damm it!

digging the planting holes for my mini orchard, lo and behold one spit down i hit the water table

so i decide to sink a wheelie bin with holes in it as a sump, 5 hours later there's 4 foot of water in it! i bailed it out and cut a dranage ditch to it to try to drain abit more of the plot.

2 hours later there's another 4 foot of water in the bin! and if anything the water table seams to be rising.

i take it this area is ano go for apple and plum trees? 

Sorry to hear that catweazle. Are you on an allotment site or is this in your garden? If it's a site you might all be suffering similar issues. There might be some advice from neighbours to be had.

I don't think fruit trees want to be waterlogged. Have you had a lot of rainfall lately? The lower part of my plot has this issue in Winter but it eventually drains by Spring, and the neighbouring plots who have the same drainage as me grow fruit trees ok

They might drain it for you, you never know.

As you describe it, might have the topsoil been removed from the bottom plots up to what is now a hill at some time in the past?

Could you buy some in large quantity?

Catweazle, it sounds a very similar set up to my plot, I'm situated at the bottom of a hill too... I only noticed it this time last year when i was digging in late Winter on a patch that had been covered with plastic- the soil look nice and dry for digging, until i got down one foot, and then i hit an ever refilling well!!!!
So, on a positive note, on my plot, it doesn't last all year round.
(I try to think positively, and imagine that all the nutrients from the soil further up the hill comes down to my plot... my soil is actually in very good heart and texture whereas the top of the hill is cursed with rock hard clay.)

We've dug a drainage ditch at the bottom of all the plots, it drains out into the council drains. Maybe you could look at a similar set up if you haven't already got one.
Hopefully (my fingers are crossed) you'll find that its a seasonal issue and not as bad as it looks now.

Great idea from Sunshineband- my aunt has hers on similar raised 'islands' edged by stone walls because her garden gets badly waterlogged. It looks very pretty!!

thanks for the answers

ilan ive allready payed for the trees their coming first week of march


one more question; would winter only waterlogging  kill apples on M26 rootstock and plums on pixy root stock?

many many thanks CW

Are there any trees growing nearby? If other trees can survive yours might too.