[Closed] Garden a swamp,how to drain it.

all the old clay and rubble needs digging out, or just flag it with some drainage if you have no interest.

Is it coming from surrounding land or just what's falling from the sky?

I'd suggest crossing it with a 4ft deep ditch, gravel and perforated drainage pipework, taken off to a suitable drain location. But if it's just because the grass is directly on top of a clay layer, just remove the clay layer?

Yep, during the winter the lawn is a swamp. Same problem; clay and made ground. Unfortunately for me it'll mean taking up some grass and laying down a bit more hard ground with some improved surface water drainage.

There is a drain at the edge of the garden I could tap into ,so what do I do? fan shaped trenches,with pipe and gravel.My neighbour got the jcb driver while the site was going up to dig a huge hole which he filled with rocks,not really an option now

Decent land drainage sounds like the solution - check [url= http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm ]Paving Expert[/url] for the specifics

You're a duck. You haven't got a problem.

BigJohn - Member
You're a duck. You haven't got a problem.

😀

Big pit with gravel?

My neighbour got the jcb driver while the site was going up to dig a huge hole which he filled with rocks,not really an option now

How thick is the clay layer and what soil/rock underlies the clay layer? Until you can answer that, the viable use of soakaways (big pits) cannot be confirmed. If the pit is contained within the clay layer it will just hold water (and may even have an adverse effect on the footings of the house long term depending how close it is to the building and what type of clay it is).

If the clay layer is thin and you can dig through it then soakaways may be viable, but the base of the soakaway needs to be in a soil/rock type that will allow the water to drain away, otherwise it will fill up.

There is a drain at the edge of the garden I could tap into ,so what do I do? fan shaped trenches,with pipe and gravel.

Google 'herringbone drainage' (fan shaped drains) and 'french drains' (gravel filled trench) for info on other drainage methods.

can't you embrace the swamp, invite more of your feathered friends around and claim European grant under the Habitats Directive?

Urban wetlands are all the rage...

Sounds like an excuse to hire a mini digger for a play

If it is just a clay top layer, scrape it off and head off in search of a building site with proper topsoil to clear.
If it is clay all the way you may need to start faffing around with drainage channels loaded with gravel and a membrane to stop them silting up.

Bit out of my expertise though to be honest, we just dig big open ditches in the woods and pipe or log/gravel fill where we need regular access over them.

build a swimming pool

Just finished almost exactly the same with mine - Reeds are impossible to play football around.

Fishbone trenches leading to a main gully which I've hooked into the drains, in each I've used proper drainage piping (it has loads of slots and stuff in it. Then I've added a lot of massive aggregate/stones layers, then covered over.

I've also in the process of building some raised beds so that we can grow some veggies and stuff. Garden is a lot drier (I placed my trenches closer than suggested, ended up costing me an extra £300 or so and it's probably overkill but I didn't want to have to be going back to it all again in 2 years time or so) so far - although we haven't had the monsoon weather since it's been completeed to be able to assess it properly but soil/clay above the main drainage ditch has cracked it's so dry.

I'm just trying to source some agriculteral gypsum to convert the clay to sand, I've 4-5 tons of well rotted horse manure - that with a decent amount of grit should mean that I have a half decent soil that allows me to play on the garden I paid for.

Thanks gents,herringbone drains it is,by the looks of things.

How good is the gypsum for breaking down clay, and how long does it take?

I'm another person with a spongy, sodden mess of a clay-infested garden, and could do with something that will make it possible to grow stuff on without having to break up something that I could use to make pots with.

Going back tot he drain idea... I thought about that, but do not have a decent drain to tap into down the side of the house. There was also the worry of the water, if not steered to a drain, of becoming a problem for the foundations of the house (as the garden is higher than the ground floor). If I ever meet the fool that deigned and built our house, he'll have sore ears for weeks.

I have no interest in gardening, it is a play area for my sons.

Kids love playing in mud. Just leave it.

miketually - Member

I have no interest in gardening, it is a play area for my sons.

Kids love playing in mud. Just leave it.

I'll run that one past the wife........

How good is the gypsum for breaking down clay, and how long does it take?

It's pretty good, you stop getting those big "crazy pazing" type cracks when it dries out and worms can move through the soil a lot easier, making it better all round.

It should take about 3 applications once per year - it's just a bugger that no-one has heard of it over here so I'll have to pick up a coupla bags when I go back to the UK.

There are clay breaker products you can buy to mix with the soil, more aimed at flower beds though than the whole garden.

A mate of mine had issues with his garden draining and no easy fall to a drain either. He sank a big plastic drum into the ground with the drain pipes leading into it. He then put in a submersible pump with a float switch. When it got full enough the pump kicked in and emptied the barrel up hill to the nearest drain.