I am not sure if this is the best section, but I guess I am asking for opinions.
For years we have had an issue with a large section of our back yard being muddy. It is about 20 ft by 40 feet.
Information:
Our backyard slopes downward and flattens out. This flatter part is the problem area. It very gently slopes lower still, but that lower area is more dry!
After the lowest (dry) part, the land goes back up a bit more before going down again, so any considerations of using French drains would be very difficult because they would have to go a long way.
It has grass (plus weeds and clover) in it. Cutting this grass is very difficult because it turns into a mud mess unless it has had like 4 days to dry out.
I was poking around yesterday and noticed that if I dig a little hole, I notice that the first inch is the wettest/muddiest. After the first inch, it gets more dry. It is like the water is not penetrating down.
The water has a sheen on it. This is ~100 feet from a street and the street has a curb, so I don’t think it is oil.
In a house I used to own I had a very wet corner. I planted two weeping willows when I first moved in. Five years later the trees had grown considerably and the excess water was gone.
Yeah - that was my thought as well. Willows might be an extreme response requiring acerage, but you might research “rain gardens” for native water loving plants you could plant there. Won’t cost thousands, and will reduce the amount you have to mow.
Unless you’re looking for a lush lawn in that area Id go with rain garden too, find plants that like wet feet. Don’t fear the weed descriptor but Joe pye weed, swap milkweed, iron Weed, shrubs like red osier dogwood, viburnums. No need to mow.
Theses are deep rooted flowering plants, also provides habitat.
Well, I definitely appreciate the out of the box thinking. I would prefer to keep this area grassy. We have trees and plants surrounding the perimeter of the yard, but we would like to keep the middle of it open.
Could the type of soil on top be making it worse? Like I said, the moisture doesn’t seem to be going down. The top layer is a gooey squishy glop but underneath it seems like regular moderately damp dirt. Is that normal?
Are you on a septic tank system and if so is the wet area possibly your drain field?
If the answers to both questions are yes, you could have a plugged or otherwise malfunctioning drain field and that could be a bit expensive to fix properly.
Are you in an area where artesian wells are common? Because that seeping top wetness is quite common with a small artesian wells–friend of mine has quite a few all over his property and has had to install quite the French drain system to keep the sloppy spots mowable in summer.
Yeah - the water is either coming up from below, or failing to flow down from above - or else it is flowing to that spot from somewhere else and not percolating down or flowing away.
I’d guess the soil below might have higher clay content, preventing the rain from percolating down. Or the clay is the same throughout, but the water is staying there because it is level compared to above and below it.
Could be weird things like a busted water pipe or drainage tiles below. Do you NEED the use of this area at all times for pets/kids/sports? You COULD dig trenches and fill them w/ gravel/perforated pipe. How long would they need to stretch to a consistent lower area?
I’d suggest the easiest approach would be to just wait 4 days after rain before mowing that area!
If the soil seems dryer a few inches down a temporary solution would be to buy a long auger style drill bit with a 1/2" diameter or so and drill a hole in every square foot of the area. May help the water seep further into the ground. Long term you’d probably have to get a few loads of top soil delivered, regrade the entire area with the desired slope, and replant grass.
If the soil is compacted and clay-ey, you could try this: cut off the sod in the affected area and set it aside; rent a roto-tiller and buy some compost and maybe some sand and/or vermiculite, and roto-till the hell out of it, as far down as you can, mixing in the compost and other ingredients as you go (at least a foot). When you’re satisfied with this you can lay the sod back, or plant new grass if you prefer. This will not only aerate the soil, but it might raise it up a little so it is less of a low spot. Of course it will settle some, but the addition of compost, sand and vermiculite should help it to stay aerated.
This could work if the only problem is drainage from above. If the problem is seepage from below, this wouldn’t do you any good.
I’m no expert, but your points 4 and 5 make me wonder if this could be something called “dry patch” - this is where a layer of soil becomes waxy and therefore does not allow water to penetrate. I forget what causes it - maybe a fungus? If this is the problem, I believe it can be treated relatively easily, though I don’t know if the necessary chemicals are available to buy retail. I’d recommend finding a local lawn expert to take a look at it.
That’s swale.
I’d punch several 4’ deep holes down with a 6" auger and fill them with gravel. Create a dry well system. Trench perforated 2" tube under the topsoil to the holes if needed for a tile system.
Thanks everyone for the responses. Based off of these and more online research, I think one thing I might want to try is aerating the soil to make it more porous.
^^Yes! Just had a cable put into a trench. The electric company came first to mark where their line was. Boy, was my face read! I have a perfect line of ornamental grass clumps right along their line. I was lucky, not smart.
We used to have an old guy across the street who loved digging in his yard. We did not have cable at the time, but our neighbors did. Seemed quite frequent that their cable would go out and they’d ask us, “Has Jim been out digging recently?”
