Topic: Drainage problem on allotment

[MATTOCK MADNESS]

Had my allotment for 3 years, always had a bit of a drainage problem due to the slight clay content of the soil recently (the last 6 months) I have noticed the dampness spreading from the corner of the plot to midway.  The soil has been regularly turned over but still the dampness prevails.  I am a little bit worried this season as, in this particular section, I plan to plant onions, shallots and garlic.  I have been told by older members of the allotment to double-dig and place shredded paper within the trenches. Any other advice would be welcome

[tonybloke]

are there any drainage ditches on the site?

[MATTOCK MADNESS]

Hi Tony
Yes there are but theres a small road  (dirt track)enough for one car in between me and it which is regularly used so dont really want to dig up the road which would probably cause a bit of hassel especially this time of year.Been thinking about running a seperate trench alongside the  border and then digging a trench away from my plot alongside dirt track(road).Other than that I dont really know what to do.

[tonybloke]

dig up the track, put in a drainage pipe. ( should only take an hour or so) then dig a drainage pit on your side  ( pipe runs from this pit to the d**e)

[Strawberrygirl]

We have a new wet clay plot with no drainage at all.  We have dug trenches round each bed and then dug over a couple of times and put in some straw and a bit of sharp sand.  Two weeks later and its much dryer and the soil seems to be breaking up well.  We now have our tatties and and its all looking good.  Mind you all the sun we've had this week has helped  ;D

[saddad]

Welcome to A4A Mattock...  :)

[tonybloke]

oh yes, welcome from me as well!! ( where did I leave my manners? LOL)

[Mr Smith]

dig up the track, put in a drainage pipe. ( should only take an hour or so) then dig a drainage pit on your side  ( pipe runs from this pit to the d**e)

Similar to what I did on my lotty and with good results, :)

[MATTOCK MADNESS]

Hi Srawberrygirl

Thanks for that advice will definately try have an abundance of straw (Dads got a few horses) and best mates a builder so will be tapping him up for some sand.Tony whilst walking the dog last night came across about 12 feet of drainage pipe so will consider that along with Strawbery girls tip. So hopefully in the coming weeks problem fingers crossed problem should be alievated slighty or better still for good.
Thanks for your help and Sadded for your welcome its nice to know someone out there is listening. :)

[Deb P]

My newer half plot is on a slope and was very watrlogged on the lower side. The previous tenant had dug a ditch which just filled up and overflowed (we are on heavy clay of course). I did raised beds on the main part of the plot with plenty of mushroom compost and manure dug in, dug over and levelled out the ditch, then planted three willow withie wigwams which I grew sweet peas up and other climbers up. They have grown and sucked the water up wonderfully, I just cut back or weave in the new growth to keep them neat and use them again this year, and they add a nice bit of permanant height to the plot.

[Chicken Legs]

Hi Mattock.  When we took on our plot 3 years ago it sloped to one side and was constantly wet.  We have since raised the corner with ash and we too are on a solid clay bed.  there are now raised beds on this part of the plot.  hope this idea helps! ;)

[Trevor_D]

From what I've seen on our site, there are two main causes of waterlogging:

If the land isn't worked, the water has nowhere downwards to go, so can only go sideways. This was a problem on several plots, until we got them let to good gardeners and the problem disappeared.

But most sites will have some kind of drainage problem - allotments rarely occupy prime horticultural land - so unless there is a concerted effort to install and maintain central drainage trenches, this will always be a problem.

On our site the main trenches had silted up over the years, but when we reinstated the central trench much of our waterlogging has disappeared. It took two years of working parties every Sunday morning in March, plus a digger brought in to finish off the job, but now the whole site drains well.

[MATTOCK MADNESS]

Hi all

Been busy last two days my back is in half, took strawberry girls advice yesterday completely double dug two trenches removed clay deposits when I hit them and filled with straw and rough sand then back filled with soil I had removed.When I went up this morning complety dry but there again the weather might have played a part in it,although what I didnt touch yesterday was still wet and muddy so I did exactly the same again today.Tomorrow after work I intend to run another trench only on the border where original damp patch was two years ago into a small gully (12 ins by 4 ft cleaned that out before I come home) which is lower than my plot and sloping away from my plot it looks like a gully which hasnt been used in some time full of stones and other debris in other words never maintained by plot holders past not present so with a bit of luck, fingers crossed it looks good. Once again thanks everyone for your advice. :)

[Strawberrygirl]

Hiya MM,
Glad to hear it is working. Our allotment is looking really good now and digging the soil is so much easier, only a few small lumps of clay coming through.  We have dug trenches round all our beds and the soil we have dug out  we have dug into the bed so we sort of have raised beds now, if that makes sense.  So, now with the straw and sharp sand, and a bit of manure it is looking/digging well.  We now have crops coming through so that's a good sign for us as last year we had nothing growing at all.  Our concern is for our plots, as they are not being worked at all and as the warmer weather dry weather is here (albeit short i suspect) their plots are going to be dry and unworkable , but no our lookout i suppose!
Good luck!

[MATTOCK MADNESS]

Strawberrygirl glad your plot is coming on fine in fact your advice has helped me and cheered me up because that first day litterally drove me around the bend.I was looking at my plot last night and where the problem was i.e. mud and is now crumbly dry soil. Once again thank you very much for your help.