Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Thamesmeadhammer on January 23, 2009, 16:47

Title: Drainage
Post by: Thamesmeadhammer on January 23, 2009, 16:47

Hello again !

I would love some advice as regards drainage.

I dig into the ground or a hole and it fills with water.

How can I combat this ?

My plot is still being cleared so I have nothing planted

Thanks

TMH

Title: Drainage
Post by: Steve.P on January 23, 2009, 17:02

Hi Thamesmeadhammer,

you dont say how far down you are going but i take it its not much. Also am not sure what the area looks like. If your site is surrounded by a built up area, and the site is lower this wont help with water run off from the surrounding concrete. Also the amount of rain and damp weather we have had wont help. You could just be very close to the water table. For your own plot, if it slopes in one direction you could lay drainage pipes (guttering down pipe with very small holes drilled in and pointing to a nearby ditch) but this would be costly and time consuming. Apart from that it may dry out enough during the planting season. Last resort try to get another plot.

Title: Drainage
Post by: Celery on January 23, 2009, 17:56

I have half an a plot the lady nexted to me had the same problem and she dug a trench round the outside,and all the water went to the outside.

Title: too much water
Post by: BestBreast on January 23, 2009, 19:16

Well I'm def no expert but I would recommend using gravel rather than slabs or wood for paving. You need to plan your plot with drainage in mind. If you are on a slop plant with it rather than across so you can prevent getting water logged. Trenches between rows could help but will take time, and may need re-digging if they regularly fill with water. You can link the trenches and create a resivour.

Perhaps improving the soil would be the best option.

Title: Drainage
Post by: woodburner on January 24, 2009, 00:04

Drainage ditches can be made for nowt if you can get brushwood.
Tree and shrub prunings are good, dig the ditch a couple of feet deep, put the coarsest stuff at the bottom then the finer stuff on top of that to stop the soil going straight to the bottom, then refill with the soil. (If you hit subsoil while digging out keep it seperate and put that back first.) You will have a bit of soil left over but that's all to the good as you can use it to raise the beds further.
Lazy beds are better than raised beds as there is no wood to rot.