Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 13:48:59 -0500 From: Brewer Charles E PHDN <brewerce@nswcphdn.navy.mil> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg823$foo@default> Subject: RE: Bog Construction
Hi David,
I built a bog out of 2" wood that was 16 feet long, 3 feet wide and 22
inches deep. I dug a hole 16 inches deep and put the bog box in. Keep in
mind that the bottom of the box was made out of wood as well. This was a job
as I built the box on landscaping timbers to keep it off the ground and so I
could slide the box bog in the hole in the ground. It took everything I
could muster up just to move the box over and put it into the hole. After I
got the bog box in the ground, I then put a plastic liner in the bottom of
the box, up to the top edge. After lining the box with plastic, I made a
long tube out of door screen. The tube was placed vertically in the box
sitting vertical o the bottom, then I added sand, soil etc. Once I added
water, the screen would hold back the soil and allow me to monitor the water
level inside the bog. This worked great except the water started souring and
the soil smelt like SH%$ within just a few weeks. I had no plants in the bog
yet so I remove most of the soil and drill several 1/2 inch holes in the
bottom of the box. I also put in a drain pipe about 8 inches below the soil
line inside the bog to help with the heavy down pours. The bog seems to
absorb moisture from the ground and the peat moss , pine mulch and sand
seems to hold a large amount of moisture. This method seems to work well
with the CPs. It did take a full season for soil to finally settle down, but
everything seems to be working just great. The soil stays damp all the time,
not saturated, allowing the roots to breath some. The biggest benefit that I
can recommend is using pine needles as a top dressing. The mulched up pine
needles seems to replenish the soil and benefits the plants. Eventually the
peat moss will change over to pine peat moss, but this may take many, many
years to develop.
Have a great day!, Charles
I
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