Underground Spring

[noviceveggrower]

Hi everyone,
Was at allotment yesterday when one of the older allotment fellas went past and we had a quick chat about the weather and how wet the ground was. You know the usual chat at the moment.
Then he told me my plot will be so wet due to my underground spring I have in the middle somewhere. He thought I knew about it because that's why the older members wouldn't touch it because of this.
This would explain a lot because last year when my dad had his stroke last august I didn't get to water everyday and everything was still ok.
Anyone else got a spring or anything 'odd' in their plots?

[Rustybean]

I've three springs, found their courses by dowsing and managed to divert the one which was shallowest. The others are over 6 foot down and have dark water so have left them.


Sent from my

[Nicos]

We used to have a well at the back of our previous plot.
It had been covered over for safety reasons but apparently had come in very handy a couple of times in the past 40 years when there had been a drought.
As the site had no water from the mains , the previous tenant must have been very popular suddenly!

Fortunately we never needed to use it as we used stored rainwater.

[Nicos]

I've been mulling over your post NG...and came to the conclusion that you could make superb use of that!
Why not build a raised bed(s) over the wettest area and carry on as usual...maybe raising any paths in between a tad too.
That way the growing area won't be sopping wet constantly . - Or- is that only a problem during winter/Spring months??

We used to have a lottie on a peat bog, and parts of it used to disappear under water by about now. The raised beds sorted out the problem.
Occasionally a preserved ancient tree trunk would come to the surface!!
( this was a plot within a few hundred meters of where Lindow Pete - the Bog Man was found back in the '80's.)

We had considered growing cress at one time, but the peat dried up on the surface during the summer.

Having said all that- the water table was always within a 3 feet or so of the surface and the plants used to grow wonderful root systems!

In your shoes I'd be chuffed to have a spring on your plot- so long as you are happy to find out what grows best for you, and how you can play around with it!

[Glutton4...]

One of the gardens I tend, has an underground spring. When everyone else's gardens are parched and yellow, their lawn is lush and green. The down side of that is that they have to mow it every week, all through the summer.

I think you're very lucky to have the spring. Like you say, no watering worries in the summer, if you can't get there. I'd make the most of it.

[noviceveggrower]

My husband says bottle it. This time next week we could be millionaires

The plot is only really wet and boggy during the winter so think the spring might be a bit down. Aim to dig a trench down one side this year to try and sort the rain water problem out ready for next autumn and winter. Sounds bad that doesn't it talking of next year.
Might have a prod about this year. Am having a shuffle about this year and putting in more fruit trees. So if I find the spring it might be beneficial to know where it is for future reference.
Thing is don't want to drain the plot to much because I don't want to dry it out to much. Caught in a conundrum really about how much drainage to put in to sort it out.

[WendyC]

A self watering plot- marvellous! The only thing is to get it to water where you want it.

[binley100]

We've been discovering old land drains on our site and where some of them are badly silted up , with all this rain the water has been coming up to the surface like a spring .

[chris]

I have one on mine but the previous tennant filled it in




Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum mobile app

[Jeanied]

You should plant blueberries and cranberries - best possible situation for them!

[Nicos]

celeriac too!

[Jonnyt]

Watercress would love it


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[SlugLobber]

Not in my plot, but there's one which comes up in paddock number one (I have two). Having ponies on there as opposed to carrots and spuds, I find it a PITA. I moved off it in December to rest it (and we all know what the weather has been like since. I wonder if the yard owner would mind if I fenced it off and sowed watercress? I likes a bit of watercress!

Chris, how did the tenant fill it in? My understanding is that they kind of ooze through the ground. I can't actually find the source of mine!