Patio edging & soggy garden

VimFuego

then my choice would be some description of bog garden (I like bog gardens over ponds, everyone and his brother has a pond) with some perforated drainage pipes running down to it. 
We've got an inadvertent bog area where a slope meets next doors paved seating area, so we planted ti up with bog loving plants, things like willow etc. 

thomasross20

Went to Dobbies today...

Got a manual open-tine aerator and lots of "clay breaker" - that will be the plan for the (flat) front garden. 


As for the back garden... I think you can have too much drainage (right?). My friend thinks it's ok but I don't - it's squelchy. It  slopes down a decent bit. I've been reading about French drains (dig deep trenches (ideally with herringbone pattern), fill with membrane and stone, lay perforated pipe, put more stone on top, cover with membrane and then fill with soil on top. Cost could be £2kish for somebody to do or I could try it. Don't know if I should just try aeration and the clay breaker first... 

I read that some folk don't bother with the pipe and just use the stone/pebbles wrapped in membrane. But where does it drain to (as @Budgie says)... some sort of soak-away... a 1m-cubed section at the lowest point of the garden. Thought that'd still be surrounded by clay soil. How about feeding directly to a raised bed or bog garden as just suggested... 

I need to think and plan it carefully. I also read that over time, the membrane itself can get clogged so you have to replace these things every decade or so. 

I know a lot of this was mentioned previously - it's just me repeating... for my own sake! 

thomasross20

Definitely some sort of garden feature sounds a good idea, where the water runs to. I don't know if a raised bed in the bottom would help as the water is still retained at the top of the garden (though it's much squelchier at the bottom). I'm loathe to dig things up only to discover it all gets clogged up and didn't work. 

If the pipe leads to a raised bed, I'm just wondering how the pipe terminates... does it just have a cap at the end and sits right under the garden bed?

Also - do you need a pipe or can you just cover stone with membrane?


@rlw... how big is your garden? Are you saying you duh the whole thing up and replaced clay soil with better quality soil? 
As @Vim mentions... did that require a skip? 
I was thinking aerating the garden and chucking the popped up soil in a bag to take to the tip would require enough car journeys.. can see all this getting messy!

I'm going to try the clay breaker on the front garden first... if it can help that, then it should definitely help the back... add in some moisture-sucking plants in the back and I might not have to add any drainage. One step at a time...!

m_c

How wet is it after it's not rained for a few days?

I took my sister's dog for a walk earlier, and everything is boggy just due to the amount of snow/rain we've had lately, with no real chance for anything to drain away and dry out  Even fields that are usually pretty dry were still noticeably soft underfoot.

thomasross20

It's hard to say because it's barely stopped raining here for months now...

thomasross20

I aerated the side strip of grass between drives tonight. Quite a lot of stone underneath.. and poured clay breaker over. 

Looking at it, I do wonder if it'd be easier to put the shovel in, lift it all up and add a bit extra top soil... And get of the rubbish under the surface. I think that's a big job.

The soil pellets that came out were quite dense.

Budgie

thomasross20 said:

I aerated the side strip of grass between drives tonight. Quite a lot of stone underneath.. and poured clay breaker over. 

Looking at it, I do wonder if it'd be easier to put the shovel in, lift it all up and add a bit extra top soil... And get of the rubbish under the surface. I think that's a big job.

The soil pellets that came out were quite dense.

This is what I always found with new developments. A scant amount of soil spread over any old crap below and covered over with turf. The crap underneath has probably been heavily compacted by machines and general traffic too meaning that drainage would be unlikely. 

If it was my garden, I think I would dig a small exploratory hole to see what the situation is. The job itself isn't a particularly large one to a landscaper. They would just get a mini or micro digger on site and remove the surface - assuming you have access to your garden. A micro digger, which is more than capable can easily get through a typical garden gate width. 

I may be inclined to get a couple of quotes for the work. At worst, you will find out what the problem is and the work it will take to cure/improve. 

Without seeing the garden I would expect to use as a minimum

Micro digger
- Tracked skip loader
- Skips x whatever m3 of waste is to be removed (or the better option if you have a place to stockpile the spoil (most don't) is a grab lorry... they cost about the same as a large skip and have twice the capacity).
- Good quality topsoil (loam is my preference) layed to at least 150mm lightly compacted depth
- Good quality freshly cut turf (not the stuff that sits on a pallette outside B&Q)

Remove the turf and everything below to at least 150mm below existing. Break up the compacted clay/soil below to improve drainage (this won't cure but may help and whilst the opportunity is there to do so, it would make sense). I would suggest adding a good amount of sharp sand and organic matter (compost etc) to help.

I think what you are currently doing is going to be a thankless task and won't necessarily make any difference. Digging it out by hand with a shovel is certainly doable but is hard work for sure. You can also hire the above machinery from tool hire places, which is certainly an option and will reduce the task hugely. The last time I hired a micro and a skip loader, it cost about £300 for the week.

DLM

thomasross20 said:

Went to Dobbies today...

Don't let the propaganda machine get to you, Tiggs!

http://comediva.com/images/stories/2012/dobbyputin1217.jpg

Moe_Zambeek

A family friend bought a new build and found a bath submerged under the rear lawn

CabbageCat

Plant vegetables that like wet soil. Then eat them.

thomasross20

Thanks, @budgie! ;
I'll have to contact some local landscapers to get quotes and see if they'd be up for a job like that.