Nevermore's new bog (movie!)

[Nevermore]

I finally adding in my long planned bog! Thanks everyone for all the info.

It is 14-18 deep with a peat / sand mix. hopefully the fence will shield the plants from the wind we get sometimes. It's a newer neighborhood, so there aren't a lot of old trees to slow things down. The walkway has a slight slope away from the bog, so i won't get runoff.

I am trying the reservoir idea that has been brought up periodically here. That is what the pvc pipe sticking out the top is. I will cut it shorter and paint it dark to hide it. It is a 3.5 gallon plastic container drilled with a ton of holes and then wrapped in landscape fabric. I am sure the water flow to it will be quite slow, but i can at least use it as a "dip-stick" of sorts and i can pump water out of it to maybe help the media from completely becoming stagnant. I bought a little pump that you can just hook up to a cordless drill and hose to do this.

I abandoned making a drain pipe that actually ran through the pond liner into a well where i could let water drain via a valve... but we have pretty harsh winters and didn't want to risk the pipe freezing and then having to dig the whole thing up in the spring.

I haven't added any drain holes as of yet. I want to see how much rain it takes to file it up nicely and then add drain holes as needed. The one corner where i have the rounded rocks is the lowest spill point to take the water away during heavy rains. All the water is from my rain barrels, which i can use to fill the bog through the dryer periods.

I walked all over it to pack it down a bit, but i don't know how long it will take to settle completely. So now all i have to do is plant it up. That tower of straw is my fig tree that need protection in the winter.. in case you are wondering.

Below is the diagram and a stop motion movie to entertainment. My wife got me the "PLANTCAM" stop motion camera for the b-day... which threads all the still images into a movie.. fun little toy to have! It makes it look easy, but i made this bog over a 4 day time frame... and my back hurts!

<a href="http://s734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/?action=view&current=BOG-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/BOG-1.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

MOVIE - with audio

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2P6EkX3AUFQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<a href="http://s734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/?action=view&current=DSC02316.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/DSC02316.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/?action=view&current=DSC02314.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/DSC02314.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/?action=view&current=DSC02313.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww350/m_derhodes/DSC02313.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[Jayson16]

Great time lapse Nevermore, cant wait to see plants in there.

 

[eou812]

Cool i want to make one how are you going to handle the water and how many bags of peat moss did you use?

 

[Zhilin]

Very cool, both the bog and the video. Wish to see your bog full of CP plants in the summer!

 

[Nevermore]

It ended up being ten of the 3cu feet bales of spag moss. (these aren't the giant bales you typically see at home depot or lowes). And then ten 70 lb bags of sand. It was a joy to wet and mix all of it!

For the water, i have three 55 gallon rain barrels hooked up to the side of the house. It only takes .25 inches of rain to fill them all up.. so i am hoping it should handle keeping the bog nice and damp.

The only question i have is that many people talk about having a high and low side for different plants... how "high" should i mound the media? I will have refer to savage garden to see which types like it wetter or dryer.

 

[eou812]

Savage garden a nice choice if you want my opinion then i say maybe a quarter of a inch above the top of the rhizome hope this helps

Ean

 

[millworkman]

Is that a banana plant you are trying to overwinter inground next to the bog?

 

[thez_yo]

I can't wait to see what sprouts out of it

 

[Taliesin-DS]

That looks very good

 

[Nevermore]

In savage garden and the old James Pietropaolo book they talk about creating a high side and a low side of the media... and the plant plants that like to be slightly dryer or wetter. Not about really about how much is on top of the rhizomes. I have to get the books out tonight.

the straw cage has a fig tree growing in it. It gets 6 feet tall each year and sets some fruit.. but come winter i have to cut it back to within the cage. I usually take a lot of cuttings.. but one only needs so many fig trees. Digging up the bog, i was coming across roots 6 feet away from the tree, so it does fairly well at growing a larger root system each year.

 

[eou812]

Oh i thought you were talking about soil level.

 

[DroseraBug]

Wow! Loved the video. I only wish I could make bogs that quickly May the pitcher plants love you for this! Fine job! You'll enjoy for years.

i wouldn't worry about one sides depth vs the other. Great work on the bog and video! Rewards to come with spring soon huh.?! Plantcam rules! You should keep this thread updated with PLANTCAM. PLANTCAM LIVE!

 

[GrowinOld]

Nice digging and nice work!
In watching the video, I noticed the sun moving past...
out of curiosity, what type of sun exposure do you get?

For my yard, I am in process of enlarging &/or creating new areas to grow,
however I have to watch as I only have a few choice areas that get a full day of sun.
Not a big problem as my yard is a good size, but it does limit where I grow.
(Sarrs and CP's in general seem to want as much sun as they can get,
especially with me being in the mid-west, I have to lengthen my growing season as much as possible.)

Well I know it was too late to mention it, but I just noticed it (the sun) and thought you might want to keep it in mind. Even with half day of direct light, things should do fine.

As far as "hill-ing" a high spot, it depends on what you plan to grow, and at what level your "water line" ends up being. If the bog is on the dry side, you may need an indent/hole and not a hill! If it ends up very wet, indeed having a nice hill in the middle might be necessary.

I myself end up with random high and low spots, and things get out of hand! I usually stick with pots, and put LFS around them when I feel a need to disguise things. I have found it easier to control, and I am not "fixing" the bog-bed all the time. (Maybe I am getting too old, for I have less patience now than I used to for chasing after things like that.)

Do take some pics when its done, and especially after it grows in.
Congrats on a nice job!

 

[Nevermore]

The yard gets full sun from sun up till late mid day. It sits on a skew to north/south. I didn't start that portion of the video until 4 or so. Up until now i was growing my collection in a half barrel sunk in 4 feet or so from the same fence line. A wind storm would always roll in at some point in the year and tear up the collection... so i wanted this bog to be closer to the fence line to help with protecting them a bit.

In regards to hilling/holing... i still haven't planted anything in the bog yet (*wife needed the living room painted this weeked ... but i am glad i hadn't yet... cause it does seem to have settled a lot more. Some areas have sunk a good amount and others not. So i raked it level this morning and this afternoons t-storm should do the rest!

I will take some pics once i get the plants in.

 

[Nevermore]

Finally got some pics of the plants all in (except for a few trades coming in soon). And like the two ponds i have put in my yard years ago... i wish i had made this bog larger. Any plans I had to add other non-carnivorous plants and orchids, are pretty much shot. Might just have add another one in few years… The wife has many projects this year that will keep me busy though.

The reservoir is working well. The little drill pump that I attach to a cordless drill works great to drain the 3 gallon reservoir. It takes a minute or two to drain and a few hours to fill back up. Not that I will be able to tell if draining it periodically will keep it from getting too stagnant, but it can't hurt at least.

Many of the sarrs are putting up flower blooms. So all I have to do is add a top dressing of lfs and watch them grow.

 

[eou812]

Looking GREAT!

 

[GrowinOld]

Looking nice!
Starting small is a good way to get the wife into liking it too,
so if it does well this year, then she won't mind you enlarging it next year perhaps.
Just make sure it does well this year!
Again, nice work!

 

[thez_yo]

Ooh, that'll look super awesome in a couple weeks

 

[Halt]

I can't wait to see pictures of pitchers filling up the bog!

 

[Nevermore]

Would adding some terrestrial Utricularia be a bad choice? i have never grown them, but from the few books i have read on them.. they seem to spread quickly.