Re: rainwater collection

> From: Donna  <justme@prairieinet.net>
> Duh!.... that's what I meant.... he refuses to allow it. Was trying
to
> think of another way.... but digging here is ruff, especially
enough to
> bury a 55 gallon drum. Maybe if I get determined enough or Theresa
stops
> by :)
----------

Well, Donna, I just sit my old brown Rubbermaid 30 gal trash can out
by the garage, covered with some plastic window screen wired on
around the rim and let the rain rain in it; don't try to collect from
downspouts or anything.  Last year, being so wet, had to empty it mid
season, but in prior dry years, I'd get a full can by the time I had
to empty it for winter.

Now, my bog is tiny, so even in dry, hot summers I only use about a
gallon a week on it; a larger bog would take more water unless it was
also deeper than mine.  Even when I take the rock off the PVC pipe to
check water level and find it at the bottom, the sand/peat mix is
still damp, so they don't dry out fast, really.  Not having tree
roots sucking water out of a lined bog helps keep them more moist
than surrounding natural ground.

But, with your ponds, I don't know why you couldn't use the pond
water unless you're adding something to it for some reason - CPS
won't tolerate any kind of chemicals.  A lot of bogs are built as an
adjunct to ponds and at the same time - like the rubber liner is
extended from the pond to make the bog and pond water seeps into the
bog continually.

You, however, don't really want a lot of nutrients in the water -
like if you fertilize  pond plants or have a lot of fish creating
rich waste products, that may be too much for CPs, who normally live
in a very nutrient poor environment; hence their adaptation to permit
them to get nutrients from insects.  I suppose you could do some sort
of sand filtering between pond and bog to trap excess nutrients, but
that's only an idea; no idea how you'd do it, really:-)

But, with the full sun you've got around your ponds, you really ought
to try some CPs...You don't have to make a huge bog; mine's only
about 30" long by 20" wide by 18" deep and I've got half a dozen
sarrs + my VFT there.  It's full, but they all seem pretty happy:-)  

You could even just use a half barrel lined, except in your climate,
that might not provide enough root protection for the plants in
winter.

You can even grow them in pots sitting in trays of water.  I did that
for a few years before I made the bog; wintered them in the green
house but they didn't get cold enough and didn't pitcher well until I
put them in the bog.  Many people just grow them in pots forever as
they have no place to make an outdoor bog.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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