Improving drainage
Shawntiah Jones
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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stevie
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Improving drainage
Comments (14)Matt - Here's what I think about drainage/aeration. They go hand in hand and share a linear relationship (as one increases, so does the other). Two things are very important considerations in deciding whether a soil is appropriate or not. How well your soils drain, and how long they will last. How well they drain is simply a product of the size of the particles in the soil. The larger the particles, the larger the air spaces and the less water held between particles and the better the soil drains. Also, the more internal porosity in each particle, the more water it holds inside the particle. So coarse and porous particles like Turface and pine bark serve extra duty - they provide large macro-pores in soil by virtue of their size, and they increase water-holding ability by virtue of their tremendous internal porosity. Fine particles, like builders sand, compost, worm castings, topsoil - reduce aeration, increase water retention, and support an increasingly high "perched water table" (the soggy layer of soils that occurs at the bottom of the container) - and all three are something to avoid. Large particles, like pine bark, perlite, Turface, and other mineral products in the 1//16-1/8 inch sizes are excellent amendments that increase drainage, reduce water retention, and improve durability of soils. "How long soils will last", which is the same thing as saying "how long soils will continue to drain well" is a function of what they are made from. Soils that are predominantly peat, or peat/sand mixes shouldn't be expected to last for more than a growing season w/o some compromise in plant vitality. Soil longevity continues to increase as a higher % of long-lasting ingredients is used to make it. Pine bark breaks down at approx 1/4-1/5 the rate of peat, so a bark based soil with a fractional amount of peat and perlite will remain productive and conducive to good plant vitality for at least 4 times as long as a peat-based soil. A soil that's high in mineral content (like Turface/perlite/crushed granite/others) will increase soil longevity even further - to the point where soils will last (drain well and provide continued total porosity above 50%) for longer than it takes the plant to become so root-bound it must be repotted or potted-up to preserve vitality. Al...See MoreCan I improve drainage around an existing tree?
Comments (5)To determine if drainage is the problem dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill it with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with water and time how long it takes for that water to drain. If the water is gone in an hour or two drainage may be too fast, but if the water is still there after several hours the soil stays too wet too long. A trench, as suggested above, may direct surface water away, if constructed properly, but will do little to help with excessive ground water. Compacted soils can hold too much water but they also restrict the amount of air plant roots can get, and plant roots do need air. Organic matter can help uncompact soils and can help with air exchange those plant roots need as well as promote better drainage....See Moreimproving drainage for arisaema sikokianum
Comments (9)I have had these survive two winters. Note these are unlike our native Arisaemas which can take quite a bit of water. I don't believe it is moisture that is the problem but the getting of air. In the winter they cannot take standing water and will rot. Wet clay will also suffocate them and start the rotting process. I have high clay soil and this is what I did. I used a post hole digger to create a deep hole. I then put in a well draining soil mix. At least 50% sand with lots of humus. I added some bone meal too. I filled to within 5 inches of the top. I then put in one inch of sharp sand and then covered the bulb with sharp sand. They put out long roots that will easily go through the 1 inch of sand into the better soil below and around the bulb. I then covered with the native soil amended with humus and a bit less sand than I had put in the hole. This way water seeping into the soil will have a hard time at first, then hit the sand and go right past the bulb and into the faster draining soil below. If I had filled the hole to the top with sand it would have resulting in surface water running directly into the hole and then pooling at the level of the bulb as it tried to move into the less porous soil below. It is the relative porousity of the layers that determines where the water pools. A quarter inch layer of clay at the surface over the winter would keep the bulbs much dryer. Of course this all depends on your having a site with good drainage. If the location is a swamp your bulbs are would die anyway. Note that I gave a couple plants to several neighbors and they just planted them straight in the ground and have had perfect survival. Their locations however were naturally more sandy. I also found that too much shade reduces their ability to survive the winter. They just cannot store enough food or something. Make sure you do not plant to deeply. They are not good at penetrating lots of over laying soil. It sucks up their resources even if they do make it to the surface and sometimes they actually open their leaves and flowers underground. I had planted 6-8 inches and had this problem. I planted at 4 inches and it was no longer an issue....See MoreImproving soil drainage
Comments (7)If you decide to modify the clay with sand, remember you'll be working it roughly 50-50 and it adds up. A thousand square feet of clay to remove and replace, four inches deep, is twelve heavy cubic yards, so it's good to avoid carting stuff away. As a rule of thumb, think of sand for drainage and organics (tons of it!) for growth. Two separate goals. If you do go the French rubble drain route and use an imbedded tube, look into local conditions concerning using weed barrier/landscape fabric to guard against finer materials seeping around the gravel/rubble. It can get in the way of drainage, even at what might seem to be a super slow rate. Here, in our very arid ground, I wrap a perforated three or four inch plastic pile with sunscreen when I bury it in the fill, so if the fabric/pipe clogs the fill might still drain and vice-versa....See MoreRichard Brennan
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoarmoured
4 years agoShawntiah Jones
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoShawntiah Jones
4 years agoShawntiah Jones
3 years ago
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