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making minibog, need help

thez_yo

instigator
Normally I just have Sarrs in different pots sitting in saucers of water, but I decided to try setting up a mini-bog. I filled up the same size containers that I think I've seen in brokken's bog thread (Home Depot medium sized long planters) with 1peat:1perlite, wet it all down, but the peat/perlite mix floats to the top in a mat and I've got this couple inch water level at the bottom with my whole substrate floating to the top. Is this normal? Will it settle or is my whole setup of plants going to float out the top of my container every time I go to water? Or did I put too much water in at the same time? Help please :-(
 
Dry peat is anhygroscopic for a while. It's tough to get water back into it, so I usually squeeze it in a bucket until it's very dark in color. Perlite floats at the top of water, which is why I tend not to use it in anything I flood. If the media is waterlogged, I'd drain some of the water out and put it in a jug for later use.
 
I've found that if the soil is dry, it will float until it soaks up some water. its possible you put to much water in, but I would doubt it. just give it a while to soak up the water.
 
peat take quite some time to absorb the water. i think it will swell to fill the area after some time , just remember to soak the mixture first in all applications, if you havent added the plants you may wnat to mix the media after a few hours to get the peat and perlite mixed well throughout. ive not yet done a mini bog but would like to try one, keep us up to date as you go. can you add pictures to this post?
 
Wow, thanks for the quick reply guys! The mixture looked pretty wet (i.e. clumped together in moist chunks) while I was mixing it up...sounds like I just dumped in too much water at the same time and should just let it sit a bit and it'll settle.

edit: will start posting pictures on the next one I'm mixing up so I have them documented from the get-go...
 
haha same thing happened to me when i put 5 gallons of peat/spagnum into a 30 gallon aqurium.I hade 3 inches of water underneath the soil, it was like a mini waterbed. so i just rolled up my sleeves and smush the soil into the water, then watered it again, now its pretty moist.
 
Elbow grease.

You need to get in there and mix it up: That means kneading the perlite and peat together until it's an even consistency. the other thing that I do with my bogs is that I sink a small plastic pot into one of the corners of the bog. This is where I water the bog from, so when I water, it will not disturb the rest of the medium and cause the perlite to float. You can also use the pot as an indicator of how much water there is in the bog.

Good luck!
 
here we go:

I wanted a minibog without any drainage/overflow pipes because there really isn't need for that here we get so little rain. I did want a way to check the water level though, so I decided to put a PVC pipe in the corner of the planter. Pouring water into it to water the planter doesn't work so well because the peat : perlite mixture will just float above the water as in a mat, but I'm ok with top-watering or just pouring *really slowly* into the pipe. So, the picture show:

get the pot and cut the pipe (at a slant to let water seep up it)
P1030002.jpg


pour 1peat:1perlite in the bottom, with a smallish sized container to mix up a bit at a time so it's not too heavy to mix all together
P1030003.jpg


mix in the water - this is damped down so it doesn't kick up dust, but is still too dry (you can tell by the granular texture)
P1030004.jpg


so pour in more water and the perlite comes up where the water hit the mix
P1030006.jpg


so mix it up again, and you can tell there's enough water because it makes big wet clumps
P1030008.jpg


and slowly fill up the container until it's at a good level
P1030009.jpg


now, there is a bit of the mix in the pipe
P1030011.jpg


so pour water in it so the peat : perlite plug comes rushing out the top, so you have a cleared-out water pipe for checking the water level after everything is all in - it should look like this in the end
P1030015.jpg


set your plants out how you want to plant them. I just pushed the pots into the substrate to make an indent, and pulled the plants with their old soil out of their pots as to not disturb the roots, and just slid them right into the holes I had just made.
P1030017.jpg

(this is minibog 2 - plants include S.leuco from flytrapshop.com, S.Dana's Delight, S.alata, S.rubra wherryi, S.flava, S.oreophila)

and while I was transplanting I found a pleasant little surprise on my alata - though I think it's a little early for it?:
P1030019.jpg


P1030020.jpg


and this is the first minibog I made today (with S.minor, S.Judith Hindle, S.flava rubricorpora, S.purpurea ssp. venosa, S. Cobra Nest, flytrap Royal Red):
P1030018.jpg
 
Looks good. The only caveats I have are:

1. The pipe should not go to the very bottom of the bog, otherwise water will seep very slowly out of it. Some perlite will always come to the surface, but that's to be expected.
2. Make sure that the smaller sarras are not behind taller ones as they will shade them.

Looks good though. And it's not unusual for flower buds to be put out at this time. My oreo is already putting out its first flower buds. If it gets TOO cold, they might wither and die, but that's normal.

---------- Post added at 11:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 PM ----------

One last thing: Six sarras per bog is a little much. However it should be fine for a year or two.
 
  • #10
Brokken:

Thanks! I figured I was putting a little too many in there, but they're still all either young plants or rather smaller divisions, so I decided I'd let them grow and overgrow for a few years then repot (and make divisions of course :grin:).

I don't quite know what you mean about not having the tube go all the way to the bottom that the water will seep out - do you mean evaporate up out of the tube or ???? I have the tube in there mainly to see where the water level is, because it seems to me like where the water level is at in the tube should be where the water level is at in the rest of the container (unless I'm horribly wrong?).
 
  • #11
He means that it will be hard for the water to get out of the tube when you try to water it. Leave some space between the tube and the bottom so the water can get out when you pour it in.

Why use peat and perlite in an even mixture? That seems okay for neps, but sars like to be wet. I use straight peat for mine, always have. That way I don't have to water so much. And I'm in an area where we get plenty of rain most of the time. They stay pretty waterlogged and seem to enjoy it.
 
  • #12
raise your hand if you think Clue should get 10pts for being able to use the word "anhygroscopic"

*raises hand*
 
  • #13
Brokken:

Thanks! I figured I was putting a little too many in there, but they're still all either young plants or rather smaller divisions, so I decided I'd let them grow and overgrow for a few years then repot (and make divisions of course :grin:).

I don't quite know what you mean about not having the tube go all the way to the bottom that the water will seep out - do you mean evaporate up out of the tube or ???? I have the tube in there mainly to see where the water level is, because it seems to me like where the water level is at in the tube should be where the water level is at in the rest of the container (unless I'm horribly wrong?).

Not necessarily because of evaporation or because the water will not eventually seep through - even through something as small as a the tube, but as a matter of convenience. I don't know, but it seems like pouring water carefully through the tube might be hard to do and may take some time to do, but I've been wrong before.
 
  • #14
Oh, so I cut the PVC at a slant at the bottom, like you can see in my first pic, so that the bottom tip sits on the bottom of the planter but the water can still seep out because the whole tube is resting inside the corner of the planter. This is just my first try, so I'll see how this all works out and if it doesn't, I'll try something new.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions!
 
  • #15
Once the peat gets soaked it should stop trying to climb out of the pot every time you water. I always pre-soak it for that reason, and to keep the plants from being stressed by sticking them into dry soil.

I prefer 1:1:1 peat, sand, perlite, sometimes with vermiculite and charcoal whenever I have some handy. YMMV. After a season the peat will cake down, and it won't float at all, nor about 90% of the perlite. Don't plant pygmy sundews until that happens, or you will loose them all the next time it rains. Personal experience.




20 points to Clue for using a word I had to go look up.
 
  • #16
Thanks for the help everyone - everything appears to still be alive, so I'll definitely post updates as soon as things start to wake up (which might be soon considering the warm spell we're having...).
 
  • #17
Brokken, that many sarracenias in a mini bog is a little much because they will choke each other and die or simply because they will be crowded? I have seen many examples of crowded bogs and they seem to be happy.

I would also assume if you regularly divide the sarracenias that they will never get too overcrowded.

Phil
 
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