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New lawn advice after land drainage installation

richy_k75N7kJvGcNrichy_k75N7kJvGcN Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi, I've been living in a new build in a heavy clay area for just over a year. My garden is often squelchy for days after rainfall and the majority of the grass is suffering from red thread because of the saturated roots and barely growing at all. A couple of weeks ago I decided to install a land drainage system (58m in total) utilising the pre existing large soakaway in our garden with deep bore holes underneath through to chalk layer. 

I plan next year to bring in as much top soil as I can afford to improve levels and plant new lawn with seed which will hopefully be a vast improvement. It's a fairly big garden at around 200m2. Thankfully the lowest point of garden is in the middle so I have reasonable scope to raise the ground in most areas.

My question is how best to proceed?

1. Simply lay 2-6 inches of top soil (depending on existing height of ground) directly over existing grass and then seeding.

2.Strip turf and turn upside down before adding more topsoil and seed.

3. Strip turf/ rotivate/ add compost before topsoil, however I fear this method will be a lot of effort and will remove the only small amount of existing top soil contained within the turf and also potentially bringing the almost pure clay closer to the surface. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. 

Posts

  • richy_k75N7kJvGcNrichy_k75N7kJvGcN Posts: 3
    richy_k75N7kJvGcN said:
    Hi, I've been living in a new build in a heavy clay area for just over a year. My garden is often squelchy for days after rainfall and the majority of the grass is suffering from red thread because of the saturated roots and barely growing at all. A couple of weeks ago I decided to install a land drainage system (58m in total) utilising the pre existing large soakaway in our garden with deep bore holes underneath through to chalk layer. 

    I plan next year to bring in as much top soil as I can afford to improve levels and plant new lawn with seed which will hopefully be a vast improvement. It's a fairly big garden at around 200m2. Thankfully the lowest point of garden is in the middle so I have reasonable scope to raise the ground in most areas.

    My question is how best to proceed?

    1. Simply lay 2-6 inches of top soil (depending on existing height of ground) directly over existing grass and then seeding.

    2.Strip turf and turn upside down before adding more topsoil and seed.

    3. Strip turf/ rotivate/ add compost before topsoil, however I fear this method will be a lot of effort and will remove the only small amount of existing top soil contained within the turf and also potentially bringing the almost pure clay closer to the surface. 

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank  
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    The existing grass might well recover with the improved drainage. If it does, you could just seed the areas that were dug up for the drainage works (if you didn't save and replace the turf). Levels can be evened up by brushing thin layers of topsoil into the low areas (thin enough that most of the grass blades show above it) and repeating when the grass has grown through enough to hide the last layer. Not a quick fix but less work (and less money) than starting from scratch.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • jamesholtjamesholt Posts: 593
    Consider adding a mixture of 50/50 sand and loamy topsoil.  Is sand expensive?  Sand can often improve drainage but will need some nutrients and shouldn't be added by itself.  
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    The wrong sort of sand can compact and cause even more drainage problems … it needs to be a coarse gritty horticultural grade sand.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • roberrtt.121130717roberrtt.121130717 Posts: 7
    Hello there, 
    Thankyou for sharing such informative content
  • richy_k75N7kJvGcNrichy_k75N7kJvGcN Posts: 3
    Thank you for the advice. I shall see how the existing grass gets on with the improved drainage and go from there. 

    For reference I added 8t in total of quality top soil to the trenches to give 6 inches minimum and seeded, which has germimated well after only 1 week. 
  • MrMowMrMow Posts: 160
    For heavy clay have a google of liquid gypsum. 
    I never knew retirement would be so busy. :smile:




  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    An area of my lawn on heavy clay was especially bad, very wet and squelchy in the winter and not great in summer either.  What I did was to spike it with a fork when it was dry, all over with the tines quite close together.  Then I spread sharp sand all over raking it into the holes.  The rain then washed it in.  Then I did it again.  Also when mowing don't  catch the grass mowings, rather let the worms work it in to increase the organic matter. Now, after a few years it is quite good, not perfect but a lot better than what it was.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
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