Boggy Question

[greenthumbnails]

I am trying to make a small bog just to grow some canna lilies and taros in.  I followed one book that suggested "landscape fabric" as the bottom liner.  I interpreted "landscape fabric" to mean that black plastic material that keeps the weeds out of your flower beds and has small holes to allow the soil to breathe and water to go through to feed the roots.  My concern was that it would drain too quickly, so I doubled up and used 2 layers before putting the soil on top. 

The problem is that true to my concern, it is indeed draining too quickly.  Another book suggested a pond liner slashed with a knife at regular intervals at the bottom.  To me this would seem no different than the landscape fabric, only the perfectly good pond liner that I'd have to ruin costs much more money. 

Has anyone made a bog garden using either method with success, or have any suggestions?  By the way this bog garden does not connect to the small tub sized pond I have in any way, it stands alone. 

[miguynmkoi]

I use a plastic container made for lining barrels for my bog plants.  I also use one of the kiddie pools  use to use for my lilies for all my taros and other water plants.  I keep most of the plants in their own individual containers and trim the plants and their roots just to keep my bog manageable.  These plants are sitting in water, some in more shallow water.  But weed cloth is not going to cut it.  Your whole yard will be flooded at that rate.

Photo shown is of the chaos of all my bog pots and pools while I was digging my lily pond.  I'm hoping to attach a few of the black pots with waterfall shelves to the pond as added filtration and also so that the bog get the nutrition from the fish poo. 

[Kat]

Like Annette said, unless you want to be constantly flooding it with water, get something that will hold the water in including big enough scraps of liner without holes.  At Home Depot & Lowes in the construction dept are black mixing pans that would also work as a marginal basin.  I've got the big rectangular one that I will sometimes use to hold extra baby tropical lilies. 

[greenthumbnails]

Hmmm....those are some good ideas.   I'll have to dig up that bog and redo it.  Thanks for the suggestions. 

[emm]

I lined the hole for my bog with regular 6 mil construction plastic but did not make any holes in the bottom.  Everything I read suggested holes in the bottom but I decided it was much easier to punch a few holes in the plastic later on than it was to patch them if I over did it.  The bog is in it's third growing season and I still have not made any holes.  What I did do was cut the plastic off about 4 inches below the top of the hole.  This allows water to flow out at the top into the surrounding soil and more closely mimics the surface drying out that I see in bogs around here.  I have cranberry and pitcher plants that are doing very well with this set-up so far.  Both these plants have very shallow root systems so this may not work as well for your cannas and taros.

I don't know whether I'll eventually have to add a little bottom drainage or not.  The peat and peat/loam bogs both smell fine and are about 3 feet deep, not sure if the depth is what is allowing me to get away without drainage thus far.  Last summer was an exceptionally dry one for us and I think I added water to the bogs 3 times, this year we have had lots of rain so a top up has not been necessary.

emm

[greenthumbnails]

Emm- What is regular 6 mil construction plastic?  What does it look like if I want to go find it at the big box stores? I would be interested in seeing a picture of your bog garden set-up if you have one, even if its just to see the plants 

[emm]

Hi greenthumbnails,

I don't have any pictures on the computer I am using right now.  There's not much to my bog, just a hole lined with plastic, not quite to the top.  Half is filled with a peat moss/clay loam mix and the other half is filled with straight peat moss.  The bog stands alone, it is not attached to the pond although it looks as if it could be. I do have pictures but not sure that I'll be able to access them in the next few days. 

Here is a link to the type of 6 mil plastic I used:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&productId=100641164&navFlow=3&keyword=
moisture+barrier&langId=-1&searchRedirect=moisture+barrier&storeId=10051&endecaDataBean=com.homedepot.sa.el.wc.catalog.beans.EndecaDataBean%
40d73832c&ddkey=Search

The following is copied from the American Home Depot site above, couldn't get the picture to copy though:
MP Global Moisture Barrier 6-mil polyethylene film 2.5 Ft. x 40 Ft. (100 Sq. Ft.) protection for laminate & wo
Model MB006300100
$18.07/RL Roll Free Shipping
Quantity:

In my hardware store the plastic is located in the construction area beside the hardware cloth.  If you ask the clerk for 6 mil plastic or moisture barrier they will know exactly what you mean.  The roll I bought is 10' wide by 100' long but you can get shorter lengths.

I followed one book that suggested "landscape fabric" as the bottom liner.  I interpreted "landscape fabric" to mean that black plastic material that keeps the weeds out of your flower beds and has small holes to allow the soil to breathe and water to go through to feed the roots.

I did line the hole with landscape fabric before putting the plastic in to discourage roots from nearby shrubs pushing their way into the bog and puncturing the plastic.

Because you intend to grow larger, deeper rooted plants than I am growing you may need to provide a little drainage to keep your bog from becoming stagnant and to allow air to reach the roots of your plants.  But.... there are many, many folks on this forum who use pots, tubs, kiddie pools, whatever they can find to grow cannas and taros in and I can't recall any mention of problems with stagnant water in the bottom of the pots.  Perhaps a question on the terrestrial plants section of the forum would address that concern?

If you have more questions please ask.  I didn't find much information when I was searching so I just went at it but I'm glad to share what I have done.
emm

[greenthumbnails]

Thanks for the link and the info Emm.   

[FrankJScott]

Please try Google before asking about Best Product Info 002d22e

[beautifulhome]

https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-alberta.html#20 -prefab home most modular home alberta
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-british.html#20 -prefab home most modular home bc
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-manitoba.html#20 -prefab home most modular home manitoba
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-new.html#20 -prefab home most modular home new brunswick
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-modular-homes-in-newfoundland.html#20 -prefab home most modular home newfoundland
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-northwest.html#20 -prefab home most modular home nt
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-nova-scotia.html#20 -prefab home most modular home nova scotia
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-nunavut.html#20 -prefab home most modular home nunavut
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-ontario.html#20 -prefab home most modular home ontario
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-prince.html#20 -prefab home most modular home pei
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-quebec.html#20 -prefab home most modular home quebec
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-saskatchewan.html#20 -prefab home most modular home saskatchewan
https://ca.prefabium.com/2012/10/prefab-and-modular-homes-in-yukon.html#20 -prefab home most modular home yukon