Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 09:05:06 -0700 From: "John Green" <HPJGREEN@ihc.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg953$foo@default> Subject: Re: How to build a bog
>Buy a small hard-plastic children's swimming pool to use
>as your medium-mixing container. Using a shovel, mix
>Sphagnum Peat moss and SILICA sand in it in equal
>quantities, per volume (just eye-ball it)... Mix them well
>dry first, then add lots of rain or distilled water, and mix
>them again. Let it sit overnight. Re-mix several times
>until you have a uniform wet mud.
Sounds like a pretty good idea. I read somewhere that the only way to
get the spaghnum to absorb water was to take a handfull and squeeze the
air out under water. It works, but it's a very slow process and you end
up with arms like Popeye. This spring when I replaced my bog, I started
out that way, but the water was so cold I couldn't stand to keep my
hands in it. Instead, I put some peat in a large bucket (which is what
I used to mix) and then poured some silica sand on top. Then, when I
added the water, it readilly soaked into the sand and then I mixed them
both with a small garden shovel and added more water. The wet sand
helped the peat to absorb the water. It's a slow process but you don't
have to wait a week for the peat to absorb the water, and you can plant
sooner.
>If it rains enough where you are, great! If not, buy a
>piece of 4-6 inch PVC pipe, drill holes all around it, and
>bury it vertically in the medium where the bottom of the
>PVC pipe will be 1-2 inches from the bottom of the bog
>and the other end will protrude a little. You can pour
>distilled water in the pipe to water the bog without
>disturbing them from above!
I simply placed a bunch of small rocks and pebbles several inches deep
in the spot where water will enter (directly under the rain gutter in my
case). There's about 2-3 inches of chopped pine needles under the
rocks, but I don't think thats necessary. The rocks are surrounded by
Japanese Blood Grass. It probably doesn't work as well but it looks
nice.
John Green
Salt Lake City, Utah
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