Stan The Man5/5/04 5:37
In article , Sacha
wrote:

Stan The Man5/5/04 12:51
I know it's been wet recently but for weeks water has been lying in
stagnant pools right across my lawn which is on clay soil. I don't know
how thick the clay cap is but I would like to put in some DIY mini bore
holes, maybe using perforated large bamboo canes, to take the surface
water down at least 2 metres. Anyone had any success with something
like this or any other workaround for bogs? I'm looking for a cheap and
cheerful solution if possible rather than a proper and expensive
soakaway. TIA.

Stan
If it's boggy all year, I agree with the bog garden suggestion but, if like
our lawn it eventually dries out, the bog garden is going to be a damned
nuisance to keep boggy. ;-)
Otherwise I wonder if Cormaic could help with the drainage queries.
www.pavingexpert.com

Thanks. I have discussed a related problem (septic tank soakaway) there
and got lots of sympathy but no affordable answers. And yes, the lawn
does dry out and will probably stay dry from June to Feb.

Stan

This sounds very like our biggest lawn. At times in winter we just have to
stay off it. We don't get a bog exactly but we do leave great huge sliddy
footprints where we walk on it and the water squelches up round our boots as
if we'd trampled on an over soaked sponge. Later in the year and in
prolonged dry weather, we can have fissures deep enough to plunge your arm
into up to the shoulder.
I don't know the size of your garden but given that the worst of the wet
seems to be when most of us don't spend a lot of time outside, can you
simply let it be? I mean, can you just ignore it and avoid it in the wettest
months? It is beginning to sound to me as if this might not be something
worth tackling if it's just a brief seasonal problem, as long as it doesn't
prevent you venturing out of the house, of course!
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)