"andrew224" wrote in message
m...
I have a small square flat garden that is always wet to walk on even
in summer time. The problem is worse in the bottom corner nearest to
the house. I have tried using a garden fork to get some air into the
soil but this has had little or no effect. Can anyone suggest
anything I may try to dry it out? (other than filling it with cement)

Thanks in advance


Andrew

Hi Andrew,
Lots of questions before an answer can be given and as I have been involved
with flooding in our road, and my daughter and son-in-law have just overcome
a very large area which was always wet, I feel I can help.

When you say small garden, how small is small?
Always wet. Do you have a spring on the land?
Is it a new house built on water meadow and are you the lowest in the area?
Do you have a water main broken?
How long has it 'always been wet? For as long as you have been there... 6
months? 10 years?
Has any land work been done recently, i.e., a neighbour raised his garden at
your expense?
Where is the nearest stream/flowing water?

and it is this last one, where my daughter and son-in-law have developed
part of their garden. There is a stream in part of their grounds which they
used to their advantage, but the stream petered out and disappeared
underground, however, another part of their garden was, like yours, always
wet. It turned out that this 'stream' fed the village Duck Pond, so in the
area which was always wet, they had a JCB in to dig their own pond, the
outfall of this carries on to the Village Duck Pond. So, is your bit of land
within the boundaries of the supply to the village pond? Can you do the same
on a smaller scale, such as a garden pond? And if you do, can you make it
lower than where the house is, so that you can take possibly damaging water
away from the house?

Your local Planning Office may have access to local maps where springs,
known as 'sinks' can be marked, and THAT might be your problem.

But first on the agenda, find out where the water is coming from, before you
try to get rid of it. You might be on a losing battle otherwise.

Come back and lets us know how you get on

Mike



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