Guest Janet Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi I've just acquired a couple of half barrel planters which I intend to use as bog gardens. What worries me a little is the insides of the barrels are charred and blackened. Will this 'charcoal' be a problem? Should I line the inside of the barrels with plastic pond liner or something similar? Or would it be ok to use the barrels as they are? Any advice appreciated! Cheers Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Provided no chemicals were used on the barrels, charring should not be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I'd prolly line the barrels up to the half way mark. That way, there'd be a reservoir of water-saturated medium at the bottom of the barrel for drier periods during the summer, but drainage between the cracks and what-have-you further up so your plants don't become waterlogged. If the barrels are still water tight above the liner, I'd drill holes in the sides of the barrel to give it some drainage at that point. Would also recommend plants that aren't top-heavy, for wind reasons, unless you're planning on using supports for same. Andy Wilkinson, he of Triffids Nurseries, advised me that the most top-heavy Sarracenia that can grown reliably without support for its pitchers is S. x catesbaei (which is the tough combination of S. purp. x flava, I believe). I haven't seen my bog bed during summer time with all its foliage fully developed, since this is the first year I've had it. However, I've gathered that S. purp also fits the bill, as do D. californica and the frost-hardy Pings. For Pings, I'm trying P. grandiflora and P. vallisneriifolia. I'm also trying the Droseras rotundifolia, anglica and capensis, with plans to introduce D. intermedia and everybody's favourite, Dionaea muscipula, at a later date. EDIT: Also trying S. psittacina! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Sounds like just the sort of thing I'm looking for for my plants, where did you get them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Sounds like just the sort of thing I'm looking for for my plants, where did you get them? All over the shop! ;) Lemme see... the two S. psittacinas, one of the S. purps, the P. vallisneriifolia, four D. anglica winter-buds and the D. californica (which I divided into four) I got from Triffid Nurseries. The P. grandiflora I got from Baz Goodman before he disappeared off the scene. The VFTs and D. capensis are expendable garden centre chaff, so if they croak, I'm not going to be too bothered. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Actually I meant the half-barrell not the plants - I've got plenty of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Actually I meant the half-barrell not the plants - I've got plenty of them! Oh right... lol :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Janet Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi The half barrels came from a local family nursery in Sunderland. £10 each unpainted (or £15 with the metal bands painted with black hammerite to prevent rust.) They both seem watertight, so I'll have to look at drilling holes in them (as suggested by Stevie D) I already have S. flava, S. purpurea ssp. purpurea, D. californica and P. grandifolia growing happily outside. Planned to add D. rotundifolia and P. vulgaris to that (although last time I tried these outside they were uprooted by birds). VFT and D. capensis I figured would probably work as 'annuals'. I have spares of S. leucophylla and S x pseudo ‘Judy’ so I thought they might work as well. I considered S. psittacina and D. filiformis but though they wouldn't handle the winter. From reading other threads about bog gardens I was going to stick a bit of pipe in so I can keep an eye on the water level. I'm still trying to decide on pure peat or 50/50 peat and sand mix. I have a small plastic container outside at the moment with a sand/peat mix and the sand just seems to wash out. Finally I was looking for a Utric that might survive. The only one I currently grow is U. microcalyx but I doubt that would cope with the climate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I have a half-barrell bog garden. Barrels are made to be watertight, so you dont need to line them (the wood swells in the moisture and closes up any gaps you might see when it's dry). I drilled a hole around 6" under the surface of the soil to aid top level drainage. A pic here: (Last year, when only half planted out. It's now fully planted up) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwdoz Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 That looks good Rob, I might have to jump in and have a go at this too! :) Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Janet Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi Rob-Rah Very nice - looks similar to the barrels I have. Was that a bird scaring device I see in there? The thing that struck me was that your soil level seems to be higher than I was thinking of. Having been there already is there anything you would change or do differently in hindsight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 No bird-scaring device. Just some white plant labels. The rock on the left is tufa, for growing some pings on. The tall things are a spent Darlingtonia flowerstem and a bit of typha minima. The problem I had with it for the first few weeks was that the water didn't soak away under the soil and out of the hole in the side properly. It created some kind airlock on the surface and just sat there in a puddle. It took a few days with the soil held away from the inside of the hole (to allow the water to escape) before a proper through-flow of air and water started, which I think may be useful to avoid stagnation. If I were to do it again I would add even more open material into the compost to make it drain as well as possible. With a good 8" or more of undrained tub at the bottom there will be more than enough moisture. The mix in there at the moment is peat, pine bark, sand, grit, perlite, and quite a lot of vermiculite (I wanted to use the latter in order to take the pH slightly less acidic for the benefit of some orchids in the tub - but the balance is still acidic). Lots of live sphagnum moss would have been a good addition - but it's hard to get hold of in such vast quantities. With the soil this high a lot of the excess water drains straight off the top in heavy rain. The moss covering (a mix of acidic woodland moss and bog sphagnum) was necessary to stop the soil washing away in downpours. I can't think of a good reason for one soil level being better than another, I just instinctively thought I may as well fill it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 From reading other threads about bog gardens I was going to stick a bit of pipe in so I can keep an eye on the water level. I'm still trying to decide on pure peat or 50/50 peat and sand mix. I have a small plastic container outside at the moment with a sand/peat mix and the sand just seems to wash out. Peter D'Amato recommended the 50/50 peat sand mix in The Savage Garden, as I recall, which is why I chose that. Funny - I'm not having any problems with sand washing out. I wonder what could be happening at your end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanW Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 Very nice setup, Rob! Please post some detail photos! ;) Cheers, Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 Please post some detail photos! Once the summer is underway and there are some nice orchids flowering in there amongst the new pitchers I will post some more pics. Looks a bit bedraggled and dull at present though :-) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 Definately looks like the sort of thing I'm after. I gotta get me one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzyme1 Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 I want one too but is it cost efective it looks like you used a lot of soil.Looks great though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanW Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 I want one too but is it cost efective it looks like you used a lot of soil. I would use a lot of sand and other cheap (and enviromental friendly) material to fill it up and give it just a top layer of 30 cm or 20 cm peat. Additionally, you can add buckets upside down as water reservoirs, it will be better for the plants and you needs still less material. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Manning Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 I want one too but is it cost efective it looks like you used a lot of soil. Additionally, you can add buckets upside down as water reservoirs, it will be better for the plants and you needs still less material. Jan I don`t know if I am seeing this wrong but how can an upside down bucket become a reservoir ? Can`t quite get my head around that one. Sure there is a simple explanation. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromp Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 The simple explanation is that you drill a hole in the bottom first, so air can get out and water in. I have a mini bog in a small tub (30 x 30 x 40 cm) with an upside-down pot in it, and I only had to water it once every two weeks or so in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 The simple explanation is that you drill a hole in the bottom first, so air can get out and water in. I have a mini bog in a small tub (30 x 30 x 40 cm) with an upside-down pot in it, and I only had to water it once every two weeks or so in summer. Useful tip! Wish I'd known it when I planted mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Manning Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 As I said Cromp, there just had to be a simple explanation. Thanks for that. I am with you Stevie, would have saved me some compost as well. Never mind, know better for the next. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loakesy Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 I bought a plastic pot about the size of a half barrel today (£12.99) and transferred some of my plants to it. I put the bucket in the bottom as suggested, and lined the bottom with sand and large stones, but it still used up all of perlite, most of my sand and nearly all of my peat. I think I'd better re-stock before I get any more plants through the post that I need to pot up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul O'Keeffe Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 I like your mini bog garden Rob. I still don't have a garden of my own but my parents have said I can do something like that. Give's me idea's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob-e-name Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 Take a look at these pages (English and Dutch). I've been experimenting with mini-bog's for a few years now. Did the barrel thing but it was to small for my likings :) http://www.bob-e-site.nl/collec.html http://www.bob-e-site.nl/colleceng.html I lined them all up with pond-liner. If you'd like I can post some pictures of them now (they'll be ugly pictures because of the wether though 8) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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