Waterlogged

[Lofty54]

Good morning, its so sad looking out at my veg patch and garden at the moment as they are waterlogged and i really dont know as to when i can start doing anything on the veg plot, the drainage is very good there is also a slight slope to it but i really cannot get on it for fear of turning it into a mud bath, there must be others out there with the same problems.I have only been growing my own for about 4 years and this is a real downer i dont suppose there is much advice anyone can give me but if the is well i would be eternally grateful. ..... kindest regards Lofty

[Penellype]

Mine is similar, and really all you can do is wait for it to drain. If you try to do much to it apart from pull out the odd weed that you can reach from the path you will not do it any good at all. In particular avoid standing on it or trying to dig.

Its very frustrating I agree. We have a high water table here anyway and the shadiest part of my garden is prone to waterlogging, which is one reason why I turned part of it into a small pond. In the long term, if you have this problem often, raised beds or container growing might be the solution.

[Lisasbolt]

Penellye has given some very good advice, leave alone. You cannot work with soil like that.

I really hope it clears up for you soon and for anyone else out there in the same boat.

[Nicos]

Lisa.....don't mention BOATS!!!!!!

[veggiechicken]

Hi Lofty, I think we're all in the same situation unfortunately. It will drain away but we have to be patient, so spend this down-time planning your plot, sorting seeds and browsing the Vine.

[Bigmallly]

The only thing I have been doing is going over it with a fork, pushing it deep into the waterlogged parts to aid drainage.

[Lumpy]

The only good thing about soil like that is if the temperature drops and we have some minus nights the water in your soil will freeze and that will kill off some of the bugs and there eggs lurking in it.

[Snadger]

We aren't in one of the worst affected areas and its business as usual for us. Our whole allotment site is on a slope with steep cliffs and a Dene at the bottom of it. We are very lucky in that respect.

My heart goes out to all people who are affected by flooding.

[Scoot]

Yeah, my garden is exactly the same. I was out earlier feeding the birds and had a little look at the veg patch. It's totally soaking. I'm just leaving it. Not a thing i can do with it.

[Martin H]

My allotment is clay, on a slope. It's very soggy just now, but I know that if we just get 2 or 3 dry days it will be possible to get on it and do some light work of weeding and tidying without damaging things. Any proper digging needed will have to wait until the soil warms up a bit in the spring, but mostly I rely on mulches so not much of a hindrance.

[Root66]

As Bigmally I've been out with the fork this afternoon spiking the saturated soil in the worst parts, being careful not to compact the ground any more.