We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

How deep the "soil" layer?


Any other pointers please.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 19:58:06 +0100, Judith in England wrote:

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and
really never dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning
after the night watering session. The raised beds drain very, very
well.

I think i'd turn down the watering and keep an eye on the plants in
the raised beds.

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use
course gravel - or something else?

Take a look at http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm and possibly
other parts of that site.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

How deep the "soil" layer?


Any other pointers please.

Could you not attack the problem at source by reducing the amount of
water dispensed into the beds?

On 01/07/2014 20:29, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:21:06 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

How deep the "soil" layer?


Any other pointers please.

Could you not attack the problem at source by reducing the amount of
water dispensed into the beds?

+1

Sounds like a waste of a lot of water. Why do the beds need so much?
what have you got growing in them?

Sorry but like everyone else I also say cut down on the water, why every
evening?
Once every 2 or 3 days should be enough, though the plants probably have
a poor root system as they haven't had to develop in order to find water.

In article ,
Bob Minchin wrote:
Judith in England wrote:

We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

Could you not attack the problem at source by reducing the amount of
water dispensed into the beds?

Perhaps she's growing wasabi, watercress and water spinach :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 01/07/14 19:58, Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

Anything really that has lots of voids and is bigger than sand.

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

2-3" of ordinary "topsoil" (sandy, not too organic) will be more than
enough.

On 01/07/14 19:58, Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

Would a soaker hose be more appropriate?

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:20:14 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 19:58:06 +0100, Judith in England wrote:

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and
really never dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning
after the night watering session. The raised beds drain very, very
well.

I think i'd turn down the watering and keep an eye on the plants in
the raised beds.

We have the watering coming on twice during the night - for 15 mins each time -
six hours apart.
I did this last year - and the raised beds did not get "soggy" at all. All the
produce from them was fantastic. So I don't think the watering is the problem
- it is the getting rid of that water once it has left the raised beds.



Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use
course gravel - or something else?

Take a look at http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm and possibly
other parts of that site.

Good site: thanks

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:21:06 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

snip


Could you not attack the problem at source by reducing the amount of
water dispensed into the beds?


I think the amount of water the plants get is "good for them".
I'd rather just make sure it soaks away.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:29:57 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:21:06 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

How deep the "soil" layer?


Any other pointers please.

Could you not attack the problem at source by reducing the amount of
water dispensed into the beds?

+1

Sounds like a waste of a lot of water. Why do the beds need so much?
what have you got growing in them?


Why a waste? - the plants thrived last year: I have onions, courgettes, leeks,
radishes,lettuces, parsley, strawberries

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:46:19 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

snip


Sorry but like everyone else I also say cut down on the water, why every
evening?
Once every 2 or 3 days should be enough, though the plants probably have
a poor root system as they haven't had to develop in order to find water.


Yes - I agree that it is not necessary to water every night: BUT my electronic
timer does not have the option for selecting specific days of the week.
I would rather water a little and often: two fifteen minutes during the night.
The plants did well last year. I am pretty confident that the soak-away trench
is the answer.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 21:24:10 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

On 01/07/14 19:58, Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and really never
dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning after the night
watering session. The raised beds drain very, very well.

We have removed a strip of the lawn adjacent to the raised beds - about a foot
wide (and thrown the sods away: not particularly good quality grass) - we have
dug a trench - about a foot deep today - and going to deepen it another foot
tomorrow to make a soakaway.

It is our intention to fill the trench with aggregate(?) - put a permeable
membrane over the top and then top with a mix suitable for growing a fresh
strip of lawn.

Questions:

Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use course
gravel - or something else?

Anything really that has lots of voids and is bigger than sand.

What mix (peat/sand/topsoil/???) should I top the trench off with prior to
sowing lawn seed?

2-3" of ordinary "topsoil" (sandy, not too organic) will be more than
enough.


Thanks

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 21:24:55 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

On 01/07/14 19:58, Judith in England wrote:



We have some raised beds which border on to a lawn. The raised beds are
watered each night through an automatic irrigation system.

Would a soaker hose be more appropriate?



Possible: but I have now have installed half-inch pipes in the raised beds and
have various drippers and sprays running off them. I can vary the amount of
water that each bed (and each different veg.) gets.

In article , jmsmith2011
@hotmail.co.uk says...

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:20:14 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Tue, 01 Jul 2014 19:58:06 +0100, Judith in England wrote:

The grass at the side of the beds has become very, very wet - and
really never dries out: it is particularly noticeable in the morning
after the night watering session. The raised beds drain very, very
well.

I think i'd turn down the watering and keep an eye on the plants in
the raised beds.

We have the watering coming on twice during the night - for 15 mins each time -
six hours apart.
I did this last year - and the raised beds did not get "soggy" at all.

That change is significant. Two 15 min periods are hardly enough to
saturate raised beds to the point of running off. I'd suggest your timer
may have gone faulty.



All the
produce from them was fantastic. So I don't think the watering is the problem
- it is the getting rid of that water once it has left the raised beds.

That amount of water shouldn't have left the beds.



Is aggregate the correct thing to fill the trench with - or do I use
course gravel - or something else?

Take a look at http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm and possibly
other parts of that site.

Good site: thanks

We have a large soakaway we constructed 12 years ago following the
instructions of the pavingexpert, it's collecting and dispersing all
the land drainage water we installed on a half acre garden (high
rainfall here). It's still working perfectly, no soggy areas.

Janet.

On Wed, 02 Jul 2014 07:49:43 +0100, Judith in England wrote:

I think i'd turn down the watering and keep an eye on the plants
in
the raised beds.

We have the watering coming on twice during the night - for 15 mins each
time - six hours apart.
I did this last year - and the raised beds did not get "soggy" at all.

Thought you said the beds drained "very very well". Or are you really
referring to the ground around? The fact that there is excess water
some where shows that there is excess watering.

All the produce from them was fantastic. So I don't think the watering
is the problem

Meh, I and several others seem to think it is on the information
provided.

- it is the getting rid of that water once it has left the raised beds.

There should only be enough water entering the beds to keep them damp
enough for the plants, if water is running out there is too much of
it. Not to menation it'll be leaching out nutrients.

--
Cheers
Dave.