Waterlogged Garden Next to a Raised Allotment Bed Advice Needed

[Spotsite]

Hi All,
This is my first post on this site but have browsed over the past year, I seem to have a dilemma in the gardens I have waterlogged grass in both gardens.

I am in the possess of constructing a garden planter as an allotment out of used tiers size 18ft X 10ft in the shape of a squire C this will be 2ft high with decking boards on top my garden's are lower down than the road and the adjoining house. Now for half of the year my gardens are wet, boggy, sludge and a sinking mess the rest of the year it is dry, cracked and looks like a jig saw puzzle.

My fear is with the new planter there will be more water added to the garden so the wet mess will last longer and I would like to enjoy some green garden are there any plants that i could put in these areas that would dry / drink the excess water to give a usable grassed area?

I have installed land drains and put pea shingle in the soil although this has helped it was not a cure the side garden will be paved and a land drain installed underneath.

I intend on going to the garden center tomorrow to order plants, trees and turf I am also going to see about rotted manure as there are a few farms nearby.

I would like to thank you for any advice you could provide and for taking the time to read this long question.

[Bigmallly]

Hello Spotsite & welcome to the Jungle. Are you in the UK as I would die for a bit of rain.................Is the waterlog caused from rain or from something under the soil?

[roitelet]

Welcome to the vine. Sorry to hear about your soggy garden. Perhaps the first thing is to find out where the excess water is coming from. It would also be good to know where you are and the type of soil you have. The answers to your questions can then be more accurate.

Happy Gardening

[Spotsite]

Thank You for your Welcomes.

Hi Sorry I totally forgot about location - I'm in Manchester in the UK

The water is coming from rainfall, as said my gardens are lower than the road and the house next door is also higher than my gardens so the rain flows into my gardens then sits and pools.

there is nothing under the soil apart from the land drains I installed 2 years ago around 3ft deep that leads to the main sewer quite low down.

Thanks again.

[Spotsite]

The soil type is black thick gloopy when wet i would say has the texture of clay and you can't drain water through it "sorry to sound thick" soil type is not my strong subject there is pools that look like black coffee in the corner when they are waterlogged (At the moment the garden is dry) looks like a jig saw puzzle or crazy paving

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome, Spotsite!
Is it a newbuild house? Just wondering whether you have subsoil rather than topsoil.
What grows in your garden now? Are there any plants that are growing well or do they struggle?
My slightly crazy suggestion is to have a pond, wherever the ground level is lowest so that the water can drain into it. Maybe create a bog-garden with plants that enjoy damp soil.
Its hard to imagine what you could do without seeing it.

[Martin H]

If it's black then it's probably clay-based topsoil. Clay subsoil is usually light in colour, light brown or grey.

If your grass areas get waterlogged there aren't really any easy solutions. Personally I would try spiking and topdressing in spring and autumn for a couple of years, while keeping off it when it's boggy. This ought to make it usable for more of the year, while reducing the surface cracking. In time the water should learn to find its way down to your land drains.

In the ornamental areas, topdress with organic matter and plant things that like it wet, of which there are a lot. For vegetables, raised beds may be the best way forward.

Pictures would help...

[Bigmallly]

Is there any way that you can put some kind of barrier/channel in place to stop the neighbours water flowing into your garden.

[Cadalot]

Go to the web site Geology of Britain viewer | British Geological Survey (BGS)

In the top right corner there is a button "Go To Location" click it and enter your postcode with the space included and you can see exactly what your Bedrock and Superficial Geology is.

The keys to the maps will tell you all about the different types of Geology

You can look at Bedrock Only, Superficial Only or a combination of both

You can also look at your plot of land back in time using http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sideb...&right=BingHyb

Just zoom in and out and move about, select the age of the map you want to view

[Spotsite]

Hi and welcome, Spotsite!
Is it a newbuild house? Just wondering whether you have subsoil rather than topsoil.
What grows in your garden now? Are there any plants that are growing well or do they struggle?
My slightly crazy suggestion is to have a pond, wherever the ground level is lowest so that the water can drain into it. Maybe create a bog-garden with plants that enjoy damp soil.
Its hard to imagine what you could do without seeing it.

Hi thanks for your reply the house is around 70 years old, before I installed the land drains we did have a pond this made no difference and with regards to a bog garden the issue I have is the gardens are only wet for 4 - 6 months a year.

My next point of call will be to hire an excavator and dig deep mixing in loads of gravel then topping off with loam and turf maybe putting in a soak away.

thanks again

[Spotsite]

If it's black then it's probably clay-based topsoil. Clay subsoil is usually light in colour, light brown or grey.

If your grass areas get waterlogged there aren't really any easy solutions. Personally I would try spiking and topdressing in spring and autumn for a couple of years, while keeping off it when it's boggy. This ought to make it usable for more of the year, while reducing the surface cracking. In time the water should learn to find its way down to your land drains.

In the ornamental areas, topdress with organic matter and plant things that like it wet, of which there are a lot. For vegetables, raised beds may be the best way forward.

Pictures would help...

thanks for your reply

I did not think of spiking the garden unfortunately I am now wanting to get a usable garden as soon as I can.

I will try to upload some photos of the garden "as it is now" with the cracking and dryness

[Spotsite]

Is there any way that you can put some kind of barrier/channel in place to stop the neighbours water flowing into your garden.

Hi thanks again for your reply

I do have a driveway drainage channel to stop the water from going from the road rain and washing the cars to the lower side garden and i will be installing this in the side garden that is to be paved where the adjoining gardens are higher as i have a dog so would be jet washing this quite often.

I have not seen any water running down but rain fall does tend to sit on top for days after.

hopefully the paved area will cure the side garden this is the worse my main concern is the back garden that also holds water

[vixylix]

Welcome!

Scarifying the lawn may be sufficient to help the water drain down to your land drains. If your 70 year old house is anything like my 60 year old house the ground will be super compacted, which won't help.

I'd start with scarifying and if that doesnt work dig and fill soakaways - this will be the simplest way to start and may just sort you out.

If you're wanting to use the garden immediately add a few raised beds - if you're on clay you've got a lot of work to do to get it really workable anyway

Good luck

[Miss Mousetrousers]

Oh heck! It looks like your drainage problem is due to something deep down that is preventing the water getting away, water coming from other gardens nearby (are they on a slope towards you?) or maybe a water pipe is leaking. Willows are good for drying out soils but this needs serious investigation before you do anything else.