From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

We moved in last July to what was described by the locals as an unusually hot and dry Summer. My wife and I thought it to be normal. Anyway, fast forward. Most of by back lawn is soggy, see link
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=271769

Most of my patch is mud right now. Would a berm about 1-2 feet high help? My thinking is that a berm on the north and east side of the patch may divert water elsewhere, but what do I know. Any help appreciated.
PS- the 1374 Engel plant is doing great so far, on the south east part of the patch in a big A$$ cold frame. So far I have been able to keep that part dryish, but the forecast is rain.

4/28/2017 9:16:10 PM

Upa Creek, MO

I'm assuming the berm is on a side you think the water is flowing towards?

I did landscaping a few summers while I was in college so not a pro, but, additionally you could dig a swale and bury a porous pipe at an angle under it adjacent to the berm. You'd need some fabric over the pipe too, but this would be an easy and quick fix not for long term, but effective when trying to divert flow.

We are getting 6 to 8 inches of rain in some areas of Missouri this weekend and have had 3 in the past few days, dealing with this now. It'll be a drought come July though, not sure about your climate.

4/28/2017 9:42:10 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I know a little bit about drainage, I was a soil conservation technician for USDA for 30 years. Instead of a berm, maybe try a ditch or swale to divert the water. You can use any soil you remove to raise your patch higher, get double the drainage effect. I did that to my patch and it helped. My soil wasn't as wet as yours, but I needed to dry it just a bit to help out a disease problem.

If you have a ditch or creek or low area that is deep enough for an outlet, you could try perforated plastic drainage tile. You would need to get tile about 3' deep to give you adequate drainage. 3" tile would be big enough, and you would want to run the lines about 50' to 60' apart. You need a length of PVC pipe at the end to prevent crushing the end of tile, and a rodent guard to keep critters out. The roots of the trees could get into the tile and plug it up, and buried utility lines or septic drain fields could cause a problem for tile or swales. Be sure you check that out as well as any local regulations before you do any digging.

A lot depends on your soil. I have seen some wet spots in farm fields fixed simply by deep ripping to get through a compacted layer. If you have an impermeable layer like tough glacial till clay, tilling that up won't help. Digging a hole to see what is under the topsoil would help. It would also help if you could check the elevations of the soil to see where you could get water to run.

4/28/2017 9:46:27 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Email me if you can't decipher my grammar, I just typed that out on my little phone while watching the Blues game and drinking whiskey. Luke

4/28/2017 9:47:11 PM

Rapid City, SD

build er up....the entire patch

4/28/2017 11:03:25 PM

Wixom MI.

Hey luke, every time you plant your pumpkins you get 6-10" of rain !!! I bet that you need to pull out that whiskey bottle every time you see a tain cloud !!! LOL.. (0:

4/29/2017 7:03:19 AM

Wixom MI.

Rain cloud

4/29/2017 7:03:52 AM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Thanks for the replies. I like the ditch/ swale idea. It's doable and doesn't involve bringing in several more truckloads of dirt this late in the season.

4/29/2017 7:10:43 AM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Well I'll tell what I did. I rented a track-hoe and dug down five trenches like the shape of a pitch fork. Connected all five to one to drain the under ground water. Then it drains into the creek along our road. Plus I had many free loads of dirt offered to me so I have a 100' x 100' raised bed, which is about 2 feet higher in the middle compared to the sides.We can have a heavy rain for days and my patch is never mud. In the beginning it was.

4/29/2017 4:05:24 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Sounds like a great piece of property make an out door rink

4/29/2017 7:03:38 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Yet another drunken post from a sad little man. Truth be told, this is virgin ground, meaning not previously prepared or used for agriculture. I still have high hopes for this season, unlike you who gave up after not getting the recognition you thought you deserved. Sorry we didn't have the funds to erect a Rocky like golden statue of you in downtown Sydney. I enjoy the journey from seed to final result.

You enjoy throwing shade at anyone who remotely threatens you in the least. To quote the Donald....Sad.

There aint nothin you can do to distract me from the awesome season I am going to have, nothing. So grow or don't no one really cares.

4/29/2017 10:05:36 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

I thought you had me on ignore??????....lol

4/29/2017 10:10:15 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Looking forward to your results!!!

4/29/2017 10:13:17 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Glad you had a good laugh, you really are a joke. Thought a week long time out would do the trick, was I wrong. Thanks for the quick reply. Shows me that Saturday night for you is as pathetic as Friday nights. I'm going to bed while you sit behind your computer waiting for the next chance to throw shade. A bottle of beer in one hand while pounding the desk with the other shouting post damn you post as Charlene cries for the love of God Carl come to bed. Good luck with that.

Ignore again.... now ahhhhhhhh!

4/29/2017 10:25:52 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Donk, you're a novelty that keeps giving.

Chris, 8 inches as of 10pm. Fine now while plants are small, I feel worse for folks getting flooded in their homes along the creeks and rivers.

4/29/2017 11:01:31 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Chris, to specify, 8 inches over the past couple days, 5 today so far.

4/29/2017 11:21:41 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Who fills out your reports for you anyway Andy ??

4/29/2017 11:27:59 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Charlene has been happily married for 25yrs Andy and believe me she is very aware of the riff wraff in this community. She loves to read

4/29/2017 11:34:46 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Please excuse my spelling :)

4/29/2017 11:35:36 PM

Wixom MI.

I feel for you luke, it seems that your area gets hit almost every year with a week of unthinkable rain. I have roting problems if i get 3" in one week. I never had to deal with more than 3" at a time.

4/30/2017 8:53:52 PM

Wixom MI.

Andy i would do both. I would make a swale to drain water away and raise the ground 12-18". That's what i did because i have solid clay underneath and the water will sit theor for weeks.

4/30/2017 8:59:29 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

I see I forgot in my post on here, that I laid down 800' of 4" black plastic drain tile..

5/1/2017 1:32:04 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

Sounds like the perfect spot for an outdoor swimming pool...lol

5/1/2017 6:26:50 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

The in ground kind....lol

5/1/2017 6:28:39 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

It would cost less and the kids would love it.

5/1/2017 6:30:17 AM

Putnam Ct.

Andy. I had an issue with ground water in patch years back so I dug a trench 2ft deep 2 ft wide along the outside length of patch where water was entering. So I filled it with stone and covered with silt fabric . Then covered with soil . It has diverted the ground water . Hope this helps. Gene

5/1/2017 8:04:57 AM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Thanks again for all the input, this is really useful information. Most of the water is coming in from the north and east sides. Now I know the problem has a "relatively" simple solution.

5/1/2017 9:11:32 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=76766 This is the start of the ditches I dug be hand 10 years ago through the garden. They have since been widened at the bottom, and the sides have been sloped much better. A lot og hard work.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=271016
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=271017
These show the wide swales I dug around the garden in the fall of 2015 with a rented skid loader, in operation after a heavy rain on Easter morning. The water soaks away in a couple of days, because of the sandy silt subsoil.

5/1/2017 10:33:40 AM

Rockingham North Carolina

Landscaper of 20+ years here, and I've installed a lot of drainage. What you need to do is identify the water path created by the grade on your property , and create a diversionary route around the patch for the water to follow. From your photo it looks like the main grade leads right into your patch area, and to make matters worse, there is a structure (house)sitting on a raised grade to the right, which basically creates a funnel right into the area pictured. I'd run a 1 1/2 foot deep trench horizontal to the main grade to the left and perhaps 20 feet from the target area and run it well past, hopefully to exit somewhere convenient. I'd do the same about 10 feet from the foundation of the structure, running parallel with it and exiting well away. Drop 2 inches of small crushed rock in the trench, drop in a 4" perforated pipe, then cover with another 6" of rock, then cover with a 3' layer of sand, then cover with dirt. Basically a French Drain setup. Works wonders for flooding and ground saturation. The idea is to give the water an easier path to follow. This will divert the bulk of the flow, but wont stop pooling if the area is a "bowl" because whatever water gets there, will stay there. In that case, a multi-pipe drain system directly under the area in question is what you want.

5/6/2017 11:33:36 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Like i stated in the above post. The swimming pool would be cheaper and the kids would love it Andy

5/7/2017 7:39:10 AM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Thanks Paul, we are considering just what you suggested. For the short term I have a friend with a backhoe coming in to help get some water moving away from the area. It's all good, better now than late in the season. Thanks again for all of the suggestions.

5/7/2017 9:26:53 AM