Drainage help, please

Morning all,

I planted some grass last year that's got about a metre ish of top soil/soil/compost underneath i dumped once it was all dug up. Anyway the grass grew for abit but died and now have a mud heap.

This morning i dug as far as i could down then hammered a crowbar down about 2m deep removed it and filled with water. This is the image after about 10-15mins,nothing drained away so guessing we have god knows how deep clay, what can i do for better drainage in clay soil because clearly the grass wont grow is the water wont drain away.

Kind regards
James

 

Hello @Jblakes try uploading your photo again using the blue "Upload a File" button. It does sound as if you have a serious drainage problem.

 

Think it's uploaded now

 

Yes it's there now. Oh, you do have a serious problem . What's the rest of the garden like, has it been cultivated?

 

I dug out about a metre down of mostly concrete out then created a section for gravel and grass but now obviously its deeper than a metre of clay , ideally dont want to faff around digging it all out again

 

You may need to settle for raised beds or containers if you want to grow anything successfully and cover the area with something not too costly like gravel or pebbles.

 

Hmm, wanted some grass area for the kids

 

Can you give a little more detail - first, did you lay turf or seed ?
A pic of your lawned area would help us see how it sits in relation to the rest of the garden /area.

From your picture above how far down is the water level in respect to the top of the lawn ?

Your 1 mtr of top soil, as you dug down through it, what its it like al the way down, all dripping wet or dryer towards the surface ?

Could it be that your "top soil" contains a lot of fine clay thats acting as a muddy cap ?
Simple test, grap a handful and squeeze it, does it really stick together ? Try putting it in a sunny spot to dry out, if it contains a lot of clay it will be very hard.

 

This is the picture from last year when we had grass. I would say the water is 200mm from top ish of grass. We are South facing and get the sun all day the ground does become hard ish i didnt notice what the top soil was like tbh it was from neighbours raised beds they didn't want.

 

What I think you have discovered is the water table, ie the natural; water level which fluctuates as ground water varies due to drainage of rainfall. All I know of Matlock is that it is situated in the dale between high relief and is drained by the significant River Derwent. You perhaps need to determine how you are affected by proximity to the river, how the land drains throughout the year and, specifically, by opening a hole 1 metre deep, whether you have created a sump into which surrounding land now drains.
With regard to the photo above, which shows a large drystone wall, is this above or below your plot.
Is the garden long established or a newbuild property in the likely floodplain of the river ?

 

Its was all flag stones will last year when i did the above picture. The wall is the same level as the garden but has a field upthe hill so assuming water runs down and floods below our grass.

As for the water table our garden is about 10-12 ft in the air from the road below. So i assume it should run down and out

 

So you could put in a 'french' drain ?

 

Sorry i should have said, this water from a hose pipe, i filled it up. Its not draining away. I thought about french drain. I was hoping i could have done a few vertical ones

 

10 -15 minutes isn't very long to do a soil drainage test! When a pro Company did one on our clay soil, it was left for 2 days. Perhaps give it another day and then assess again?
Apart from the drainage issues, is it just me or does that topsoil look awfully chalky? Could that be residue from the concrete you removed? It might be worth getting a basic Ph soil-testing kit from the local GC or DIY place to establish exactly what you're trying to grow in.

 

I've got clay if I dig about 15ins down, I think lots of people have, just because there is clay it doesn't mean it wont drain, if fact it's often better than light sandy type soils.

Unless you have puddles remaining on the surface for days during the winter its not usually a problem, you do have to stay off clay soil during the winter unless you want a mud bath, and that includes lawns.
Some will know, I'm always moaning about mud and rain.