Date: Thu, 29 May 97 19:13 EDT From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2117$foo@default> Subject: Re: Re: cp roots
Hi Tom,
> IMHO, the biggest issue is the breakdown of the potting medium that may be
> hastened by high water levels. In the wild, this breakdown simply does not
> occur in the same way it does in a small pot. An interesting question is
> whether small outdoor bogs suffer the same breakdown and collapse as do
> individual pots? I would hate the idea of "repotting" a bog of several cubic
> yards of rotton peat! HA
Yes, this does happen in bogs. Infact, this is why there is peatmoss
(and way down the line, coal) building up under bogs. The plant ma-
terials can't breakdown without oxygen and so build up. CO2 builds
up in home made bogs too. But since they dry and release CO2 and the
top layers get rain and new O2, just like in the wild (the turn over in
a homemade bog would have to be much greater, however and you would not
be able to make more peatmoss than what you started with), this should
not become a problem. The older peat will need to be replaced as it
breaks down. I have to add about 2 cubic feet to each of my bogs every
year to keep them falling below the water line and rotting the plants.
To do this, I just push the new peat between and under the plants,
not at the top where it will cover up seedling and small plants. It
can take some pushing to do and if my hands can't apply enough pressure,
my feet do. :)
Dave Evans
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