Questions tagged [drainage]

Ability for water to drain through soil. Use this with questions about what techniques, tools, materials to use to increase or decrease drainage of the soil or other planting medium.

Drainage is the ability for soil or other growing medium to lose (drain) water.

Different plants require different drainage characteristics. For example, bog plants require little or no drainage, but desert plants typically require high drainage soils.

Drainage can be improved by adding coarse sand. Clays tend to restrict drainage. Humus will add a water retention ability.

For gardens and landscaped areas, drains (eg. French drains) may be added to improve drainage.

Use this tag for all drainage questions, whether they are for pot plants or larger landscape drainage questions.

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Why are my neighbor's front yard sprinklers causing a large water build up on my front lawn?

Whenever my neighbor's sprinklers go off it leaves a huge amount of water on my lawn. How come this is happening? See large puddle around the tree:
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Digging French Drains - Rent Mini-X or Tractor Loader Backhoe?

I'll be digging a few french drains in my backyard. I'll need to dig the trenches, smooth them out with right slope; put in a few inches of drainage stone; lay the pipe; more drainage stone; top off with topsoil. I have to run about 160' all…
Chasester
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Lawn becomes waterlogged during heavy periods of rain during Winter months

I am in the process of purchasing a house with a fairly decent sized garden (for us anyway) cica 25L/mtrs long by 8 L/mtrs in width. I am told by other people that we know in the road and by our new neighbours that that during the winter months,…
Craig L
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Weep holes in garden retaining wall

I have a garden (20 x 20 feet) which has a retaining wall of nearly 10 feet on two sides. The garden has a gradient and slopes about 1 to 2 feet towards the retaining walls from the highest point where the house is. There are no weep holes in the…
Display name
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Drainage at cement/soil junction

Our Atlanta, GA house has a swimming pool surrounded by cement. At the back, the cement abuts with a narrow strip of soil, maybe 4 feet wide by about 30 feet long, with a fence behind it. The soil strip has plants for ground cover on it. Over the…
iayork
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Is there a risk of rot with plastic lining in a raised garden bed?

I'm considering lining the walls (not the bottom) of my soon to be raised garden bed with some heavy/medium duty plastic. I've read that this helps the wood last longer by preventing contact with the moist soil. My one concern is that if…
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Making a drywell, without the "drywell"

I am planning some landscaping which would see the addition of a small garden in my yard. On two sides it would be surrounded by a crushed rock barrier strip 1' wide. I was hoping to use this 1' wide strip as a psuedo-drywell for the french drains I…
Hari
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Most effective way to fix a poor drainage easement?

I just bought a house a couple of months ago, and like many suburban lots, the property has a drainage easement that runs along the sides. One side has a stone culvert pipe that moves water away from the property, the other side appears to have no…
Elden Abob
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How thick does the impermeable layer need to be when grading a yard?

I'm grading my yard and have found a deep layer of sand (at least 2 ft) extending out about 10ft. Perhaps the sub base for a patio? I understand I need an impermeable layer to ensure rain runs away from the house rather than draining downwards. I…
Tenz
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How to choose the right garden plants around the building wall and dry wells

If trees/shrubs are planted too close to a house, the roots can damage the foundation Only two to three feet is available from the building wall on both the sides of the building and dry wells with the depth of 5 feet is around the building for…
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Factors to consider when choosing between Perlite and Vermiculite for improving drainage in raised beds?

My local community gardening organization gave me plans and instructions for constructing and filling a raised bed. They said to use half top soil and half compost, in layers. I foolishly did not follow the instructions, and instead used a local…
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How to balcony garden in a pot without drainage holes?

I plan on using containers of various sizes (10L, 20L, 200L, 1000L) for growing vegetables for fun but have impediments to providing drainage holes, such as: no large enough tray available pot material too fragile to drill container needs to be…
Vorac
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How do some seeds germinate and flourish in soil filled pots?

I have regularly seen people not recommending plain soil for pots, since the roots of the newly generated seedlings suffocate in the lack of oxygen due to its compact nature and lack of water drainage. Yet, I have seen people here propagate marigold…
Sam
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A material that holds little water suitable for potting mix for interior plants?

I'm working on a potting mix for interior plants. And I want it to hold very little water and it should have great aeration and drainage. I'm looking for a material (organic/inorganic) that is cheap and in the right granulometry to use as at least…
cbdeveloper
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Turf laid just on topsoil?

I have a new long garden raised path that has been built up both sides with concrete. What happens if I just lay top soil on this & then turf. How much topsoil & should it be fertilised? Will the turf survive with good watering - the border areas…
Martin
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