Sloped Lawn wet in one area

[newbe1980]

Hi All,

Iam having an issue with one area of my lawn retaining a lot of water and being squelchy to walk on and lawn having difficulty growing there as well as rest of garden.

My garden slopes slightly away from the house which in itself is ok but it also slopes slightly from right to left so the lowest point in the garden is the bottom left corner and this is where im having my main issue.

I dug down in the garden and under the grass theres about 8" of soil ontop of stones/broken slabs etc which has been used as fill but this area seems not too bad but in the bottom left corner there only seems to be about 3" of soil if that. I think that could be the issue, that the thin layer of soil isnt able to absorb too much water as its not draining fast enough through the debris underneath.

So....My question is would it be a good idea to add some chips/aggregate to bring up the level of that back corner to that of the rest of the lawn then a 3" layer of either soil, sand or soil/loam mix then retuff that area?

 

[newbe1980]

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[newbe1980]

williammwill
PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:54 am Post Subject:
Hi there the right solution really depends on how much surface water there is and what the subsoil is. Adding 3 inches of aggregate would help but may not be sufficient if all the water from the garden is flowing to to that area. If the subsoil is clay, you could make a soakaway. Dig a hole (at least 3 foot deep) and 2 foot wide. Broken bricks at the bottom, gradually to small aggregate and then top soil. Digging a hole in clay is very hard work though. If the problem isnt that bad just keep adding a fine layer of top dressing 3 times a year so the soil level slowly rises.

Hope this helps.




Cheers for the reply williammwill,
I should clarify there has never been puddling or water sitting on the surface of the lawn but the lawn is squelchy in that area when walked on. Subsoil is black earth not clay but theres ony a 2-3inches of it ontop of the fill debris, thats why im thinking if i add layer of aggregate then sand or sand/loam mix then this will prevent the turff in that area not being waterlogged anymore.

Sound any good?

 

[r896neo]

The water clearly isn't draining away so in effect adding gravel you will simply be making the reservoir bigger. This will of course help to some degree but only so much. Is there anywhere you could drain the water to nearby with a land drain?

 

[newbe1980]

Theres no drains nearby and im not really wanting to install a drain system. If its only the low point of the garden, the point with the least soil depth that has this issue would raising it as discussed to the same level as the rest of the lawn which has no issues not work then?

open to suggestions but hoping to start with the simplest option first.

Thanks

 

[r896neo]

Your suggestion to lift the turf add some grit, gravel then 4 inches of topsoil then the turn back down is not a bad one, but i am very surprised because normally areas of fill drain too fast and dry out and or the soil is not deep enough and the grass never grows properly.

If you don't want to go to the expense of land drains etc the above is probably your next best bet.

 

[newbe1980]

Funny you mention that, the grass has never grown as well in that area as in the rest of the garden so what your saying makes sense.

 

[newbe1980]

quick question, after putting down a layer of gravel is it better to add 3 inches of black earth as is in the rest of the garden, sand or a sand/loam mix?

Not 100% sure so any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks again

 

[r896neo]

I would go to 4 inches at least over the fill if possible. Any soil will do but obviously better soil- better result.

I would throw a good few bags of sharp sand or grit in with it too, and as mentioned earlier you can top dress it to bring it up a bit.

 

[newbe1980]

Ah ok,

I intended to lay 1-2 inches of aggregate then 3-4 inches of sand because it Rabs better. Is this not a good idea then?

Should a 50/50 sand soil mix be used for better results? Or should the aggregate be mixed in with the soil/ sand and go down as one rather than a layer of each?
Thanks again, almost there.

 

[r896neo]

I would lift what ever soil is there, put a solid layer of only clean stone/ gravel, then lay 4 inches of topsoil with a good helping of grit or sharp sand mixed in with it.