Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 08:05:05 -0500 From: "Susan Farrington" <sfarrington@ridgway.mobot.org> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2730$foo@default> Subject: Bog garden in New Jersey
> I have already started the digging the hole for my new bog, and I am
> almost ready to lay the liner down. I am worried that because the
> liner has no holes in it, the bog may become to swampy and flood with
> water when we have heavy rains. ( I live in NJ and this has been a
> very wet year!) How do I prevent the bog from becoming a swamp or more
> like a pond with soil in it? Will the plants drink a lot of the
> water? Should I put holes in the liner like Peter d'Amato suggests in
> his book? Thanks
First, I would make sure that your bog is slightly unlevel (only just a
tiny bit!), so that there is a slightly higher, slightly drier end, and a
lower, slightly more swampy end. This helps accomodate different
species (put your VFT's at the drier end). As to holes, I started with a
few in the low side, and then ended up plugging them up because I
needed every drop of rain water I could get in there! (Even though
you're drowning this year in New Jersey, remember years like last
year... you'll want to be able to conserve water in years of drought.)
An alternative to using holes to drain your bog is to sink a PVC pipe
(maybe 3/4") in the deepest part of your bog... drill holes in the sides
of the pipe so that water can enter freely from the surrounding soil.
Cap the top of the pipe with a removable cap. My pipe is vertical in
my pool, so that I can use it to measure the depth of water in the
bottom of the bog (just like using a dipstick to check your oil.)
However, a pipe inserted at an angle may be more appropriate, to
allow you to siphon out the excess water if there is too much in the
bog. (Siphoning it will only work if you have a good long piece of
tubing, and you are on enough of a hill to get a height difference.) I've
found I'm not going to be able to siphon mine easily, so I intend to
duct tape together some tubing to an attachment of my wet/dry
vacuum, and just suck the water out when needed.
The plants in your bog WILL drink a lot of water, and I suspect there
won't be too many times that you'll need to worry about too much
water, but it's definitely best to have a plan for that possibility!
One very important consideration: make your bog DEEP... it's really
important for the health of your plants, and it will provide a good
reserve area for extra water. (Mine is 18" at the deepest parts). Also,
use a good layer of straight sand at the bottom for a "filter" layer... I
only used about 4", but ABG suggests 12" of sand and only 6" of
peat/sand mix on top.) Good luck!
Susan
Susan Farrington
Missouri Botanical Garden
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis MO 63166-0299
susan.farrington@mobot.org
(314)577-9402
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