C_Skinner Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Hi all.... I have recently decided i would quite like to build a bog garden outside my greenhouse. Can anyone tell me a good way to construct one? and how to look after it and what species will do well.... Any info would be appreciated. Thanks a lot Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Sarracenia purpurea - both subspecies, Darlingtonia californica, temperate Pinguicula and Drosera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 For what it's worth, try to position it so that lots of dust doesn't blow onto it when the winds are high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Cool thanks guys..... Anyone got some advice on the actual construction of it? I was thinking basically just dig a hole about 1 foot deep. Put pond linder in it with some holes for slow drainage, maybe use some kind of pond basket in the middle and have a kind of moat of water around it. No idea what im doing so tell me all the bad things about what i just said etc Thanks a lot Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syble Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Personnally I prefer a little extra depth(mine will be 2' deep at least). you may want to put a removable drain at one end too, so that you can pull the plug come winter, and keep a bit of a water table the rest of the yearpoke a series of constant drain holes half way upthe walls to keep it from flooding. I'm sure I'm missing something, I work with this stuff often, do things and don't even think about it! hope this helps, Sib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Syble how would i make a removable drain? Just have some sort of a plug in there somewhere? Is the moat idea a good idea or will there be too much water? Also, how muchwater should i ecpect it to need? will it need its own water butt to keep it watered in the summer? Thanks a lot Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromp Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Hi, I have had a bog for two years now. I use a small pump to drain it during autumn and winter. If you cut holes in the liner like I did, water will get sucked out very rapidly when the ground surrounding the bog gets dry. My bog is 50 cm deep, during the last hot summer I had to water it twice a week. A shallower bog will need more frequent watering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Cromp..... Do you recommend not cutting holes then? Or just not many holes.... how many do you think should be cut. I am hoping to start building it today ready for the spring. Its my first one so i just need a simple one to build to start with. Should i use the moat idea that i talked about? and how can i contain the peat in the center of the Bog. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Ok heres what ive read on the CPS website.... You have a layer of perlite on the bottom with a small layer of pure peat over that..... the perlite acts as the water table and the pure peat draws the water up.... You then fill the rest with a mix of peat,sand and perlite and have the bog edges raised above ground level. You then have bark chippings around the bog to help keep snails and slugs away. It says you can use holes in the lienr if you like but it wouldnt be a true bog if you did that. Also says about a run off area and stuff. Im gonna follow what it says. I dont know how i will keep the water out in winter tho.... I need some help on that one. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic brown Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Don't bother with the perlite, it will just float up to the top. My own mini-bog is constructed from a fibre-glass pond, filled with pure sphagnum peat with a layer of live sphagnum on top. I have to net the bog against blackbirds though, who delight in removing the moss and up-rooting plants. The same pond lining has been set up at three different addresses and shows no signs of deterioration. I've never felt the need to drain it in winter or had any losses by not doing so. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromp Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 If you want to cut holes, start with a small one. I have found that holes only drain the bog in summer, during winter the soil around the bog is too wet. I have placed a plastic icecream box with a small pump in it on the bottom of my bog. That way I can get all the water out in about 4 hours time. I prefer to keep the bog drained in winter to isolate the roots from severe frosts (various Sarracenia species and hybrids survived a week of -12°C last winter) and to leach out any salt-buildup. My bog has no moat, and like Vic, I have problems with birds (especially Turdus merula, don't know what that is in english 8)), I use toothpicks to protect small plants from them. My bog is filled with a peat sand mix (300 litres peat for 100 kg sand). I imagine you would need a watering system to keep the water level up; on a hot summer day my bog's water level changes dramatically, else a moat will dry up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Wouter - Turdus merula is an inveterate digger and the same bird that Vic has problems with - The Blackbird. Blackbirds dug up all my P. grandiflora last year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Stick a scarecrow in yur bogs ppl! rofl...... sorry. Vic... You say you dont drain your bog in winter.... Im guessing because the bog is out in the open it gets plenty of fresh air and circulation and therefor doesnt get fungal attacks? What about root rot though? Bogs are soaking.... Do you not get any plants die due to rot? If not then i may aswell do as you do.... Dig a hole fill it with soil mix and put plants in. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syble Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 My bog design is baised on a partial raised bed concept. one end is 2' above ground, and the other is 2' above with a nother 1' or so below. It is at that end that I will have the plug. you can go to aquarium stores and they sell fiber mesh cylinders that you put over a drain to keep other things from falling in, work surprisingly well. as for the drain, you can get replacement kits at Home improvement stores, bassically it's the male and female rubber plug as well as a sealent. female part comes in 2 peices, you cut the right sized hole, and one part goes on either side of the liner. put the glue on snap them together through the hole, let it set for 6 hours I think(depends on package) insert plug, and it's ready to install. now for our situation, it's right by the eaves trough run line to the front ditch, so that's our route, but other situations may require a draining gravel pit or what have you. Flood clontrole holes are 1' from the top of the bog and are only about 5 mm diameter. We get terrential rains sometimes that would just flood and wash away a bog. Pearlite is a bad idea, it will only work it's way to the top and then it looks like permenent snow untill it turns green with algee. moat is ok, your gonna want it to be the full depth of your bog, just incase the water table really drops. you can again use the fibermesh, but get one that fits your purpose, they come in tons of shapes and sizes. It was stated before, the deeper the bog, the less you have to water it. at any rate, a little up and down action in the water table is a good thing. This of course is just my own thing, There is a big climatic difference, I'm in canada, your in England. But some of the basics are the same, and hopefully you can use some of what I've said. Sib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syble Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Oh, forgot to add, we don't have any problems with black birds here, cats do a good job there, but I will have to think of a way to discourage the chickens! Sib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 For the drainage idea could i not just dig deeper at one end of the bog and havethe water drain away into that hole. It would eventually soak into the surrounding soil i would think. I really need the simplest method of making a bog as its only my first attempt. Vic's sounds easy as he doesnt drain it. But i would of thought you would get rot without drainage in the winter and a lot of flooding. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Drainage probably isn't essential as it will be watered by rain and have plenty of air circulation to prevent rotting in winter. I have a purpurea sunken in a deep undrained pot and it has no problems. Nick Romanowski ('Gardening with Carnivores') uses no holes in his bog as he says it defeats the point of having a liner in the first place. In the wild they can survive fine being a bit wet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike King Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Some strawberry netting helps to keep birds out.. My problem are cats trying to catch frogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syble Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 my version is a little more complex than most people would want to do, but here the winter drainage is a must. for you, if you wanted to be able to drain it off in the winter, sink a spot somewhere in it, and don't plant anything there. keep it accessable so that you can use a pump to draw the water out (sumps are ideal) be sure not to leave it out though, you would be asking for trouble to let a pump freeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderman Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 totally agree with syb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Skinner Posted January 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Ok thanks a lot guys..... All ill do is a dig a hole and put the plants in then Thanks a lot everyone... Ill set up a few traps and deterants round the bog to keep all the squirrels and birds away squirrels were my biggest problem last year. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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