Bog garden: First watering

[petmantis]

Hello,

I've filled up my bog container with approx. 100 litres of sphagnum peat moss (I guess that would be 26 gallons?). Now comes the hard part: getting the peat moss wet.

Is it necessary to use distilled water, or can I just use tap water to get it moist, and then water with only distilled water regularly?

I don't have a ton of distilled water on hand, since my local pharmacy stopped carrying it for some reason, so I'm trying to save up.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Zero]

I usually hand knead the sphagnum, but I have never done anywhere near 100 liters.
You are going to want to purchase a R/O kit for $100. Much cheaper in the long run.

 

[scottychaos]

can you collect rain water?
if you can divert a rain spout, you could fill up several 5- gallon buckets in less than an hour..

I wouldnt try to add water to an entire bog filled with dry peat..
you will never get all the moss saturated that way..
best way (IMO) is to take another 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 1/4 or 1/3 full with dry peat, add water,
then dig in with your hands, knead, squeeze, stir, by hand, until you have a nice gloppy mess of peat, fully saturated with water...dump that batch into the bog..

fill the bucket with more dry moss..add water..repeat until bog is full..

Scot

 

[petmantis]

can you collect rain water?
if you can divert a rain spout, you could fill up several 5- gallon buckets in less than an hour..

I wouldnt try to add water to an entire bog filled with dry peat..
you will never get all the moss saturated that way..
best way (IMO) is to take another 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 1/4 or 1/3 full with dry peat, add water,
then dig in with your hands, knead, squeeze, stir, by hand, until you have a nice gloppy mess of peat, fully saturated with water...dump that batch into the bog..

fill the bucket with more dry moss..add water..repeat until bog is full..

Scot

Hmm, as in rainwater that runs off my roof? yes I can do that, I already collected about 8 litres of it, but I'm not sure if it's safe to use (I collected it during the first rain of the season, so I'm thinking that all the old leaves in the gutter would have spoiled it). I will try to get some more, there's supposed to be some showers on Monday.

And for actually mixing the peat with water, yes that method is exactly what I've been using up to now, but I've always found it really slow and boring, I thought there was a quicker way... but if not I guess I'll stick with it

Zero: Yes, an R.O. unit certainly would be worth it in the long run...

 

[scottychaos]

I have been using rainwater, from the roof, for 16 years with no problems..
around here everyone has asphalt shingles with some kind of "grit" embedded in them..
thats the standard roof pretty much everywhere as far as I know..

I might be somewhat wary of using rainwater off a roof with brand new shingles..but for well-worn shingles several years old, I dont have any problems..

someday I would love to have one of those new all-metal roofs:

http://gzcontracting.info/images/metal_roof2_ln67(1).jpg

but thats not going to happen anytime soon..
(MUCH more expensive than shingles..but a metal roof will also last for the rest of your life..)

Scot

 

[Jag]

The other opition I think could work is collect rain water and mix it with your house water. Get a TDS meter and you could save a whole lot like this.... If rain water is not enough than distilled water mixed with tap water....

As for water from the roof, I know a grower that has collected water from his roof for many years just like scottychaos. But he first lets the first day of rain go and then collects the days after.

 

[petmantis]

As for water from the roof, I know a grower that has collected water from his roof for many years just like scottychaos. But he first lets the first day of rain go and then collects the days after.

That's exactly what I'm going to do - Thanks for the tip.

 

[Jag]

Petmantis: Do you know what's your tap water hardness? You might have a good source of tap water out there.

 

[back2eight]

I water with tap water all the time. It's not going to hurt anything this once.

 

[petmantis]

Alright, you guys convinced me. I'll use tap water to get it wet initially, then water with distilled/rain water.