Reservoir

[Nicolai]

Hi,

I've been reading alot of old forum posts about bog gardens. I have a good spot in my new house where i plan to (one day) build one.

There is just one thing i am not entirely clear on. Alot of people use this "bucket" resevoir inside their bog-barrels, and it sounds like a great idea that i would like to utilize. I just don't entirely get how it is supposed to work.

Do you put the the resevoir directly on the plastic (like on my amazing picture) or do you put some of the peat mix underneath it?

Do you cut it full of holes so the water can exit into the surrounding mix?

Do you run a pipe down to it, to fill it with water, or does it get it's water from the peatmix?

[cgarry]

Do you put the the resevoir directly on the plastic (like on my amazing picture) or do you put some of the peat mix underneath it?

Directly on the plastic.

Do you cut it full of holes so the water can exit into the surrounding mix?

Put some holes in, though I doubt you would get a good enough seal to stop the water coming out anyway. Be careful to keep the holes small, you do not want the peat to get into the reservoir.

Do you run a pipe down to it, to fill it with water, or does it get it's water from the peatmix?

Run a pipe down, it is so much faster/easier to water.

Cheers,

Chris

[Stephen Crane]

seperate pipes make life a lot easier when topping up!

[Vincent Limbourg]

Although this topic is in Dutch, it's quiet usefull I think with the pics...

http://forum.droseravzw.org/viewtopic.php?t=630

[Guest FredG]

2 pipes would be better.

One to fill with ( large diameter)

One to let the air out( small diameter)

Connect both to the top of the reservoir.

[Nicolai]

Thank you all. First piece of the puzzle solved :)

[petesredtraps]

here's a picture of a completed reservoir-

and how it looks the other way up

The small holes & slits simply allow air out whilst water enters.

[Guest FredG]

Two hoses would be better.

Bubbling air up through damp/wet peat not a good idea.

[cgarry]

Two hoses would be better.

Bubbling air up through damp/wet peat not a good idea.

I've never found it to be a problem. I guess the single pipe I use is wide enough to let the air up.

Cheers,

Chris

[Nicolai]

Two hoses would be better.

Bubbling air up through damp/wet peat not a good idea.

Does that mean that no holes or slits should be made in the container?

Water only exits the container from below then? The slits aren't used to let water into the peat mix?

[petesredtraps]

Does that mean that no holes or slits should be made in the container?

Water only exits the container from below then? The slits aren't used to let water into the peat mix?

You have to make holes/slits in the container,apart from preventing an air-pocket,it allows water to seep in from above,sometimes our mini-bogs get exsposed to heavy rains,well,don't we all know about that.If somehow a little air was forced into the above substrate,surely that would do more good than harm.I thought roots liked a little air in the soil.

[Guest FredG]

.I thought roots liked a little air in the soil.

You think that there's air in a peat bog?

The thing must likely to bubble up through a bog is methane ( with perhaps a little phosphine).

Edited August 29, 2007 by FredG

[petesredtraps]

The thing must likely to bubble up through a bog is methane

I didn't know our plants could be flatulent Fred .Mind you the first time I cut off some old Darlingtonia pitchers......My God the stench.

[Guest Aidan]

You know, this is all unnecessarily complex overkill. Engineering a large void with attached plumbing is not going to make a massive difference to the amount of water retained. Fill the base with stones, or gravel or upturned flower pots. Optionally, sink a filler pipe at one edge. Job done!

[Nicolai]

You know, this is all unnecessarily complex overkill. Engineering a large void with attached plumbing is not going to make a massive difference to the amount of water retained. Fill the base with stones, or gravel or upturned flower pots. Optionally, sink a filler pipe at one edge. Job done!

Upturned flower pots would be the same principle as above, wouldn't it?

I'd prefer to actually make the void, unless it's stupid to do so, instead of filling gravel. Also, watering from below on hot summer days just seems clever to me, but honestly, i have no clue wether it is smart or not.

[Guest Aidan]

It's all the same principal. My point is that there is no need to overcomplicate matters and any benefit gained is not going to be hugely significant. It ain't rocket science and if I were building a bog, my primary reason for for putting something in the bottom would be be to reduce the amount of media required.

[CPsInATL]

I am going to start on this adventure myself and need some input. I went out and bought the best thing I could find - a 12" wide, 4" deep salad bowl for a couple bucks. Is this big enough, or should I shoot for more?

That was the best round container I could find. Of course really I would like to have a combo of water reservoir as well as to have to use less peat/sand. This is going into a fake half barrel that at its widest is 14" at the base and about 13" tall.

Thanks.