Garden flooding

[Sheal]

My son has lived in the Columbus area of Ohio amongst farmland for three years. As you can see he has a problem with part of his garden flooding. The ground is completely flat, but the field beyond the trees and fence on the left has a slight slope which doesn't help the situation. To the right, outside the fence there is a green verge with a road just beyond that. It looks as if a previous owner of the property has tried to alleviate the problem by planting a Willow, unfortunately that isn't enough.

Any suggestions on how to drain this area would be very welcome please.

 

[Chuck]

My son has lived in the Columbus area of Ohio amongst farmland for three years. As you can see he has a problem with part of his garden flooding. The ground is completely flat, but the field beyond the trees and fence on the left has a slight slope which doesn't help the situation. To the right, outside the fence there is a green verge with a road just beyond that. It looks as if a previous owner of the property has tried to alleviate the problem by planting a Willow, unfortunately that isn't enough.

Any suggestions on how to drain this area would be very welcome please.

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From the picture it seems like the surrounding land has a higher elevation and if so the only solutions I can think of are building a berm and swale or a French drain. I would think berm and swale to be a lot cheaper and easier

 

[DirtMechanic]

My son has lived in the Columbus area of Ohio amongst farmland for three years. As you can see he has a problem with part of his garden flooding. The ground is completely flat, but the field beyond the trees and fence on the left has a slight slope which doesn't help the situation. To the right, outside the fence there is a green verge with a road just beyond that. It looks as if a previous owner of the property has tried to alleviate the problem by planting a Willow, unfortunately that isn't enough.

Any suggestions on how to drain this area would be very welcome please.

View attachment 47267

I would not try. It is too much to summon the energy to turn fantasy into reality. I would do raised bed and enjoy the support that water offers to the tips of the roots.

 

[alp]

Follow nature and turn it into a pond! And then use the dug up soil to build up the area around the pond. If the house is far away from the soggy swathe, plant willows.. I'm only joking! Not an expert!

 

[Gail_68]

Hello @Sheal sorry to hear your sons land is like this and I don't know if the link below can be of any good...it's for drainage to slopping land.

https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/landdrain.htm

 

[Sheal]

From the picture it seems like the surrounding land has a higher elevation and if so the only solutions I can think of are building a berm and swale or a French drain. I would think berm and swale to be a lot cheaper and easier

Thanks Chuck, I was thinking along those lines myself. A berm and swale would possibly work, but unless it drains through the ground there is nowhere for the water to run too which could create another problem. A French drain would be more efficient I think. If filled with gravel and may be a depth of soil on top it could then be hidden under the lawn.

 

[Sheal]

I would do raised bed and enjoy the support that water offers to the tips of the roots.

Thanks DirtMechanic. A nice idea but I don't think this would work. The amount of water you see in the picture is after it starts to drain, surface water can stretch twice as far as that and I think it would eventually swamp the soil of a raised bed turning it into a bog.

Follow nature and turn it into a pond!

Thank you too Alp. Another good idea but there are two very good reasons this can't happen. My son has two large, mad dogs that he wouldn't be able to keep out of it, and to be honest it's not something he would be interested in having or maintaining.

Sorry folks it has to be some sort of drainage.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Then I would rent a ditchdigger, and lay a surface drain line.

 

[Chuck]

IMO there is a low spot somewhere for the water to go and if not make one. Back in my working days doing construction I did this exact same sort of thing. You need 2 things for the job. A lazer and a bobcat with teeth for digging. From the picture it looks like the far corner is the low spot but you will have to rent a lazer meant to do elevations to lay out the depth of the swale. And this may be a problem with the adjacent landowner and if it is you will have to do all of the work inside the fence. You would use the soil from the swale to make the berm.

 

[DirtMechanic]

IMO there is a low spot somewhere for the water to go and if not make one. Back in my working days doing construction I did this exact same sort of thing. You need 2 things for the job. A lazer and a bobcat with teeth for digging. From the picture it looks like the far corner is the low spot but you will have to rent a lazer meant to do elevations to lay out the depth of the swale. And this may be a problem with the adjacent landowner and if it is you will have to do all of the work inside the fence. You would use the soil from the swale to make the berm.

And make sure gentle swales do not fill in with sediment. I hate redigging for runoff because it fills back in over years.

 

[DrCase]

It’s only a small part of the yard make a water loving plant area and enjoy it

 

[alp]

I'd love to have a lake and let nature take its course. Would come in handy when there is a drought or a fire!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

It’s only a small part of the yard make a water loving plant area and enjoy it

That's a good idea. A natural wetland area would be awesome in the area. Especially being in Ohio, that's an important area for the Monarch migration, so planting things like Swamp Milkweed, sedges, rushes, and other water-loving native plants would go a long way.

 

[Sheal]

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I'll pass these onto my son to think on and I will let you know what he decides to do.

 

[MaryMary]

(@Chuck and @DirtMechanic)

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if he were to add a ton more organic matter to that part of the yard? Something to help absorb the water? I recognize it would take a while to decompose and become dirt, so it may not be the answer he's looking for...but what if?

The thread was started in November, which is prime leaf collection time. (I see at least a few trees in the yard.) Also, the city will send big vacuum trucks to sweep leaves if you rake them to the curb. People are also asked to put them in biodegradable bags at the curb. He should be able to call "311" (City services and City information) and see if he can pick up leaves somewhere.

After every big storm in Columbus, the news talks about all the fallen trees that need cleaned up. He could call 311 and ask if the city/county road crews would be willing to deliver a load of wood chips. And if not, individual tree trimming companies would probably be willing to deliver for the cost of the gas it takes to get there. (Saves them from having to pay to dump them somewhere. )

Sheal states that it is in the Columbus area - amongst farmland - so bales of straw should be cheap and easy to find. Straw absorbs a lot of water!! With the wood chips to weight it down, the straw would not be likely to float away.

He should be able to get cardboard simply by visiting a store. If he put it on the bottom, and layered the other stuff on top, it wouldn't look like "trash in the yard."

With enough organic matter in that yard, wouldn't it eventually be able to keep up with the water? Especially if he were to also plant a few more water-loving plants? (I'm very fond of pussy willows, they are one of the first plants in the spring that you can cut for a vase. The one we had in the yard at my childhood home would have silvery grey catkins, followed by pretty yellow flowers, both attractive. You just can't plant them close to water lines, they'll send their roots down and break the pipes to steal your water! )

What if?