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wanting to make a outdoor mini bog

disco

aqua teen hunger force assemble!!
i have an old flower bed out in my back yard (south facing) its is squared in with some 2x4's or something i am not sure on the measurments but yall get what i mean. anyway i want to turn this into a bog. what is the best way to go about this? i thought of maybe digging about a foot of the dirt out and taking some plastic and putting it down then maybe put some perlite and sphag mix on top and then using live sphag for the top dressing and leaving it at that. i have never made a bog before but i thought in bama it should be easy for me to plant vfts sundews and sarrs out there and leave them there. if pics are needed i can take some and post but basically i just wanna know if my idea is ok or do i need to try something else.
 
Do you have a Home Depot in your area? Something similar?
If so then go there and check on the heavy plastic cement mixing pans.
These are maybe 30 inches wide by 40 inches long (I am guessing at this).
They cost around $10USD. Dig out your flower bed, insert this pan and add your soil mix and plants!!! Less hassle than messing with plastic sheeting!!
Also here is a link to my bog pages. I made a mini bog but it sits on the ground (concrete).
http://www.jsionline.freeservers.com/p1bog.html
Keep in mind that if you want a nice sphagnum cover and have the smaller plants that inserting them into your bog in pots that sit a little above the moss will work great as the moss will grow up to the edge of the pot and cover its protruding lip without invading the pot (at least for a few years!!).
 
Do you have a Home Depot in your area? Something similar?
If so then go there and check on the heavy plastic cement mixing pans.
These are maybe 30 inches wide by 40 inches long (I am guessing at this).
They cost around $10USD.

I use those pans.. Mine measure 20 x 25 x 7 and cost $5 apiece. Here is a pic of my setup: http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/psittbuds/yard1f.JPG The media is pure peat and kept pretty much flooded. the ones not directly planted make great water trays as well.

Good luck,
Steve
 
ok this is what i am planning on digging up and turning into a bog i estimate it is probably 5x3 1/2 ft so its gonna be a decent size. do they make pans in that size you think? or should i stick with the plastic idea?
it's kinda overrun with ivey and weeds so its hard to see but i took the best two pics i could get
soontobebog002.jpg

soontobebog001.jpg
 
For a bog that size I would probably go with your original idea. Maybe look for a pond liner? They make some good size pond liners that are basicly the same material as those concrete mixing tubs that I use... They are somewhat pricy but should be perfect for what you want.
 
Some people also use kiddie pools. I believe, if you're lining the depression, people also cut holes in the plastic. I'm not sure Perlite is a good idea, since it rises to the top and would likely float away during a rainstorm. I would buy the big bales of sphagnum peat and mix in some pool filter sand.
 
Personally I would avoid the kiddie pool... Those really are not designed for long term use and do not have the protection against the elements that other materials have.
 
Plastic sheeting works! And here's something that doesn't work - trying to put plants at a stream's edge, where it is naturally swampy. Remnants of hurricanes dump multiple inches of rain and raise the water level, causing the plants to float away:

s_Wed_106.jpg


Buckets of minibogs also work:

IMG_4216.jpg


IMG_4215.jpg
 
That spot looks kind of shady. What kind of sunlight does it get? As for kiddie pools, I hear they can work very well, but it's probably advisable to protect them from direct sunlight to make them last longer - dig a hole and sink them into the ground or something.
~Joe
 
  • #10
Sunlight is of the utmost importance for Sarracenia!
 
  • #11
well i took that pic this afternoon at around 4:30 it gets plenty of sun its the south end of my house i figured it gets probably 50% full sun in the am and the rest of the day is partly shady. i was gonna put a drainage pipe in the mix for if it rains hard or we get alot of rain so it doesn't flood. and i am not gonna go with seed growing in it to start off with. there is a really good nursery i found in my city that has mature CP's in the summer. i figure mature plants would do better to start off and see if it will even work. i am hoping that when this is all done i will have a kick butt garden lol. if i can keep the neighbors kids out (and my own child out) of the garden wish me luck yall! and i promise i will keep yall updated if you want me to taking pics along the way till CP day!! any other tips would be much appreciated.
 
  • #12
cost question

in looking at your quest here is a dollars and sense approach.
a pool liner which is probably the best material you can get-it will last long and is resistent to root penetration for the size you are mentioning may run around $100 or $125 (I am guesstimating)
2 of those larger (not the smaller ones of Steves) run around $20

the number of square feet would be the same or almost.
 
  • #13
money is not exactly a problem. i was actually guessing it would be more than just a $100 or so i was planning on having a pre-set budget so i don't over spend but the amount i had in mind was prolly gonna be in $300 area. the reason i say that is cause i have to buy every single material including the plants, and the nursery that has them is not exactly cheap either but they do grow them in their greenhouses. they have 12 greenhouses i believe and sell all kinds of plants anything you could think of they have. everything there is so pricy tho! a jfk rose bush was like $30 thanks for your help tho i really do appreciate it!:D
 
  • #14
In my experience, a pond liner is the way to go. I once used plastic sheeting in my old bog garden and it leaks easily. It will become more important to hold water when the summer months come.

If you're just doing a "mini bog," consider buying a very large rubbermaid container. They are cheap, but you'll probably have to replace it within two years as they easily deform from all the pressure from the bog soil.

My bog has been around for about 6 years. The pond liner is virtually indestructible.
 
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