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Another bog garden worry

z5guy

z5guy

im never thinking, especially this time, i put a soaker hose into the bog to water it and i renembered, never water cps with tap water!! you can only use distilled water or rain water. but how the heck can i get enough of both to water my bog with?? is there something i can clear away the harmfulness of tap water with??

plz help, its a hard place im in.
 
I have been watering my plants with well water for about two years now,no problems yet.If you live in a city I would not use tap water,without getting it tested first.It will cost a lot of money to keep it watered with jugs of disstilled water,thats for sure!


                                                       Jerry


                                                                           
 
This has been my question for years. I think it's financially impossible to keep a bog garden if your yearly rain amounts dont permit. You'd use so much water everyday in the midwest... I dont even want to think about it, hehe.
 
well, thats my problem!! im not sure what to do! i do have this conditioner stuff that makes tap water safe for my pond. maybe if i pour some of that stuff done the hose that goes into the bog garden will help?? im at a loss!
 
You could get a reverse osmosis filter,you can find it at Lowes/Home depot.


                                                               Jerry
 
It'll cost you over 100 though. Not too bad if you have a job I guess. I need to get one myself, as it will save you money down the line.
 
Yeah,cost is an issue.


Jerry
 
hmmm, i am in a problem, o boy. thanks for the help anyways!
 
just looked at the reverse osmosis systems and they dont seem to have a hose attachment. excuse my languge when i say, goddammit! why cant anything be easy for me???
 
  • #10
I'm not familiar with how reverse osmosis systems work, I just know the final product, but can't you just take the water to the plants? You don't necessarily need a hose attached to it, do you?
 
  • #11
A buddy of mine has been watering his CP bog garden for 2 years on tap water, with no ill effect.

He suspects the problem with using tap water may be less the mineral salts, and more the change in pH of the soil over time as tap water continues to be used, if no agent is present to maintain the acid pH of the soil.

Despite his experiences, I still wouldn't recommend it, but if you can get an inexpensive RO unit, I wouldn't worry about whether or not it has a hose bib.

Perhaps you can rig an above-ground water tank that connects to your soaker hose so that you can pour your RO water in, and it is distributed by the soaker hose to your bog garden.
 
  • #12
man, i dident know a cp bog would be such a pain in the rear.
 
  • #13
well, thanks for the help but i think ive found a soulution (i hope) im useing a water conditoner and im poreing it down the hose and then flush water through it so it is sent throughout the bog.
 
  • #14
An RO system would drip constantly into a container of some sort, which is what you would water from. What you'd need to figure out is how many gallons a day you'd need (considering how much would get stored for dry days too). I have no idea what that number would be. Some RO units can be as low as $40 or $50... but they don't produce much.
 
  • #15
I think the water conditioner for you fish just buffers the chlorine... so I don't think it does much with the minerals.

How large is your bog?

Could you rig up a collection under a downspout for rainwater? Just try to figure the cost of potentially loosing or damaging your collection from bad water also... compared to temporarily buying RO water until you can figure something else out.

Walmart has a gallon for 50cents... not the worst.
 
  • #16
The very best deal you can get on pure water is from those machine dispensers they sometimes have at major grocery stores. The food 4 less here in cali provides 1 gallon of RO water for 25 cents each. A very good price.
 
  • #17
well, i dont have money for an ro system and i think it kinda silly to buy six tons of distilled water, im looking into getting a drum to put under my downspout. just in case my plan doesent work, how long does it take for your cps to show signs of bad water?? how can u tell?
 
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