Re: CULT: Bog Garden on the Cheap

Donald said:

<<I had thought of sanding the pool with sandpaper and thenspraying with
either black or brown spray paint to give the pool something other than that
hot pink look.>>

My intuition is this is may not be feasible. Quite aside from the question of
toxicity, you will want to be very careful that the paint is not a solvent
for the pool material, which it could easily be. If it is not, even with
sanding, which may present problems in itself, you may have problems with
adhesion of the paint layer, both short and long term.

<<Anyone else have any innovative ideas on bog gardening on the cheap?>>

It is not my idea, certainly, but one in common practice around here for
plants needing moisture: one excavates the desired area(s) to about 18-24
inches or so, lines them with flexible plastic sheeting--shower curtains are
popular---pokes some holes in the bottom--not too many, it's a lot easier to
add more than to stop one up-- fills the area up with the excavated soil to
which amendments have been added if desired, waters the mess, and checks to
see how the flow goes. If it is too soppy, stab it with something sharp a few
times. A lower area is easier to dig and more natural than a higher one.

I'd dig me some holes and do me a whole lot of experimenting on a smaller
scale until I had an idea about how deep, how many punctures of what size to
the square foot, best soil consistency, and other forseeable issues. Might
run me a little pvc sump line off it, too. Got to get it right so it doesn't
dry up when it shouldn't, or go nasty. I understand bog ecology can be real
complex, like ponds. And I'm not nearly as sanguine about peat moss as other
people. It is acid, but it is almost impossible to re-wet after it dries out,
it crusts up on the surface, and it packs. There are, however, some
professional peat-based potting soil mixtures now that include a wetting
agent, and I would research them. I'd keep a close eye on the pH at all
times, and I'd watch out for snakes.

This, then, for what it is worth.

Anner Whitehead, Richmond, VA  Zone 7
Henry Hall  henryanner@aol.com
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