lawn drainage,

hello all,
i have heavy clay soil, and this year the drainage seems to have got worse,i have put a bit of a french drain near my back door so that might help that area in the long run,(but as made a mess)
i have read that you should add organic matter to help break down the clay, but i dont want to dig the lawn over.

heres the question,

if i were to plant pea pods or something in parts of the lawn, and then when they've grown, cut them down leaving the roots beneath the lawn, would the root then rot leaving organic matter and channels for air and water, thus making better soil and drainage?

thanks for any suggestions

 

No it wont work at all!!!

The best solution will be hollow tineing and top dressing the core holes with sharp sand coupled with possibly french drains over the entire lawn area draining to a large soakaway or if it exists a ditch.

 

thanks paul,
ive put 3meters of french drain at the bottom of the garden already but it still puddles all over he place, and it creates a lot of mess, just been reading up on hollow tining, ill have to buy a tool for the job, looks like a good idea.
what do you suggest for top dressing? some kind of lawn food? im thinking of growing a small patch of comfrey, would that be better as a liquid fertilizer?
joe

 

" it still puddles all over he place"

Do any such puddles in the vicinity of the French drain clear more quickly than they used to?

That's what I would expect. There will still be puddles during / immediately after heavy rain, the soil / drain doesn't work instantly, but they should disperse quickly - within a couple of hours of the rain ending.

 

thanks john, i was thinking of one of these, do you know if they are any good?

joe

 

hi kristen
the puddles go after a while, not sure how long but it rained a lot yesterday and no puddles today, but the ground is still very wet.
the probem is that i have a couple of inch of soil and then a raft of pure clay, the french drain goes into the main drain so it should help, and it is the lowest part of the garden.
joe

 

im gutted that my pea pod idea was a none starter, how easy would that be!:dh: