Waterlogging

[Hector]

Hi all,
Used to post a lot on here but for personal and water reasons gardening has not progressed.

Basically we are at the bottom of a hill where others works/alterations have dramatically affected drainage. Our ground is waterlogged when we have rain. It's sock to walk on paths, so not flooded but very very wet. Disheartening to go the least.

Has any of you experience of land drains? I've got a few semi raised beds, which did fine but all non raised crops get very wet. E.g OCA rotted...garlic rotted.
Any ideas?

[Hector]

[Ian Pearson]

French drains perhaps? These are trenches lined with permeable landscape fabric, filled with stones/gravel/rubble. The landscape fabric prevents the gravel from silting up. In its full form, the drain also has a perforated pipe at the bottom of the wrapped gravel, but this can be omitted. You could lay these under your paths without compromising your growing space.
Note that legally, you are obliged to accept water runoff from uphill neighbours, but only on 'unimproved' ground. So if neighbours have 'improvements'  such as paving, drains or buildings with rainwater collection, these should not run water on to your ground. Probably not worth getting in to legal stuff with neighbours, but it's nice to know your rights.

[Hector]

It was due to some changes above us but life's too short :)

Thanks for this! will look into it? last rains there was so much water it was pooling up to two inches along side of house. It has been a wet winter but even last summer the ground was very very damp and we are not on clay.

[Ian Pearson]

If it's your home address, definitely worth contacting the council (can be 'Housing' dpt, but varies with the particular council) as your neighbours are causing nuisance, and you have a right to have it stopped. Long term, water-logged soil can weaken foundations and cause subsidence, so it's not a petty matter. Our council sorted out a neighbour who's septic tank was leaking on to our land - they were very efficient.