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Flooding lawn
paul.nash
Posts: 2
Hello gardening experts (of which I am not one...)
I have a lawn that was lain on hard, high-clay soil last year. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't drain and floods badly during rain.
My plan is to rotorvate the entire garden to a depth of 30 cm, add in some sharp sand and then re-rotorvate before re-laying turf.
Is this likely to help do you think?
Although I would dearly LOVE you all to say 'Yup, great plan Paul - that'll sort it', I suspect there are some home-truths that I need to hear, so thank you in advance for any honest but reliable advice!
Last edited: 21 August 2017 17:03:48
0
Posts
Is the whole garden soggy or does it run into a section? Thinking you may need to dig a soakaway if it runs into one particular area. Or you may need to lay some French drains.
Hi - I'm afraid it's pretty general - just sits there in mini lakes...
You need to know where the water comes from and where you want it to go to. Is the problem just rain on your patch or does water drain from higher land to yours? Is the water table high? If a stream runs beside your property water may seep into your ground. You might have underground springs surfacing in your garden. In other words, the wetter your soil is, the less well it will drain, clay or loam. You also need to think about where it will drain: ideally, it will just sink into the soil where it falls. If it doesn't, you don't want it in the house or your neighbours' properties. If all you have is heavy soil, adding grit and muck will solve the problem but if something else is gong on, your work will be a waste of time and effort. You need to give the situation some detailed thought before you act.
Rotovating on clay can make the situation worse as it can create a hard pan where the rotovator tines have been running over the clay at the limit of their digging depth. Incorporating sand would certainly help drainage above that. Land drains down to a soakaway will also help if you are up for some hard work to obtain a good finished result.