Help - what to do about drainage in clay soil?
We're getting lots of conflicting advice on what to do to improve the drainage in our clay soil. It's a 30 ft X 13ft (9m x 4m) garden in inner city London, surrounded by other terraced houses. We'd like to have a lawn in Spring, but water collects at the bottom near our retaining wall and doesn't drain away. It's not coming from a spring or anything like that.
Do we
- Try and install a French pipe drain, and if so, will just one do, or do we need to lay them in a T shape?
- Dig a trench and lay gravel and geotextile, i.e the same as above but without a pipe?
- Simply drill holes in the base of our retaining wall, in the hope that the water will run out into the drains?
- Mix organic matter into the soil, e.g. manure, and hope this improves the condition?
- Mix pea gravel into the soil and hope this improves the condition?
Take a look at the photos below. Our next door neighbour has a lawn that's full of sticky clumps and can't be walked on after Summer rain. I would really appreciate your help in formulating a plan.
Thank you!
Comments (7)
9 years agoI'm in the same boat was thinking about drainage in our garden but I've nowhere for the water to run off.
I tried adding compost and sharp sand last year and it made a little difference
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
And me! This wet corner is the last part of the garden to be drained. It's hard going!!! This has been emptied 7 times now since Saturday, water just sits....it goes no where!!! I'm so scunnered, I'm past adding more drains, and have decided on a bog corner.
If I were you I would skip the adding of manure etc, I've been doing that for the best part of 7 years...but we have clay soil for a good few metres down. Anyway all of that as you can see makes no difference, the water still sits and saturates the manure meaning you sink down....but yours may not be as bad as mines!!
id go for the drains but as you said you need somewhere for it to drain too. A sump in clay soil is hopeless so if you direct it to a house drain, otherwise it'll only flood elsewhere.
its disheartening, and you'll need more than one drain. Wish I'd done the whole lot, but stupidly done it in bits.....sigh!! I feel your pain!!!
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Clay soil and poor drainage
Comments (3)You should really investigate those drains, even if it takes some digging. I, too, have clay soil and poor drainage. The only place I have for gardening is in a lowlying area. I usually have some standing water after a rain event, but there are ways to cope. Amending the soil really helps, but I think it's more important to look at the drainage pattern, the direction in which the water runs off, higher to lower. Dig trenches around the perimeter of the garden to direct it there, hopefully in the direction of the french drains. Rather than raised beds, I do most of my planting in raised rows, so that the working paths between them also serve as trenches. When I plant crops like squash, I plant them in actual raised hills. Doing this, I've successfully managed to grow crops like onions, that hate wet feet [always on the garden's high side]....See Moredrainage problems with clay soil
Comments (10)Donn's advice is excellent - utilizing french drains is the accepted and most practical method of addressing drainage issues and the filter fabric or sock is essential to prevent sediment infiltration and clogging of the pipe. But while french drains are relatively easy to implement, understanding the drainage issue and its cause/source in the first place is critical and I'd encourage you to consult with a professional to determine the best placement for these drain systems and to ensure that the runoff is handled appropriately and efficiently. Often the improper placement of drains and catch basins will complicate the problem rather than solve it and can create problems for neighboring properties, which is to be avoided and may be illegal in many municipalities. A very expensive problem to correct if mishandled initially....See MoreNeed help with stinky, bad drainage clay soil
Comments (6)I had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM and solved it. It's called anearobic... or something like that. It's very bad smelling, like sewer. Yep, know it all too well. Here's what I did and now the smell is GONE! I'm not sure exactly which of my remedies worked because I did them all around the same time. Oh, I should tell you first what DID NOT work. Amending the soil made it WORSE. Adding lime and peat made it WORSE. I dug 8 hole, about 18 inches deep and threw in a bunch of rocks I bought in bags at Walmart. Then I added 1 bag of playsand (about a dollar or so at Walmart). Then I capped them off with their old soil 'hat'. Then I sprinkled another few bags of the playsand all over the yard, especially in the wet, mushy, smelly areas. Then I threw some Perfect Seed grass seed (also at WalMart) on top and my yard quit stinking. So... in effect, I made some french drains, removed some of the clay soil and replaced it with sand and then top treated the whole thing with sand. The grass took off and now I can be in my yard without any problem. Do a search on the forums for this anaerobic soil condition (some kind of bacteria build-up I think) and you will probably recognize your situation right away. And the posts may have better solutions than mine for you to try. Best of luck! Sheryl...See MoreDrainage problem clay soil
Comments (1)g'day, without actually seeing your problem i would be thinking french/agricultural drain but you need to put it where the water first comes onto you property and you need some where to run that water to. if i read right one of the first things i would do would be to direct any rainwater from neighbours from entering your property. see our presentation for how to do the drain. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens agricultural drain...See More- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
Well i dug down today on the part 9f the garden which gets waterlogged and i hit solid clay about a shovel and half depth
I also dug down where the drainpipe is hoping it goes deep enough to tap into
- 9 years ago
Sophannah