May try a different approach to winterizing

[schejuka]

The last couple of years I have winterized my minibog by cutting all the Sarrs except the Purpureas down to nubs. Then putting a sheet of card board over them. I then cover that with two bales of straw. And then another sheet of cardboard over the bales to keep them dry. I assume dry bales will insulate better.

This is my first bog and I made it using the rigid liner from a ½ whiskey barrel. I was thinking that since I now have an unused wooden ½ barrel lying around. I could invert it over my bog, and then cover it with loose straw. Picture a small hay stack. I would then cover this with a tarp to once again keep the straw dry and hopefully fluffy and insulating.
My hope is that by doing this I would not have to cut the Sarrs back. It seems like they should start out stronger next year. But it may not be warm enough. I am in Central Ohio zone 5B.



So am I ?

 

[Steve Booth]

Hi Schejuka
Sounds like a plan, but there is only one thing that may be agaist it, that being the lack of air movement in a sort of closed barrel, could cause catastrophic mould and fungus growth and kill your plants.

if you have done OK in the other years covering them as you describe, I would be tempted to do the same again rather than risk loosing the plants.

Cheers
Steve

 

[schejuka]

Hi Steve,
I had not thought of that, does fungus do better with a big open space?
What I really need to do next year is divide as much as I can. Then I would have several smaller mini bogs and I could treat them all differently and compare the results.

Experiments not anecdotes.