake of it, rather than to have it being productive.

Thanks for any insights.
 
Willow would be ideal. My understanding is that most veg etc may rot. Also when planting other trees it is better to plant on the soil and build up around it creating a mound which allows for drainage
 
Willow (or "sally") will love this kind of land.

Willow can be grown for fuel, hedging, weaving (living sculptures or harvested shoots) and is a native species (I can't remember which varieties).

Other trees suited to this environment AFAIK are the native mountain ash (or rowan tree, its not an ash tree) with reddish leaves and clusters of red berries (rua / red the source of its name?). This tree had great significance for pre-Christian druidic peoples as a source of "magic" wands, rods for water divining, pilgrims' staves (Friar Tuck / Little John ?) and the cooked fruits were used as dye and flavouring. (the raw fruit is poisonous to humans but not to wild-life).

I don't know if native white-thorn, black-thorn would thrive in a boggy area.

Best of luck.
 
thanks for the comments so far.
we already grow alot of veg at home and in our greenhouse. I'm not sure how practical it would be do grow it and look after it some distance from home although if there was a veg particularly suited to wet land......

I'm not into raised beds considering the distance from home. I would have to lug alot of materiel and soil to fill them in.
 
Blueberries love bog and are dead easy, just need to throw nets over them to keep off the bird before they ripen.
 
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