Look for a spot in your garden at the bottom of the slope where the water could soakaway.The French drain should drain to a out-of-the-way area with sandy soil, through which the water could soakaway ....or a drainaway. But be sure your attempt at DIY garden drainage does not shift the problem to next door!!! You need to slope the trench to carry the water down to its destination.Dig a horizontal trench across the length of the slope (This is the worst part) heading in the direction of soakaway. The trench should be about 6" wide and 12" deep. Before filling with gravel, line the trench with landscape fabric to keep earth out of the gravel to promote percolation of water through it , shovel a coarse gravel onto the landscape fabric. Wrapping the fabric over the top of the gravel , now replace the turf and you have built yourself a French drain.
Herringbone drainage
Necessary if lawns are waterlogged over the whole area
Mark out the main trench from the highest part of the lawn, to the lowest. Then mark the side trenches to connect to the main drain, forming a herringbone pattern. The side drains join the main drain at a 45 degree angle. Use wrapped gravel as above Space side drains at 10 ft intervals for clay soil and 25 ft intervals for loamy soil. At the lowest end of the main trench dig out a soakaway about 4 ft deep and link the main drain to the centre of the soakaway.
Soakaway drainage trench
For lawns that are level and water lays on the surface, a soakaway trench could work. Dig a trench about 2ft deep and 2ft wide along the length of the lawn. Partly fill the trench with about 9in of brick rubble, then 8 ins of gravel and replace the turf,
Surface drainageTip if you are not returfing
Unless you have returfed over grit sand, the drains will take a while to begin working to there full capacity, If you are not returfing over the completed drainage system , try speading grit sand over the whole lawn. Leave the tips of the grass showing. Wait for the grass to grow through and repeat several times. Hard work, but you will end up with a well drained lawn thats nice to walk on.
You can make the most of waterlogged areas in gardens and lawns and install a Natural pond or a Bog area water feature filled with colorful plants and maybe a Willow or two.
Step on a Chamomile lawn and it brings the sweet fragrant aromas of apple to your garden Its not difficult to grow a chamomile lawn, you need to have a well-drained acidic soil. Chamomile is low growing and ideal for a lawn.
Preparing the chamomile lawn
Preparing the area for planting a chamomile lawn is the same as for a grass lawn. Dig the area, removing all weeds and as many stones as you can. then dig in well rotted organic compost
You may want to try growing chamomile under and around a garden seat, or in and around a pathway The fragrant aromas will be released each time the seat is used and the pathway is walked on!
Chamomile lawn from seedlings or seed
Plant chamomile seedlings 15cm apart . Or sow in organic compost in seed trays treating the same as any seedlings by thinning out and planting when the chamomile has grown into small plants.
Looking after your chamomile lawn
Water your chamomile lawn until the plants are starting to spread and look established and at this stage with your lawn-mower blades set on the highest setting give it its first cut. Thinner patches can be replanted with saved seedlings.
Organic Lawns are Green Lawns Mulch your grass clippings and leave them there! They are full of water and nitrogen! Just what your lawn needs! Organic may cost a little more take a little longer to establish but once you're there, it's easier and less expensive to maintain because it's healthier! We spend so much on chemicals, creating weak, dependent lawns with shallow roots leading to weak plants that are easily damaged by drought, pests, and diseases. Organisms that control many of the pest larvae that live in the soil are destroyed by the chemicals, So we spray more pesticides,making the problem worse Taking grass clippings off your lawn is a real waste as you are taking good fertilizer and soil conditioner away. Worms take the clippings deep into the soil, leaving castings (time-released food), and tiny tunnels, helping to make the soil sponge-like. Eventually, you'll find yourself watering less, and spending less! And you'll have a green, thriving lawn, with a lot more time and money to enjoy it. Try it for a year.
REPAIRING LAWNS
Nows a good time to repair lawns warm enough for the grass to grow along with the rest of your lawn, and gradually blend in. If there is over 60% moss and weeds you would be better off killing the existing lawn and turfing or seeding a new lawn Begin by choosing lawn seed that is fresh and the same type as what you have growing. Most lawns are a variety of different grasses, so that in any one bag you may have five to seven different types. This is because certain grasses grow better than others under certain conditions, and the more variety you have, the more likelihood you have of finding something that will work reliably. Loosen up any compacted soil and sprinkle lawn seed liberally over the soil. Water thoroughly BUT gently being careful not to wash the seed away. As the grass seed germinates and begin to grow, you will need to continue to water the area to keep the area moist. The roots of young grass are especially tender and will die quickly if allowed to dry out.
Continue to let the grass grow until it is well established, and then you can begin to mow it. The first year do not mow it to low, as the blades of grass shade and protect the roots, encouraging them to grow stronger. If you want an instant fix Turf is the answer. .MOSS PROBLEMS IN LAWNS
Moss is a small plant which does not flower, its not the reason for your poor lawns condition -but a symton of something wrong. To much shade , cutting to short, to often, not often enough but most likely soggy areas brought about by poor drainage. Waterlogged lawns or those with poor drainage produce moss very quickly . Chemicals offer a temporary Solution but dont solve the problem. below are some old fashioned, low cost and very effective solutions that are laid under lawns so wont spoil the look and one that will add interest and colour to your garden*.
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flowerpotman.com landscapers is published by Mike Ballard, Hazeldene, Weston super mare.