Allotment drainage

[Strawrasp2009]

Hello

I was hoping that someone would be able to offer me some advise.

April this year we took on an allotment and it has flooded approximatley 4 times,  we attempted to dig a 6 foot drench to make a soak away we manged to get down approximatley 2 inches and it has started to fill up from the bottom.

Has any one got any advice on how we can prevent flooding next year?

Thanks

[Strawrasp2009]

[saddad]

Welcome to the site... Strawrasp. I think a sundance is your only hope...  :-X

[betula]

My plot regularly goes under water in time of heavy rain.

We have very heavy clay soil.I have solved the problem by using raised beds.

Your problem may have something to do with the water table.

Digging trenches and maybe putting pipes in will help but a huge amount of work.OK if you have the time and manpower. :)

[elvis2003]

welcome aboard straw,sorry to read of all your floods,must have been heartbreaking! any chance you could move plots? sorry not more constructive but surely this is going to keep on happening unless you undertake major work as suggested above...good luck and keep us posted
rach
xx

[Strawrasp2009]

welcome aboard straw,sorry to read of all your floods,must have been heartbreaking! any chance you could move plots? sorry not more constructive but surely this is going to keep on happening unless you undertake major work as suggested above...good luck and keep us posted
rach
xx

Hi Thanks for that, thre is anoher plot that is possible becomming free but it is slightly smaller and there is a building next to it it is also NOrth facing so it casts a shadow over about a quarter of it not sure waht to do.

[saddad]

How deep does your flood get? A raging torrent would wash away your crops and any raised beds... only 3-4" and they would help a lot!
:-\

[taurus]

  Raised beds seem to be the answer on clay soil.  Last year the water was 6 inch for the greater part of the year and this years been no better.   The only crops that where any good where in raised beds. Everything else either rotted or was eat-on by the biggest slugs I've ever seen. Despite slug pellets beer traps ect.
I'm lucky enough to have 2 plots as people don't seem to be very interested in allotments here, so am going to put more raised beds on one and plant 50/50 on both plots and see which gives the best results.
I've been reading the messages left on A4A for a while and many have cheered me up at the end of a hard days work.  Plus the great tips past on by more experienced allotmenteers for which I'm very grateful for and thank you all very much.
         Regards, Taurus

[manicscousers]

hiya, strawrasp, nice to meet you.. ;D our plot was under water 3 months of the year before we took it on, pics in our gallery..raised beds have nearly solved the problem..when it's very wet, like the last two years, our paths flood and we have to take the spuds up as soon as they're a decent size but we get some incredible crops..good luck

[Tyke]

We had a similar problem on our plot this year. Raised beds is the main solution that appears to have worked - although we will have to see what winter brings.

Drainage trenches help a lot as well. I found out the hard way that they are only worthwhile if they channel water away from the plot - in other words it needs to have somewhere to flow to. Just digging a trench will do very little, as it will fill up and your plot will still flood. Basically, you will have more water on your plot - equal to the amount of soil you remove! We had to link the trenches and create a channel off the site. hard work....You have my sympathies.

[posie]

So sorry to hear of floods Strawrasp.  Mine was the same this year, lost a load of stuff.  Going to try raised beds myself, hopefully won't have to raise them too far to make a difference.  Drainage trenches wouldn't work on my plot because it would just go straight over the path and into the plot below me!  Hope you managed to get it sorted.  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

We get a lot of flooding on our site. The trick is to drain it off fast, as it's actually waterlogging that does the damage not the flooding itself. What is it that causes your flooding? this is crucial. Ours is flash flooding from the stream, so it's a matter of having good flood defences, and stopping it pooling on the plot the odd time it does come over. On the other hand, one of my neighbours has a plot which is on a slightly lower level from his neighbours, and despite a good flood bank, he gets problems from waterlogging when we're untouched .

[PurpleHeather]

If the surrounding area is higher than your plot. It is bound to flood with the rain we keep getting.

Raised beds is the only solution. It is hard work to start with but trenching and adding manure to the base lifts the soil. It has to be done regularly (every other year) because the manure rots to nothing. So, half this year perhaps then half next year and so on. It will be a long term project.

Another thing  is dig a hole, about 2 feet down and wide enough for a bucket. Then tip the water into a butt. It is great for watering when you get a dry spell (dream on).

The hole will keep filling with water because it is draining the rest of the land off.

Also, growing helps. Vegetation drinks the water.

May be next year it wont rain so much and we will all be moaning about it being too dry.

At least you know that you are not alone with your problem.

You would think that with all the technology and science about that some one would dream up a way to control weather wouldn't you? Seems we can blow up the planet but can't look after it!

[thifasmom]

Seems we can blow up the planet but can't look after it!

:'( truer words have never been spoken.

[Mr Smith]

Strawrasp, for my sixpenn'eth worth for what it is worth, I would for starters if it is to hard to dig hire a mini digger I know they cost money to hire but if you want stuff to grow on your lotty thats the price, I would then dig a french drain around each side of the allotment, then I would dig another two drains across the allotment splitting the allotment into four sections in theory you now have four raised beds, I would go down at least eighteen inches if not more, then like tyke says look for the lowest point and try and run some pipe work in to take excess water away, I know this is a lot of work but I hope you get round your problem and better still an alternative lotty comes up :) 

[shaun01]

i agree with Mr smith i have just spent 4 weeks digging french drains around my plot i have only had it since march and it kept getting water logged its hard graft and back braking work but it had to be done i look at it this way it is my first year and the problem would come back year after year so out came  the spade waist time putting in raised beds the water will sill hold underneath them and it will go stagnant nothing will grow in that the soil will be dead has i found out no worms in my soil so in my view hes bang on the money get digging out those trenches plus you will make a few mates taking all the rubble off there plots like me good luck with it  ;D

[Tyke]

Another thing  is dig a hole, about 2 feet down and wide enough for a bucket. Then tip the water into a butt. It is great for watering when you get a dry spell (dream on).

The hole will keep filling with water because it is draining the rest of the land off.

this was my logic as well this spring. Trouble is that it will only really work if there is not a lot of water further up. The hole in the ground drains from the plot, but this leaves a gap, into which gravity pours yet more water.

Mind you i have to say that the temporary wells are very good if you don't have a water supply on the site.

[realfood]

There is no one solution to all drainage problems as so much depends on the lie of the land. Quite a few of the allotments on our site, including mine when I took it over, flooded after very wet weather. Not now.
As an Engineer with many years of drainage experience, I quickly dug a trench a spade depth at the highest part of my plot and led the runoff water to the communal path between the plots. The plot has never flooded since over 11 years.
Other plotters have done the same for their plots. A simple ditch at the side of the communal path now takes the water away from all the plots.