Planting Boxes

Planting boxes allow for up to 6” of soil, allowing fairly deep rooted plants and saplings to thrive. We used two layers of landscape cloth, with oyster cloth or plastic fencing 1/4” grid for further protection. In the first field season, the outer layer of protection did not appear to be necessary, nor was the extra landscaping cloth that we left at the top to potentially cinch around saplings. All in all, the soil stayed put, and the ends of planting boxes that were left completely open (see below) filled in with clover that acted as an end cap, sending roots directly into the lake.

Raft Base Plantings

Raft base plantings varied from simply providing soil and nesting materials, to planting the entire base surface with mosses, sedges and saplings. Over the course of the summer, the plants thrived with very little plant loss. In rafts that floated high (base 1.5” - 2” above water level) the platform bases did dry out during the drought portions of the summer. Even though plants were not lost, it suggests that floating the rafts a bit lower (through the addition of soil or hung ballast) would help keep the soil moist. 

Plant loss was at the corners of the some rafts, where wave action caused the washing away plants and soil. This was avoided in rafts placed in protected settings, and planting boxes provided a protective buffer in all but the corners of less protected rafts. Possible experiments for next summer include reducing the oyster cloth coverage in the corners to allow for roots to take hold more heartily, rather than washing off the relatively slick surface of the oyster cloth. , A second strategy would be to flip the base of the basic raft, using the spacers to create a layer of soil beneath the top surface of the trap wire base.