I am...in our backyard. Right near where I would like to be working on the beds and preparing them for winter, before spring veggie planting...we have had some work done. And, that meant trucks and the occasional tractor. You should just see it...it is one big brown, soggy mess. (Really nice, dark brown though...beautiful soil to work with over there...hence the veggies...) And, then yesterday and last night? Ugh. I hate to complain about it, when our neighbors in Atlanta and northward had so much drought, but WHAT a mess this is!

i gotta say ... i don't loathe it one bit. because i know what the opposite end of the stick looks like, and i'd rather have waterlogged ground than drought...

I have 3/4 acre of nothing I'm trying to do something with. About a quarter of it needs to be made into raised beds. I am simply at a loss of where to start because of the rain. Everything is three thousand pounds of clay. Today I dug several shoves and gave up. Ugh.

GGG

It has been a very unusual fall season with so much rain. I've had 33.41" of rain since September 1, including this morning. I had 33.61" from January 1 through August 31.

I feel bad for those who would like to get in the soil and work, but like satellitehead, I find it hard to wish it gone. I still have a lot of remnants of drought damage from 2007.

And now the big question -- all this moisture and mud.... cold temps.... Do we think this could mean snow and ice this winter?

I'm going out to mow the front yard today (last time) but the back yard is way too soggy!

Don't have any mud, at least any that is visible!
Any areas that don't have evergreen vegetation and mulch, has been covered with shredded leaves and pine needles for conservation of moisture.
Have also received an above normal amount of rainfall this year, 70+ inches so far, with 34" since 9/15. I am not complaining either, as I vividly remember 2007, when the total for the year was only 25", only half of the normal amount. For the years 2007 & 2008, that's a shortfall of nearly 1 million gallons per acre.
My only concern is that the soil is so saturated, that some plants, mostly shrubs, are suffering from lack of Oxygen at their roots and have began to wither and defoliate. Have already lost a few due to the Phytophthora fungi, which is always present in the soil, but becomes very active in the presence of excess moisture and warm soil temperatures. Once the symptoms are recognized, it's usually too late to save the plant.

I do hate to complain about the rain, because those drought years were tough. My only wish is that the 30+" were a little more spread out! My backyard has had standing water since the big flood in September. When I dig a hole in a dryer spot, it fills with water. I'm afraid i'm going to lose some things. How long can plants/trees take having wet feet?

It is indeed refreshing to read from those at home here; those who know what it is like to grow things in Georgia clay! Reading elsewhere about things like soil and topsoil...what IS that? Reading about planting DEEPLY..when deep planting (below six inches) means Georgia hardpan. TILL THAT! Add compost. WELL, I have added compost for years. I think clay thrives on the stuff. Reading about life in the soil. GREAT...that equates to nematodes, blights and things that just love clay. WOULDN'T live anywhere else but the south, but HAD to just get that out!

Maybe I shouldn't but I have to say that I am well pleased with my patch georgia dirt. Not an ounce of clay on the place. I can go down three or four shovel fulls and the last turns as easily as the first. Sandy loam here on the henry/spalding line. Far better then the thin topsoil of my home back in Alabama.

I wish I could say the same.

All of the beds around my house have been tilled over, load after load of coffee grounds and fresh compost from my bin, shredded leaves from fall bagsnatching in the neighborhood...and the rest of the yard is almost entirely clay and big, big rocks.

When I tried to dig for my Montmorency cherries, The holes ended up distorted and way too large, I kept hitting big rocks around the edges of my hole and pulling them up, warbling out the holes. Then I didn't have enough fill dirt to fill the hole, had to acquire more. Then when filling the holes back up and watering the bare roots fanned out, it turned into a big orange mudfest.

Parts of our yard are saturated, but those places that normally hold water have been desinged with a mix of river stones and oat grasses intermingled, the grasses like wet feet, and the stones give something firm to walk on. Works out well.

I'm probably going to need to plant all of my figs in pots until I can work out all of my drainage issues.

The other day when it rained, I had a nice stream working through the side of my yard. We had recently had the driveway re-done (ouch!) and some grading to divert the water from the street elsewhere (rather down the driveway). So I thought - "look how well that is working".

In the meantime, we kept hearing a how humming sound (since the night before, actually). Seemed louder up by the mailbox. Later that day, water is still streaming through. Suddenly it occurred to us - that water was coming from the neighbor's water line, just bubbling out of his meter box!! And the humming was the sound of his meter going round and round!!

Oooops.

esh, I had that problem recently. I just knew I was in for some more trouble as the leak was on my side of the meter and my lines are 30+ year old galvanized. I really geared up for it just knowing I was going to snap the old water line. Amazingly it was all due to one simple washer going bad. After all the digging I had the problem solved in about five minutes. I'll never get that lucky again.

Drainage...sigh...it's a never-ending problem at our place. And, it's amazing to me how MUCH it costs to fix. We have been doing it, in stages, over the last few years. I think the front yard is pretty well fixed...but the back...ugh...what a mess. Construction projects over the years haven't helped the situation either. We just patio'd over a large area (reducing the grass and hopefully helping with the drainage) in the back and having all of the runoff funneled toward (what is GOING to be, eventually) a dry creek bed. Next big project is fixing the drainage problem that my dad inadvertantly caused years ago, when he built a large shop on the property. Same fix there...we're going to try to divert the pooling water to the same dry creek bed. And, EVENTUALLY-eventually, we intend to make a sort of wet-land-rain-garden-whathaveyou down at the end of this dry creek bed. So as to keep the water from running onto our neighbor's property. Trying to plan for plants/trees down on the wet side now, actually...

Esh, I'll probably be asking you then what I should plant! :) I'm thinking to make it VERY natural there...trees...native shrubs...that sort of thing. There'll be areas for full sun and areas of shade. Should be really cool one of these days when we get to that stage!

Once you look into it, there are plenty of native trees and shrubs that can handle wet, even if it is just occasional wet. Always good to know you have that situation on the front end! Just ask when you're ready and I'll give you some ideas.

esh -- Cool! Thanks, in advance. We were going to start planting this fall/winter...but the patio took longer than expected and I think the shop/construction-drainage issue has to be fixed next. I'll probably try to really plant NEXT fall, now. (That seems so far away, but THIS gardening year has gone by so fast!)

We've been working hard on correcting drainage. I have an area which will never drain well, it keeps sinking lower than the drain...but this amount of rain is overspilling my dry creek...it needs to be wider and higher although it's already at the maximum height allowance for city ordinance and has underground tubes, too!!!!!!!!!!

May I recommend a suitable tree for our weather. BALD CYPRESS

I'm about to step out back and replace my broccoli with bald cypress.
WHEN IS IT EVER GOING TO QUIT RAINING!

mcleod - maybe it will QUIT RAINING and START SNOWING! Oh, I hope! We have videotape of my kids, playing in the "snow." Making "snowballs" which were actually balls made of 1/4 snow, 1/4 grass and half mud!!!!!

If we get some snow that lasts for more than a few hours, you will be able to hear us cheering!!!!!!

Right now, my whole backyard is one giant leaf composting factory. I never got that last batch of leaves picked up and now they are wet, wet, wet!

mcleod -- Doesn't bald cypress need full sun? Parts of the area in the back will have full sun, but most of it is going to be part sun/part shade.