Heavy Clay Soil -Fixing Standing Water Issues

Posts

• Loxley Posts: 5,698

  16 February edited 16 February

  The only way to resolve drainage at a deep soil level, is, unfortunately, a land drain. You can improve the topsoil but if the underlying ground drains poorly it will always drain poorly. Putting stuff like composted bark in the hole means you will have a sump filled with rotting organic material, which is worse than the clay. If you have scope to raise levels, you can lay a layer of sharp sand over the surface and then reseed on top of that. Or perhaps you could consider a pond?

  "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 

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• micearguers Posts: 646

  16 February

  I'd love to have a bog garden (section), there are some great plants you can grow. As I don't have a bog garden I can't advise, but perhaps consider it an opportunity. Unless of course, in summer it dries up completely.

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• stanwallison72788 Posts: 5

  16 February

  This is pretty close to our patio near the house, and we have a tiny one - so a pond isn't viable unfortunately. 
  
  Would replace some of the clay, with some organic material and some clay breaker improve the situation at least? Standing water tends to disappear half a day after rain stops

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  17 February

  Just bear in mind that even with young children, you can still have a small pond because you can cover it with a grid or similar. 
  However, it also depends how you want to use the area. If you just want grass, then you may have to accept that it's never going to be brilliant, but if you don't walk on the area much, that won't matter. Another option is to dig out the whole area and create a soak away. Or extend the patio a little bit to incorporate that bit. As we can only see the immediate area, it's difficult to advise more accurately. 
  If you want to make a small border, then you'd certainly need to improve it - well rotted manure, leaf mould, compost etc, which improves the structure and drainage. Doing that takes a while though.
  If it doesn't fully dry out in summer, then you could use planting which likes being consistently moist. Your general climate will dictate that to a certain extent. There are lots of plants which will be fine, but the aspect [ie how much sun/shade] is also a factor. 
  Shrubs and woodier planting will take up moisture far better than perennials too. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• robairdmacraignil Posts: 782

  17 February

  stanwallison72788 said:

  This is pretty close to our patio near the house, and we have a tiny one - so a pond isn't viable unfortunately. 
  
  Would replace some of the clay, with some organic material and some clay breaker improve the situation at least? Standing water tends to disappear half a day after rain stops

  
  

  To me the standing water disappearing half a day after rain stops does not sound like serious water logging in the soil. As Fairygirl mentions shrubs and woody plants can be better at taking up moisture than some other options. When I put drains in my parents back garden to remedy the waterlogged clay, I later found that having got some fruit shrubs and small trees established and adding lots of organic material to the surface as a mulch led to a better soil structure that drained naturally without the drains being needed. The currants etc. would have deeper roots than the grass that was there previously and so be able to improve the amount of soil life and structure further down in the soil profile and facilitate better drainage. 

  
  

  The goal with working with clay soil I have been told is to try to aim for the soil to form into loose peds or little lumps that allow water flow through, rather than the layers that are resistant to water flowing through that can happen if there is compaction of the clay or if there is insufficient life in the soil because of a lack of root growth and organic material. Here is a list of plants suitable for moist soils. If you do not want a pond or a bog garden in this area then I would suggest some suitable shrubs or small trees to break up the clay and improve the soil with lots of organic mulch to encourage earth worms and other forms of soil life.
  

  Happy gardening!
  

  https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  

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• Joyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933

  17 February

  If the area where you live is generally heavy clay it is likely the water table is high. One thing that could help is to dig a trench across the garden, a section at a time, and backfill with large gauge grit/gravel/small gauge stone, followed by a layer of a finer grade, then mix the removed clay soil with plenty of horticultural grit for planting. Clay is a rich, nutritious soil so I would be reluctant to get rid of it. Plenty of compost in the top layer as well. 
  It would be a big job and quite expensive. It depends on what you want to do with it. 

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• Loxley Posts: 5,698

  17 February edited 17 February

  stanwallison72788 said:

  This is pretty close to our patio near the house, and we have a tiny one - so a pond isn't viable unfortunately. 
  
  Would replace some of the clay, with some organic material and some clay breaker improve the situation at least? Standing water tends to disappear half a day after rain stops

  Hard to comment without a photo of the area but could you raise levels? If you stepped up onto the lawn (e.g. a sleeper on its side), the lawn would be much less prone to standing water, because you are a bit further up from the water table, and water will also be able to weep out of the sides of whatever is retaining the area. Use sharp sand to raise levels and it will be very well drained.
  
  Or you could do as Joyce suggests but it's important that such a trench leads off to lower ground or some sort of outlet, otherwise it can just become full of water and therefore not really helping the issue.

  "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  17 February

  We have sticky, wet clay that never dries out fully, even when well amended, but the water table certainly isn't high here. It's just our climate.
  A few more photos will help with further ideas and advice @stanwallison72788 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• stanwallison72788 Posts: 5

  17 February

  So this is a picture from September, taken in our conservatory. The house is to the right of the patio. The slope of the garden is down towards to where it meets the patio, particularly the near corner of the image, which I think will be worsening the issue.
  
  
  
  Did think about about raising the lawn and having a little wall around - think it'd help in two ways - less water running down the slope, and higher from the water table as mentioned above

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• Loxley Posts: 5,698

  17 February edited 17 February

  If you put a sleeper on its side to raise that edge, the lawn will be out of the saturated zone. But there's clearly an issue with the drainage there. Is there a gully or something to pick up the surface water?

  "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 

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