Bog Planter?

[Chewi]

A couple of friends and I went looking around a scrapyard ( as we do from time to time lol ) and I found several of these cattle water bowls. They are cast iron, have a flat bottom and weigh about 3 pounds. They are 9.5” x 9.5” x 3.5 inches deep. I bought one for $5 and am a bit undecided if I should go back for a couple more. What are your thoughts on using these for sarracenia and Dionaea for outside. Maybe even a sundew planter for inside.

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

Not sure about the iron. Especially in an acidic medium.

 

[Chewi]

Not sure about the iron. Especially in an acidic medium.

I didn’t consider the acidity . I was more concerned about the dimensions. Thank you!!!

 

[DaniL]

I know that cast iron pans can impart a small amount of iron into foods, so I imagine it's possible it would also leach into the CP medium. While that iron leaching is good for people, I'm not so sure CPs could handle that. Also, cast iron can rust, which would also probably not be good for CPs.

On the other hand, I've had my CPs in mixed bog planters in old plastic hanging baskets for 1+ years now and they're doing great

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

A lot of plastics (most, all?) are very resistant to breakdown in nature.

 

[steve booth]

Plastic is in truth a great container for these plants and medium, it lasts years. In my experience the acid medium does nothing to them, with the sun causing more damage by making the plastic brittle over the years.
Cheers
Steve

 

[31drew31]

Ya plastic is the way to go I feel unless you're building something from scratch with wood and a liner. I have a bog in a plastic stock tank that I made in 2015 and it's still basically like new.

 

[Joanie]

It's an interesting idea. Cast iron is nice. There are waterproofing products. And I like that there are holes so you could attach to a deck railing, although it would be quite heavy when planted. How much does it weigh when filled with water? The size would work for drosera, and smaller forms of dionaea.

I converted a rectangular firepit to an outdoor planter - a sheet steel box that dropped into a "cement" stand. I used a liquid rubber spray to seal the steel. The "cement" stand didn't last one winter, so I ended up getting rid of it.

 

[Chewi]

It's an interesting idea. Cast iron is nice. There are waterproofing products. And I like that there are holes so you could attach to a deck railing, although it would be quite heavy when planted. How much does it weigh when filled with water? The size would work for drosera, and smaller forms of dionaea.

I converted a rectangular firepit to an outdoor planter - a sheet steel box that dropped into a "cement" stand. I used a liquid rubber spray to seal the steel. The "cement" stand didn't last one winter, so I ended up getting rid of it.

The spray sounds like a great idea. Thanks! The bowl is at least 4 pounds.

 

[Joanie]

I think if I had this and a bit of time, I'd waterproof with a clear silicone. Position it sitting on something instead of attached and create a water feature with submerged pump, directing water up to larger rocks attached to the area with the holes. Planting media would be river rocks, drift wood, and lfs. Creating a small stream through the river rocks. Main plant would be darlingtonia.

Edit:
Potential problems with this:

1. Water may evaporate too fast
2. Solar pump strong enough?
3. Overwintering - probably have to dismantle each fall