Well drained soil

Pretty much every plant is described as 'preferring well-drained soil' and yet that's not what I have. Most of my garden holds water like a well and leaves me with puddles of muddy water.
Is there a way I can create better soil, soil that would allow the water to sink in instead of sitting on top?

Plan A was to get a long sharp stick and poke multiple holes all over and see if that helps but I thought I would ask you folks first.
Thanks.

 

HBK - it sound as though you are on clay - like me.

Have a look at this thread. In the front and back gardens I have dug in large quantities of grit and manure, and it has made the world of difference.

 

What thread :cnfs:

 

I know what you mean about the well drained soil instruction HBK.
My soil is very well drained. It's the moisture retentive, well drained soil instruction that defeats me

 

My profound apologies Harry and others. I had the thread ready to add, but obviously didn't add it. Here it is http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/improving-clay-t8892.html?t=8892&highlight=clay

 

"Christo" Lloyd swore by grit - I haven't tried it, but I'm intending to. I can't get my mind around how a few small, sharp-cornered, bits of grit floating around in the clay will help ... but Lloyd knew his stuff.

 

Kristen - I am not entirely sure of the mechanism and would also be interested to know the answer. I have read a certain amout about it and I think in large part it comes down to surface area. The reason clay is so bad at draining is that clay has a very small particle size and in consequence a very high surface area, which when acted upon by surface tension allows it to retain a huge amount of water. Even dry clay, I understand, holds a lot of water, but it is held so tightly that it isn't accessible to plants. Grit has a low surface area to volume and so doesn't hold water.

Grit also physically allows channels to exist through which water can run. This, of course, is what worms do - create little drainage channels, and is why you shouldn't step on wet soil for fear of collapsing these channels. My view is that you can take this a bit further and throw in all sorts of coarse material - twigs, leaves, uncomposted material, lumps of polystyrene etc. They should all act a bit like grit.

I have also read in the past that a major reason why manure (or any organic matter is good) is that is not when it is in the form of manure, but when it has broken down into humus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humus . Humus being the stable state of organic matter where it can't break down any more. A major benefit of humus is that it binds particles of clay together to form larger particles, and hence better drainage.

In the recent Gardener's World program on the science of gardening, one person showed a humus test. This essentially consisted of pouring water onto a piece of soil and seeing what sized lumps were left. Larger lumps being better.

 

Spot on. I've always found this advice contradictory too. I think they're just trying to cover themselves in case the plant doesn't thrive!

 

'

Another misomer used by TV pundits, use a good quality compost, whatever that means!


:gnthb: