No matter where you live, a heavy rain can make your yard a mess with mud and puddles of water that don’t dry up. Yards get wet for a variety of reasons, but usually this is due to inadequate soil and drainage systems. To dry the water, check the yard to identify the cause of the problem. For small, individual moisture areas, dry the yard by leveling the soil and placing water-resistant plants. For large-scale problems, get a drainage system like a French one or a dry well. With the right treatment, you won’t have to worry about runoff damaging your home.
Remove plants and debris from wet areas Remove any rock, branches, and discernible loose material from areas of the yard where water usually collects. To fix them, you’ll also need to remove all plants, including grass. If you plan to store them, carefully dig around them in a circle until you reach the bottom of their roots, then lift them off the ground with a spatula.
- If you don’t plan on keeping them, you don’t have to be so careful with them. You could cut large plants so you can remove them more easily. However, you can dig to remove the roots from the weed entirely.
- To remove grass, dig around the area with a spatula and then use it to divide it into strips 30 foot (1 cm) wide. Lift the edges of the strips to cut the roots and roll them with your hands.
Dig through any wet areas to prepare to fix it. Use a spatula or other tool to make a hole about 15 inches (6 cm) deep. The hole can be as wide as you want, so dig the entire problem area. Remove all soil from the wet area and set it aside on nearby dry soil or in a wheelbarrow.
- If you don’t plan on keeping them, you don’t have to be so careful with them. You could cut large plants so you can remove them more easily. However, you can dig to remove the roots from the weed entirely.
- To remove grass, dig around the area with a spatula and then use it to divide it into strips 30 foot (1 cm) wide. Lift the edges of the strips to cut the roots and roll them with your hands.
Fill in the holes by adding surface soil mixed with sand. Choose a good quality surface soil with a balanced amount of clay and sand. Then get construction sand. Mix two parts sand, two parts surface soil and one part compost. Then combine the mixture with the original soil at the bottom of the hole. If the soil does not absorb water well, adding sand and organic fertilizer can help release it.
Mix the soil using a spatula or a roto cultivator. When you’re done, fill the rest of the hole with more soil as needed.
Shape the soil to fill the holes and redirect the water to the drainage areas. If problem areas are lower than the rest of the yard, filling and flattening them frequently will provide better absorption. Tilt the earth as needed to make water flow better into drainage areas. An approximate inclination of 2% is usually enough to remove water from the rest of the yard. Change the inclination gradually by displacing the soil and flattening it with a rake.
- A 2% tilt will cause the elevation of the earth to change by 0/6 inch (1.4 cm) over a distance of 30 inches (12 cm). A steeper incline will redirect excess water more easily.
- Measure the inclination of an area by placing stakes and wrapping rope between them.
- Dig the earth from the elevated areas to bring it to the lower ones. You may also need to work on the rest of the yard to form an effective incline.
Press the soil with a tamping tool. Get a rammer, which is a flat piece of metal that presses the earth to compact and level it. Press it into the exposed soil until it blends in with the rest of the yard. Make sure it looks flat or forms a smooth tilt that can absorb and redirect water.
Watering the lawn will also help compact the soil mixture. Use moisture to check how well sand and compost help fix the drainage problem.
Cover the soil with plants that absorb water if exposed. Grass and grass seeds are one of the best ways to spruce up swampy areas of the yard. If you have just modified the area with new surface soil, complete it with fresh coverage. Place rolls of grass over the exposed area. If you’re filling a yard with grass, spread grass seeds and drive them into the soil with a rake.
Consider covering fresh grass seeds with a 0/6-inch (1.4 cm) layer of surface soil and then an equivalent amount of straw to protect them from birds.
If you want something different, get some moisture-resistant plants, such as ferns, phlox, violets, cornus florida and elderberry. These plants can help dry the yard even if the composition and grade of the soil is not an issue.
Add compost if the yard does not have soil of a good consistency.
such as leaf mulch, grass clippings or even bark. If you have grass, spread the compost in a layer 1/5 inch (1.2 cm) thick. Apply it to the soil with a rake at least once a year, either in late fall or early spring. The organic material will open up the soil to encourage better drainage, and at the same time encourage the growth of plants that absorb the water.
- It won’t cover your lawn or other plants in your yard, as long as you don’t add too much. Many wet areas are already infertile, so they will stay that way until you plant something, such as grass or grass.
- You might have to wait a couple of seasons to identify any changes in the earth. Organic material needs time to decompose and mix with the soil.
- If the yard is in disrepair, rent a rotary cultivator to add compost to a depth of about 25 cm (10 inches) in the soil. This will destroy the lawn, but will have a much more immediate effect on drainage.
- Also consider mixing peat sand or moss with the soil if you plan to use the rotocultivator throughout the yard. This will help drain the water into the very clayey and spoiled soil.
Do a French drain if you need to remove water from the patio.
This one isn’t as sophisticated as it sounds. It is just a perforated tube that is inserted into the ground. To start, dig a trench 60 cm (2 feet) wide and at least 2 m (6 feet) in the yard. Then cover the trench with gardening cloth and place the tube over it. Cover it with gravel and surface soil to hide it.
- When the drain pipe is working properly, the water will pass through the fabric. This will displace excess moisture to a lower part of the yard.
- The French pipe works best when it extends from wet areas in the yard to drainage points such as a storm drain or sump channels. The latter are shallow dikes containing a drainage outlet.
- Look for a French drain pipe online or at a home improvement store. If you can’t get one, you can do so by drilling holes in a common tube.
Build a dry well to direct stormwater near the structures.
To do this, you’ll need to dig a 3-foot (10 m) hole in the nearest storm drain or downspout in the wet area of the yard. Put a plastic dry well tank on it and cover it with gardening cloth. Now insert a PVC pipe from the drainpipe or storm drain into the tank. Fill the remaining space with gravel.
- The gardening cloth will release the water and prevent gravel from entering the tank. This will allow you to store the water and release it little by little, so that the yard does not get too wet.
Install a cistern if you need to store runoff water from the roof.
This is very similar to a dry well, but is often used to redirect stormwater back to your home. Have a contractor dig a hole in the yard and place the tank in it. The tank is usually made of material such as concrete and concrete blocks. You can then divert the water to your home using PVC pipes connected to the valve and pump of the tank.
- Another option is to get an above-ground cistern, which is a large barrel that stores water collected from smaller rain barrels.
- A cistern is a fantastic way to save money by reusing rainwater. Use it in any activity for which you do not need clean drinking water, such as washing clothes, in toilets or to water plants.
Make a rain garden if you live in an area with a lot of rain.
Since you can’t stop heavy rains, let the garden take care of the problem. You’ll need to remove plants and debris before shaping it into an elevated area to the ground with a small ridge around it. Make sure the yard slopes towards the rain garden, so that excess water reaches the plants. Then cover the garden with various moisture-tolerant plants.
- Have hardy plants in areas of high humidity, usually at the lowest points of the garden. Here are some options: goldenrod, elderberry, swamp rose and hastate verbena.
- Place less moisture-resistant plants in the other areas of the garden. Use sage, day lilies, lavender, etc.
Changing the grade of a garden can be expensive, so they are often combined with systems such as plastic drainage pipes or rock channels. Consider installing a French drain or sump channels.
Watch the yard after a storm to determine where water collects.
Watch how the water in the yard moves during the storm. Then take a hike on it right after a day of constant rain. Notice if there is mud or stagnant puddles that don’t dry up in a day. Determine whether the problem occurs in small, separate areas, or in a large one.
The water should move downstream (away from your home) and toward a drainage outlet. If you see stagnant puddles or water returning to the house, the slope of be the yard could be the problems.
Individual areas are much easier to treat by filling them in, modifying the composition of the soil, or growing absorbent plants.
Consult with a contractor if you think the yard is over water or a bedrock. If you think the house is in a region with a lot of bedrock or elevated groundwater, you won’t be able to fix the problem without help. Call your nearest Government Department of Conservation extension office. They will review a regional topographic map or go to assess the land. You will then have to wait for recommendations or referrals to a qualified contractor.
- Marshes are another common problem in some parts of the world. You will not be able to drain them without first receiving authorization from the Government. You may also have difficulty draining them completely.
- Typically, you’ll need to create a storm garden or install wells and drains to deal with these issues.