Hello- I have been gathering all the info I can on building an in-ground bog garden in the spring and have a few questions.
I have had my collection for 6 years in a half barrel plastic pond container. I have been dragging it into the garage in the winter and wrapping it in a carpet and keeping a few compact fluorescent lights on them. The plants have been spreading, so I plan on building a permanent outdoor bog in the spring. It would be about 8’ x 4’ in size and 18-24” deep.
-Drainage- some sites state to add small drain slits to the bottom of the liner to provide very slow drainage. Other sites state to have small drain slits a few inches down from the top rim. I would think that the slits at the bottom would help mimic nature… in that the water is always slowly moving through the media, vs staying stagnant anywhere below drain slits near the top. I do know that when I have repotted my barrel with completely new media, the spag below the plants is fairly smelly/anaerobic. Any pros/cons to either? Would the bottom slit drains help this? Also note that if water becomes an issue, I have several rain barrels daisy chained together, so I always have ample water at hand through the growing season.
-Worms in media- I have read a few places about how worms can go to town on the media and speed up the decomposition process. I don’t plan on making a moat or raising the sides in anyway to keep critters out. Has anyone in zone 6 had this same issue?
-Winter- I am in zone 6, and therefore plan to cover it all up in the winter with burlap and 1 foot of straw.. And then more burlap to secure it all down. Any further ideas? I still plan on overwintering my schnells ghost in the garage the first winter at least... I can’t loose that one!
I will probably have more questions once I get started in march.
Thanks
I have had my collection for 6 years in a half barrel plastic pond container. I have been dragging it into the garage in the winter and wrapping it in a carpet and keeping a few compact fluorescent lights on them. The plants have been spreading, so I plan on building a permanent outdoor bog in the spring. It would be about 8’ x 4’ in size and 18-24” deep.
-Drainage- some sites state to add small drain slits to the bottom of the liner to provide very slow drainage. Other sites state to have small drain slits a few inches down from the top rim. I would think that the slits at the bottom would help mimic nature… in that the water is always slowly moving through the media, vs staying stagnant anywhere below drain slits near the top. I do know that when I have repotted my barrel with completely new media, the spag below the plants is fairly smelly/anaerobic. Any pros/cons to either? Would the bottom slit drains help this? Also note that if water becomes an issue, I have several rain barrels daisy chained together, so I always have ample water at hand through the growing season.
-Worms in media- I have read a few places about how worms can go to town on the media and speed up the decomposition process. I don’t plan on making a moat or raising the sides in anyway to keep critters out. Has anyone in zone 6 had this same issue?
-Winter- I am in zone 6, and therefore plan to cover it all up in the winter with burlap and 1 foot of straw.. And then more burlap to secure it all down. Any further ideas? I still plan on overwintering my schnells ghost in the garage the first winter at least... I can’t loose that one!
I will probably have more questions once I get started in march.
Thanks