Hi Everyone...any suggestions for a friend's boggy front yard? It was slushy. Looks like it hasn't been aerated or that they haven't raked up the cut grass/weeds in a long time. Now its a weedy boggy,mess!!
Sounds like a serious drainage problem, might have to call in a professional to help change the situation in his yard that is creating the problem. Raking up grass and leaves is not going to help the water drain out of his yard.
A French drain might help a lot. It is basically a trench that catches the water and allows it to flow where it won't be a problem. The trench is lower at one end (to allow flow) and is filled with a perforated pipe and gravel. Some folks even put large stepping stones over the gravel, more for esthetics than anything else. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain
Yep, that's it, I could not remember the name of that system! We thought about having one put in our back yard when we first bought the house but then the drought hit and we haven't had that problem in many, many years.
I agree !! A french drain should work ! But,, if the elevation is lower than the surrounding properties Might be better to raise the elevation !
Hi Everyone...ok by now everyone probably knows that "friend" is me...I found out from the pool guy, exactly what it is that the city did when they built that area. They laid a lot of sand and a thin layer of topsoil for the grass/weeds to take root...no wonder it is boggy. Now that we know what the problem is and french drains aren't an option, does anyone have any other ideas. Is it possible to make this mess into the soil we want without scooping out a few inches or should i scoop then add leaves, compost? I will say this, the earthworms are very prevalent everywhere but in the front..
is there a puddle of water on the grass when it rains? or your grass just dont look good and theres weeds?
Hi @hummerbum I've been looking for you and also watched a video..where soil was mixed with sand and it's recommended on dry days to keep turning your boggy part to help dry it out but what does help it even more is adding Garden compost manure as it helps make it dryer for planting.
I don't know if I can help on this...but I will tell you that when we had two lotties, the second one that we took over was "low " and boggy. We got that plot up top snuff by adding huge amounts of compost over several years. The compost was given away by the council on one day a year. If this is a possibility where you live, it could be an option. All you need is an auto, plastic sacks and a shovel. I hope that you can solve this unfortunate problem. Keep us posted, mate.
Adam.ca...yes to both. When it rains, you can literally loose your shoes in it if you try to walk across the "grass". The funny looking low lying weeds have taken control of the grass. It looks like the weeds that surrounds a drainage ditch...I have the feeling some of the dirt from the drainage ditch behind our home was used when this house was built and the left side is low lying. (looked at it this morn) Now the side of the home right side of the home as actual ok grass and it's not as boggy. Thank you Gail...that was nice of you to think about me and a great suggestion..teehee and Sjored also a great idea. Got the feeling I should do both. Do I just place it on the "grass" and keep turning it over or build it like a lasagna garden (no dig). I have plenty of cardboard to start building. I'm asking because depending on what I should do, I may have to run it through the HOA.
When I moved into this house, they had taken out the pool from the backyard, and I had a big circle of sand where the pool once was. this area was lower than the rest of the yard, and it created a puddle of water that went like 3" deep in the middle, the water would stay there for days sometimes, I fixed the problem when I made my raised bed. I used all the grass I had cut out of the bed, and put it in the sand, then put a few bags of topsoil to even it out, this made the area more level. and this appears to have fixed the giant puddle problem. but I guess this spring will be the true test, I wouldn't be surprised if I have to add some more dirt. so i guess my advice would be to throw a tone of dirt + grass seeds on your lawn, to level out any spots that might create a puddle.
Has anyone thought of a rain garden for hummerbun's friends gardens???? Our town has been butting them in all over the place and they are really nice and working well....
whats that. *googles it http://vaswcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/0705161948.jpg lol that's pretty cool!
yes,....it works with mother nature and collects water and with control of what goes into the garden to only water loving plants...they are beautiful and very very useful....they also may have a part run off to areas that may take smaller amounts of water..
