Use Drainage To Improve Your Garden Soil

Excessive drainage in sandy soil can be an annoyance, you need to water regularly in dry weather and it is necessary to build up a water-holding structure by adding as much organic matter as you possibly can. Faulty drainage is more than merely a nuisance, it can be a plant killer. Stagnant water laying all around the roots starves them of air.

Helpful bacterial activity is stalled and harmful organisms flourish. Toxic gases build up and the overall result's are poor growth in the beginning and then the eventual death of the plants if conditions don’t improve.

Poor drainage is associated with heavy topsoil. Water moves very slowly through clay, so the answer is to enrich the structure by cultural means. blocked drainage is a more major problem, as the downward movement of water is not just slowed down - it is blocked.

There are actually three prime causes:

Non-porous rock below the soil, a sub-surface pan below the topsoil or a high water table in the area (the height at which porous rock is saturated with water). Soils with impeded drainage are waterlogged for long periods during the winter time, so some remedial action is necessary.

Either of the following methods mentioned below may solve your dilemma. Everything is dependent upon what problem that you find yourself having to face along with the type of soil you have.

Cultural Aids:

Poor drainage caused by a higher clay content in the topsoil may be improved by double digging in the autumn. On no account should the rough clods be broken Up at the time of digging - leave them to be crumbled through the action of wind and frost during the winter months.

Double digging can also break up a thin soil pan and so permitting water to drain through. Occasionally the sub-surface pan is simply too thick to be penetrated with an ordinary garden fork, instead use a pickaxe or steel bar and sledgehammer. In rare the pan cannot be broken. You will probably then need to use an artificial drainage system or else raise the level with brought-in-soil.

The crumbs created by digging provide temporary relief, but you have to build up a permanent crumb structure by applying heavy dressings of organic matter at regular intervals. Add calcium in the form of lime or chalk if the soil is acid - use gypsum if it is neutral or alkaline.

If the causes of poor drainage is either non-porous rock near the top or an abnormally high water table, an artificial aid is normally recommended. Laying drains is an expensive, difficult and time consuming job, it is often better to tackle the issue by raising the soil level. Buy good quality topsoil and add it to the whole surface if the garden is small or use it to fill raised beds.

Artificial Aids:

A tile drainage system consists of a herringbone pattern of plastic or earthen ware tile drains. A rubble drainage system is formed in the same way, however the drain pipes are left out.

I have been a keen gardener for many years now, but no one has all of the answers. If I ever will require help I always use a company called Landscape Gardeners. They are always willng to offer help and advice as and when I ask them for it.