Re: Bog garden in NJ (or elsewhere...)

From: John Green (john.green@ascensus.com)
Date: Thu Sep 07 2000 - 07:40:28 PDT


Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 08:40:28 -0600 
From: John Green <john.green@ascensus.com>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2744$foo@default>
Subject: Re: Bog garden in NJ (or elsewhere...)

Susan Farrington wrote:

>I started with a few [holes] in the low side, and then
>ended up plugging them up because I needed every drop of
>rain water I could get in there...

I found this very interesting. I started without any holes and ended up
with soup, so I dug down on one side and cut a small hole. After that I
always suspected that I may have been better off without the hole,
especially with how hot and dry it was this summer. Maybe I'll plug the
hole back up (at least partially) and see how it goes next year.

>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.)

How do you think this would affect the evaporation rate in the bog? I ask
because I'm dealing with very low humidity. I filled my bog entirely with a
mix of just less than 2:1 peat/sand. I understand that the soil Sarrs
normally grow in is quite sandy, but that would dry out too quickly here,
which is why I went a bit heavier on the peat. Also, I notice the soil gets
a sour smell when it stays wet for a while. Would charcoal in the "filter
layer" help? Thanks for your comments.

John Green
Salt Lake City, Utah

"I discovered I always have choices, and sometimes it's only a choice of
attitude." - Judith Knowlton



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