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poor drainage
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:35 pm
by simonjohn
Hello my soil in one of my beds is very water logged. It has a fair bit of clay in. What can i do to make it better draining. I have an idea but i thought i would get some expert advice. Many thanks
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:35 pm
by Kristen
You could mix in compost, to keep the soil open, or sharp sand/grit to open it up, but in my experience the only thing that works well is a land drain. (Trench, put perforated drainage pipe [which comes on a roll] in the bottom, cover the pipe with gravel, backfill. The drainage pipe has to have an outlet, flowing away downhill, or a soakaway - and that probably needs access so you can pump it out in really wet periods - like we are having right now.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:29 pm
by simonjohn
now that is a great idea! thankyou.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:35 pm
by Dave Brown
Before doing major work get a long metal rod and bang into the border to see if the drainage is impeded by something. I had a pan of compacted clay about 10" below the surface.... just below dig level. Once I realised that was the problem I was able to break it up without digging it all out. You also be surprised how much builders rubble impacts drainage.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:14 pm
by pdid
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:05 am
by fern Rob
I would do try a test pit first.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:20 pm
by simonjohn
my who garden even the lawn gets very water logged. I dug the boarders out and dug down about 2ft and there is a lot of stones now I have turned it over. I dug a section out as an experiment about 2ft deep and filled the bottom full of stones and filled it back in to see how the rain effects that area now.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:08 pm
by greendragon
Maybe plant things that enjoy the boggy ground. Trying to radically change the composition of your soil is going to be a long and expensive process.
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:07 pm
by simonjohn
There is one corner where the ground is always boggy and i do plan on leaving that for boggy plants. Just want to sort out my south facing bed as its the hottest part of the garden. Thanks for all the kind advice
Re: poor drainage
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:08 pm
by ConcreteJungle
Has anyone used gypsum into their heavy clay soils, does it work to loosen up the soil to take in more water easily?