wet back garden

[SarzWix]

Potty and Nicos have it right, you're not going to know what's under there until you dig it, it probably is horribly compacted subsoil full of rubbish with fluffy topsoil dumped on top, but the only way to find out is look. However... Two-Sheds is right that it's not really the best time to start digging it when it's still waterlogged... You're stuck between a rock and a hard place

[ancee]

I think everyone's gardens are part swamp at the moment though! It might not be as bad as you think, lets just blame it on the drought of 2012 and hope for something better this year!

[tsuzmir]

I'd say that's a pretty GOOD amount of topsoil

If it was really compacted, you wouldn't sink though: it's loose soil that sinks under your feet, as your weight presses it down.

Where's your sun? I mean, which way is north?
Your garden looks very shady, but that could be down to it being winter.

It's been a very wet year, of course, and even my (sandy) soil is squelchy at the moment. I would suggest you wait until April before you decide on a course of action.
You don't have puddles: therefore I think the "problem" might resolve itself when the sun comes back.

If you were to look at my lawn today, you'd probably conclude that it's poor draining and compacted. It's not, it's just winter.

Be a pet, put that into your profile

i'm sorry, probably didnt make it clear: subsoil is wet and very compacted and wouldn't let the water drain from the topsoil, which is loose and wet. at least that's what it seems to me. and unfortunately it is very shady garden (will get better in the summer though)

[redser]

Hi again Take some comfort in the fact that this is no time of the year to be doing digging anyway. So spend the time planning out your veg beds and see what's left over to deal with. It really was a terrible wet year and the water table has remained very high. So dont judge your new garden on what you are seeing right now. Working soil down deep is harder work than you might think. Personally I would wait till March/April and try a simple solution before going for the hard option. Pick up a few bales of compost and spread it on as a top-dessing. Pick up a few boxes of Lidl/Aldi grass seed which should be coming out in the next couple of months. Throw it on the topdressing thickly and rake it in. See what happens. It might just work out alright. I suspect if you had particularly bad drainage you would be getting proper puddles, which you are not.

[tsuzmir]

this is no time of the year to be doing digging anyway

but i just cant wait....

[redser]

I know that feeling. I'm not naturally patient, but gardening has thought to be

[tsuzmir]

It's been a while, I just want to share what I have done with the garden:
i dug up a hole in the middle of the garden approx 1.7m deep and 1.5m wide. i lined it with landscaping fabric and filled it with a stone. i also dug up 5 drenches coming to the middle of the garden in such a way that the water will flow into the centre. again, l lined it with the fabric and filled with stone and covered with fresh topsoil. the result is fantactic! it took me few weeks and a lot of hard work but it paid off. i could not believe that it would acctually work that great. since then i have my 3 hens, large raised bed for veg, back wall which is very sunny is dotted with hanging baskets with strawberries and wild strawberries, along one of the walls i planted gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries, all of them fruited this year beautifully. i also planted an apple tree and have good few apples on it, so can wait until next few months to pick them. the soil is still not great, but having hens running all over garden for nearly 1 year really helped. i mean they destroyed everything including grass, but once i put them in their enclosure the grass started to grow back very well thanks to their natural fertiliser. i am now thinking of removing raised bed and setting up a glass house in its place... but this is a project for another year.

thanks for all the support and help i got on the forum!

[tsuzmir]

here's before and after or actually after and before

[Nicos]

Wow...what a change!

well done- REALLY well done!!

I'm more than impressed - you must be soooo chuffed

Thanks for sharing that with us- it's always great to see the end results of a problem.

....did I say Well Done???

[tsuzmir]

Wow...what a change!

well done- REALLY well done!!

I'm more than impressed - you must be soooo chuffed

Thanks for sharing that with us- it's always great to see the end results of a problem.

....did I say Well Done???

thanks! it's been definietly worth every effort and every drop of sweat. i'm absolutely delighted with it. thanks again to everybody who contributed to the thread!