| Easy Digging Soil improvements help to avoid poor drainage in yard |
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Improving your soil to avoid poor
drainage in yard or lawn
Landscape Drainage System
Additional Instructions
drainage in yard or lawn
Landscape Drainage System
Additional Instructions
Please first read Steps 1 to 4,
beginning with: Lawn and Garden Drainage Guide
This page will provide information on:
• Using gypsum to improve soil drainage
• Improving clay top soil with compost
• Using lime to improve soil drainage
• Adding sand to aid water flow through the top soil
| Lawn and Garden Drainage Guide Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Instructions |
There is information on specific techniques for improving the drainage of your topsoil
below. I suggest first reading through this short article from England that includes
information on how to easily evaluate your top soil type, and is a good overall guide
to the various methods of improving soil drainage.
On using gypsum to improve soil drainage:
"I always tell gardeners that the solution to moss in their lawn or a puddle that lasts a
while after a rainstorm is to use gypsum on the area. Gypsum is inert; it is neither a
fertilizer nor does it change the soil acidity. Gypsum enters the clay layer of the soil
and spreads the clay granules apart, improving the movement of water through the
clay.
Spread gypsum at the same rate as lime, one bag to 1,000 square feet. Stubborn
cases may need two to four treatments but gypsum is inexpensive. Treat twice a year
if needed."
On improving clay topsoil:
"in clay soil, use plenty of organic matter and horticultural grit before planting to
improve soil structure and drainage"
On using lime to improve soil drainage:
"Lime has a tendency to chemically aggregate soil – that’s good. It can help open up
the soil structure and make it more permeable. Lime is inexpensive. If lime is added, it
can be sprinkled on top of the finished trench and gravel and allowed to leach down
and chemically aggregate the bottom of the trench."
On top dressing a lawn with sand:
"The final stage needs to be carried out over a number of months. It involves top
dressing the lawn with a washed sand over a number of months to build up a carpet
of sand at the base of the grass plants to allow the rainwater to move freely on the
surface and down the sand slits into the drain."
On using sand in micro drainage trenches:
"I'd like to add that sand can add benefits in small areas. For some drains, I've cut
"V" shapes slits a few inches deep in areas of water puddles. These slit trenches run
from the trench to the perimeter of the puddle. I fill these slits with sand only. Where
the slits meet the main trench; the trench is topped with sand, with fabric well-placed
to prevent the sand from washing into the French drain. I do this often in lawns, and
let the lawn grass spread into the slits. The sandy slits still allow water to move and
grass to grow. These are what I refer to as "micro-drainage" or micro-managing a
drain line."
below. I suggest first reading through this short article from England that includes
information on how to easily evaluate your top soil type, and is a good overall guide
to the various methods of improving soil drainage.
On using gypsum to improve soil drainage:
"I always tell gardeners that the solution to moss in their lawn or a puddle that lasts a
while after a rainstorm is to use gypsum on the area. Gypsum is inert; it is neither a
fertilizer nor does it change the soil acidity. Gypsum enters the clay layer of the soil
and spreads the clay granules apart, improving the movement of water through the
clay.
Spread gypsum at the same rate as lime, one bag to 1,000 square feet. Stubborn
cases may need two to four treatments but gypsum is inexpensive. Treat twice a year
if needed."
On improving clay topsoil:
"in clay soil, use plenty of organic matter and horticultural grit before planting to
improve soil structure and drainage"
On using lime to improve soil drainage:
"Lime has a tendency to chemically aggregate soil – that’s good. It can help open up
the soil structure and make it more permeable. Lime is inexpensive. If lime is added, it
can be sprinkled on top of the finished trench and gravel and allowed to leach down
and chemically aggregate the bottom of the trench."
On top dressing a lawn with sand:
"The final stage needs to be carried out over a number of months. It involves top
dressing the lawn with a washed sand over a number of months to build up a carpet
of sand at the base of the grass plants to allow the rainwater to move freely on the
surface and down the sand slits into the drain."
On using sand in micro drainage trenches:
"I'd like to add that sand can add benefits in small areas. For some drains, I've cut
"V" shapes slits a few inches deep in areas of water puddles. These slit trenches run
from the trench to the perimeter of the puddle. I fill these slits with sand only. Where
the slits meet the main trench; the trench is topped with sand, with fabric well-placed
to prevent the sand from washing into the French drain. I do this often in lawns, and
let the lawn grass spread into the slits. The sandy slits still allow water to move and
grass to grow. These are what I refer to as "micro-drainage" or micro-managing a
drain line."
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