Flood prevention advice??

[Bluemchen]

My plot has flooded twice since Christmas... After one weekend of very heavy rain, the plot wasn't flooded, but my raspberry trenches (then unplanted) were brimming with water. It made me think about sumps and whether they might be useful or not...

Any gems/ experience to offer??

[ClayGarden]

are you on clay?

[crichmond]

same problem here, get a new plot on the top of a hill so you have drainage...

[Sue]

Bluemchen
I am on heavy clay and my first planting was the raspberry trench and I gradually watched that first winter as the whole thing grew first a moat then nearly went under water. The raspberries, understandably did not do at all well and I've had to move the whole thing to the far edge of the plot which isn't so badly drained. Now made the first raspberry trench into a bean trench as it's fine in the summer when I need to plant the beans. I've dug it out deeper and put a huge amount of compost in to try and lighten the soil and improve drainage.

Sue

[Stacey Steve]

My plots are in a bowl formed at the base of a ring of hills and therefore flood at a moments notice. That's one of the reasons I've opted for building raised beds for everything.

Still on the plus side I get everyone elses water in the summer.

[Bluemchen]

It is clay-ish, and I will be putting in raised beds... just wondered wether installing any drainage would be a good idea...

[Snadger]

Beans should thrive on the extra moisture available during the summer, after all, thats what we all strive for with our newspaper,compost etc in the bean trench isn't it!