any gardeners out there?

Question

Q1
in the winter months my garden is like a bog,
in the summer its very dry any ideas???

Zestful 12,
good answer not the one i was after

To all its just the grass ,i,ve spent years to get it the way it is i aint going to dig it over.Tomuch clay underneath.

Answer 1

Dig a well in the middle. ie drainage in the winter, water in the summer, and a good ornamental feature all the year around!

Answer 2

It might not be what you want to hear, but your best and easiest option is to move. Only a lot of hard work will resolve your problems - putting drainage in the wet areas, usually the lawn and the areas where you walk, and adding lots of grit, sand and compost to the cultivated areas will eventually solve your problems. This is not a quick option and will take a few years before your benefit from the effects. Compost should be added at every opportunity and the ground cultivated as much as possible to incorporate it. Well rotted horse manure with stable straw is one of the best to add bulk and air pockets to the soil. With the grit and sand also incorporated at the same time and constant cultivation you will have the best growing conditions in your area within about 3 years. Best of luck !

Answer 3

Pump the winter bog through a very long pipe that both starts and ends with your garden. By the time the pumped winter water reaches the end of the pipe and dumps back into your garden, it will be summer and dry.

Answer 4

your local county extension agent will give you some real ideas. take a soil sample to him (about 3 inches or so down below surface level) and let them analyze it. it's part of their job and will give you the most precise info about what you have and what you may need for your yard. there are home kits, but i've had more luck with the agent. my yard is a bog in the way back part from an underground spring; the rest is quite dry. seems every year some piece of it needs tilling....worth it in the long run. work, luck and a whole lot of perserverence = a great yard!

Answer 5

Almost all of the answers so far would produce an eventual solution to your problem.
Depending on the size of the plot, why don't you dig in several large 'soak aways' filled with stones. Then cover and replace most of the exposed earth and grass with gravel and pavings laid on a crushed brick foundation. With Mediterranean weather on its way, a container garden would look a treat! No more lawnmowing. Good Luck!

Answer 6

The addition of organic matter to the soil would help it loosen up and drain better in the wet. It would also provide an insulating layer in the summer (mulch) while conserving water and helping curb evaporation.

Organic matter can be brought in if that is an option, used as a cover crop, or grown in between rows and worked into the soil seasonally.

Answer 7

errr, thats called the seasons

Most UK gardens shoudl be left alone in the winter. You should see our fields at the moment, we've got ducks ! ( cheeky squatters )

Maybe dig over veggie patches so the frost gets to it, thats all.

Conditioning the soil will help retain water in the summer, but you can't install drainage for the winter problem as it'll make it worse for the summer.

Answer 8

In the summer months get one of those sprinklers on timer so you don't forget to water and adding Pete Moss helps keep moister in the ground, a lot of mulch will help to. Good Luck

Answer 9

it could be clay, my gardens the same, made worse by a house further up the road who had a garden drain fitted under his lawn, we live on a slope so the water seeps into our garden.you should improve the clay by adding lots of compost and grit.

Answer 10

I take it your soil is very dry in the summer and perhaps your lawn maybe very wet in winter.
I suggest you add mulch or loam to your soil to improve its moisture retention,and fork lawn sand into your lawn to improve its drainage.
It is very possible to have these seemingly contradictory problems because the areas are different.