Do you know of any plants that love water? There tends to be alot of water on my plot. I'm going to plant some rubarb, and on the other side which doesn't collect so much water there is blackberries. We're re-defining the trenches down the sides of the plot. Anything else you recommend?
In my damp area I have planted Fennel and celeriac as they are supposed to like copious amount of water! Squash like plenty of water too! But if you are planting into a trench that will be permenantly filled with water I can only think of rice! ;D ;D ;D
Heh. No I'm digging trenches down the side, so the water has somewhere to run, other than staying on the plot. We do have about seven pumkins at the moment and three squash type plants. I shall put more in next year.
Which way (if any) does the ground slope? Dig your biggest trenches at the TOP of the slope for best results, that way they intercept the water before it soaks all the way through your plot. A lesser drainage trench down the slope will then take the excess water away.
Our allotment site is very close to the sea and floods every winter. We have built raised beds, so now only the paths are wet. We do also have trenches all round (the site is flat). With this system we have successfully grown garlic over Winter.