Waterlogged soil on the site is always a problem. Unpleasant fumes, hordes of mosquitoes in summer, wetting of garden plants poison the life of lovers of country rest. The swamp needs to dry up. How can I do that?

First of all, you should understand the causes of stagnant water in the soil. Depending on this, develop a strategy to combat this unpleasant phenomenon.

Causes of waterlogging of the soil

It is not so easy for a specialist to figure out what caused the swamp to form. It is useful to inspect neighboring lands, to get acquainted with the surroundings. Here are 2 main reasons for excess soil moisture:

• The site is located in a lowland near a natural reservoir, groundwater comes very close to the surface;
• The natural flow of water after rains is disturbed.

The first reason is less likely to be true - people usually do not take building plots in a swamp. Problems with insufficient water drainage are much more common. The root of the problem could be:

• there is a natural source on the site that feeds the swamp, requiring clearing and drainage of water;
• your garden plot is located below the neighboring ones, all the water after the rain flows down to you;
• features of the structure of the layers and relief: a thick layer of clay is located close to the surface, which does not allow rainwater to be absorbed;

How to get rid of the swamp?

The first piece of advice you'll get is to fill the swamp with sand or soil. This is the easiest, cheapest and most wrong way. This method does not bring positive results, sooner or later the swamp returns to its former form. It is an unusually stable ecological system.

It is impossible to displace water by filling. It also won't work to pull it out. There is only one way to completely drain the swamp - to let the water leave this area. To do this, make drainage, through which water will flow. It’s good if she has somewhere to go, but it happens that the site is lower than the neighboring ones or there are obstacles in the way of the running water (building, road). In this case, it is useful to choose a compromise option.

Here are some good ideas for drying out wetlands. Often these decisions are always the wisest.

Make a pond

Growing up, trees absorb and evaporate more and more water, acting as a constantly working pump. If the soil on the site is heavy, clayey, then the roots of trees, penetrating it in different directions, gradually change its structure.

If the site is large enough, then planting such natural dehumidifiers along its perimeter will be effective, and the efficiency will increase every year.

Make a catchment well and drainage

If the site is small and there is no place for a pond, then you can make a water intake well. It is a construction of concrete rings or a plastic container (this option is simpler and more practical). It is protected from clogging and silting with sprinkling and geotextiles. Drainage pipes are brought to the well to collect water from the site.

The water that is collected there can be used for irrigation during dry times or pumped out and discharged through pipes into a natural reservoir.

A water intake well is considered the best option for a site under which a layer of clay lies, and a layer of fertile soil on top of it is small. Rainwater in such a place does not go deep, so in the spring and during the rains there is a swamp here, in the summer heat the soil dries up. Mosquitoes, silt, the smell of rotting mud - these are the charms of such a site. Growing anything is hard. What does not dry out in the spring will dry up in the summer, but there is no benefit.

You can build a drainage system, including a water intake well and grooves for collecting water, and you can do it yourself. The cost of such a structure is small, and the benefits can be invaluable.

In the event that these measures do not help get rid of the swamp, then only a specialist can help solve the problem. A full-fledged drainage system with all the work is not cheap, but only this way will get rid of the waterlogging of the soil.

No one chooses a dacha in the lowlands of their own free will. But what if you got a swampy area, for example, as an inheritance? Do not rush to get rid of such an allotment - given today's demand for land, you will always have time to do this. You can try to improve the garden in the swamp. And for this you need to know what to plant in a lowland so that the plants do not experience discomfort from the close occurrence of groundwater.

A suburban area in a swamp or located in a low, flooded place is usually considered not very successful. And yet, even these difficult conditions allow you to create an interesting and attractive landscape.

A garden in a lowland, of course, does not cause great delight among gardeners, since it has quite a few shortcomings:

• firstly, air stagnates in the lowland, which means that for a site located in a swamp, there are much fewer suitable fruit trees than for a plain or on a slope. Therefore, the choice of fruit and berry crops, as well as other plants, is limited for the lowlands. When buying them, pay attention not only to their frost resistance, but also to their winter hardiness (frost resistance - the ability to endure frost, and winter hardiness - to endure winter thaws);
• secondly, in the lowlands, spring frosts are 3–5 degrees lower than in the plains. Therefore, when the weather forecast promises frosts on the soil of 2–3 degrees, then it will be 5–8 degrees in your area;
• thirdly, in the spring in the lowlands, when snow melts, water accumulates and stagnates, which leads to the wetting of the root system of crops growing there.

However, this does not mean at all that nothing can be grown on a plot in a lowland without high costs for melioration and soil filling. A special case if your dacha is located in a swamp and water meadow along the floodplain, as well as next to a pond, ditches and in a ravine.

In the lowland, fruit trees and berry bushes cannot be planted in pits, just like on the plain in those places where groundwater is high. The roots of the plant in the lowland will be in the water, and gradually it will die. You can not plant plants on clay, but for a different reason. Clay, swelling during the autumn rains, does not let moisture through. Therefore, the earth in the pit freezes through, which causes the death of the root system. What to do if the site is in a lowland, and what to plant on swampy soil so that the plants in the lowland are comfortable?

What to do if the summer cottage is in a swamp?

If you don't know what to do with a swampy area, start by determining the water table. To do this, start digging a hole, and as soon as water appears in it, measure the distance from the surface of the water to the top edge of the hole. This distance will be the level of groundwater.

The root system of berries is located at a depth of 15–30 cm (strawberries, black currants, raspberries) to 40–50 cm (red currants, gooseberries, chokeberry, honeysuckle). The root system of stone fruit crops (plum, cherry, apricot, cherry plum, blackthorn) is located approximately at a depth of 70–80 cm. –1.5 m. But if there is clay, or granite, or pebbles under the soil layer of 50–80 cm, then the roots, as a rule, do not grow in depth, but in breadth.

Therefore, in a swamp and where groundwater lies closer than a meter mark, or in an area where solid clay instead of soil, fruit trees have to be planted on artificial hills made for each tree, 0.8–1.2 m high and with a diameter of at least 1.5 m, in the driest places of the site. For berry plantations, solid ridges 50–60 cm high will have to be poured. In addition, drainage ditches will have to be additionally laid along the plantings in the swamp or drainage pipes will have to be laid to drain excess water into reservoirs, which should be located in the lowest parts of the site and further deepened.

Landing hills are located no closer than 3-4 m from each other. So that the soil from bulk hills does not spread, the hill should immediately be sown with shoot-bearing bent grass or white clover. These are low-growing plants, they should be cut or mowed only once a season, as soon as an ear appeared near the grass, and clover - as soon as it fades, so that their seeds do not scatter and dissipate. The roots of bent grass lie at a depth of only 2–4 cm, so they will not compete with the roots of an apple tree, the roots of white clover lie deeper, at a depth of 10–15 cm, which is also not much. In addition, nodule bacteria live on the roots of clover, which, assimilating nitrogen from the air, transfer it to soil nitrogen, that is, saturate the soil with nitrogen fertilizer.

What to plant on swampy soil in a lowland?

Now that you know what to do if your site is located in a swamp, it's time to think about choosing the right plants for the lowland.

To create a proper lawn on swampy soils, you can use special lawn mixtures that endure high standing groundwater and even temporary soil flooding.

From the assortment of ornamental plants, one should choose moisture-loving and preferring an acidic or slightly acidic environment, since floodplain meadows and especially swamps are usually characterized by varying degrees of soil acidification.

To give in a swampy place, the basis of a wet flower garden is made up of tall perennials: volzhanka (arunkus), Siberian and marsh irises, brunner, valerian, buzulnik, cornflower, aquilegia (catchment). It is better to plant them either in the center of the lawn, or against the backdrop of a high solid fence.

Lower plants - bathing suits, loosestrife, primrose, marigold, as well as ground cover - cuff, tenacity, blackhead, can be used as a border. If there is a reservoir, these same plants in the lowlands can be planted around it, supplementing them with ferns, sedges, and rushes. In the pond you can place a water lily and water lilies.

On a plot in a lowland, you can create a decorative swamp. In the lowest place, where water constantly stagnates, we plant different types of willow near the lake, which are beautiful all year round due to their spectacular appearance.

It will be good to feel on a swampy area and sods (especially beautiful ‘Sibirica’ sod, the raspberry bark of whose branches stands out in contrast in the snow). In addition, cattail, yellow iris, reed, sedge, calamus, manna, canary grass, chastuha, and arrowhead will grow well in the swamp.

In drier areas of the lowlands, daylily, delphinium, rogersia, rhubarb, bergenia, hosta and primrose will grow well.

For convenient passages in the lowlands, it is easiest to make wooden walkways with railings, which, in addition, will decorate your site.

Flowers for giving in a swampy place

The most suitable plants for swampy areas are:

If the fact of the close occurrence of groundwater was discovered on the acquired site, then involuntarily it will be necessary to carry out drainage work. This is a set of measures aimed at removing excess moisture from the site.

What is the danger of groundwater

In such areas, the volume of the soil layer in which the root system of plants can develop is reduced. And cold groundwater at the beginning of their growing season weakens the vital activity of the roots. The roots do not penetrate deep into the soil, and if they penetrate during a temporary decrease in the water level, they die off during the subsequent rise. Often, seedlings grow well in such areas in the first years after planting, but die with age. So if you want to set up a real garden, and not just decorate the site with annuals, you need to work hard.

Drainage around the head

The most effective tubular drainage system using perforated plastic pipes. They are laid in trenches at a depth of 60-75 cm on clay soil; 75-90 cm on loam; 90-100 cm - on sandy soil. Drains must necessarily have a slight slope so that the water collected in the pipes does not stagnate, but flows into a common absorbing well (approximately 1 m deep), which is arranged at the lowest point of the site. You can lay the pipes in a herringbone pattern - this is when side pipes (7.5 cm in diameter) branch off the main drainage pipe (diameter 10 cm). The main pipe should again go into the well. In general, depending on the situation, the water outlet can be directed to a common bypass ditch (usually in garden partnerships with problematic soil it is) or a nearby reservoir.

If something doesn’t work out with the pipes, you can fill the drains with crushed stone, coarse gravel, or lay brushwood.

To remove water from the surface, you can dig open grooves (again, under a slope) and decorate with the same gravel. True, it makes no sense to arrange open grooves on sandy soil - their walls crumble very quickly, and the grooves themselves are washed out.

If the area is low

Where is the water to be diverted, if the land on the site of the former lowland swamps (in the floodplain of the river) has been allocated for use? You should choose the lowest points on the site, dig deep drainage wells there (much deeper than the groundwater level) and fill them with large rubble or gravel. The entire drainage system will converge into these wells.

In addition to this, you can use imported soil to raise the level of your site. It's costly and time consuming, but worth it. With the subsequent plowing of the imported land with the existing layer of organic matter "preserved" by the swamp, the fertility of the soil increases. Land plots on reclaimed lowland peatlands do not need organic fertilizers for a long time.

Plot next to raised bogs

The principle of "work" of the raised bog differs from the lowland one. The raised bog is formed under the conditions of stagnant surface waters on flat depressions of the watersheds, underlain by impermeable rocks. Raised bog is usually not associated with groundwater and exists due to the influx of moisture from atmospheric precipitation. The soil here is poor in terms of mineral nutrition and strongly acidic.

To deoxidize the soil, it is better to use dolomite flour (applied in the fall), which “works” for several years. In emergency cases and to quickly reduce acidity, you can use slaked lime, chalk. And be sure to bring meadow soil and compost. Then over time this area will become fertile.

On a note:

The drainage system (or drains) lowers the groundwater level, as a result of which the physical properties of the soil improve and the necessary conditions for growing plants are provided. The uppermost aquifer should be no closer than 1.5-2 m from the surface of the earth.

At one time, swampy areas caused genuine fear in a person, becoming the object of many legends and myths. But today everything is different. Now we deliberately create decorative swamps on our plots, because this is the only way to grow charming representatives of marsh flora on them.

We offer you simple instructions for creating a decorative swamp and caring for it.

What is an ornamental swamp?

A swamp is a piece of land, the soil on which, for some reason, is waterlogged. In conditions when most of the minerals are washed out of the soil, not all plants are able to survive. Due to the development of a whole range of mosses, sedges, cattail, reeds and other plants of swamps, the soil environment is within pH 4.5-6 - it has a pronounced acidic character.

Do not confuse a wetland and a swamp. In the first case, the mirror of the reservoir is clearly visible, and peat is either absent or its thickness is less than 30 cm.

In nature, swamps are formed mainly as follows:

• the existing reservoir is gradually overgrown with swamp plants;
• a separate area is swamped artificially or for natural reasons.

Each of the above principles can be used as an approach when making a decorative swamp.

Approaches to the arrangement of a swamp in a summer cottage

Despite the stagnant nature of the water that saturates the swampy soil, it must slowly decrease into the underlying layers. This compensates for the influx of fluid during precipitation and irrigation. For this reason, the construction of a swamp is different from the construction of any other.

If your site has sandy soil, then it is best to refuse to create a decorative swamp, because. in this case, the water will go too quickly into the lower layers of the soil.

In the figure above, we have given some options for arranging a decorative swamp:

1. if there is a swamp. This is the simplest option, which involves ennobling the allocated area with plants, as well as maintaining an increased moisture content in the soil due to periodic watering;
2. if there is a pond. In this case, the swamps serve as an intermediate transitional link, smoothing the coastline. The main difficulty lies in the design of the line connecting the reservoir and the site with waterlogged soil. Usually it is hidden with the help of plants or small architectural forms, for example, decorative bridges;
3. if there is a stream. Artificially created floodplains look appropriate next to the streams. As in the previous case, a zone with waterlogged soil, planted with swamp plants, makes the man-made hydraulic structure more natural.

In the second and third cases, approaches to the arrangement of a wetland are reduced to the following works ( rice. 2):

• Decide on the location and area. The specific conditions created in a swampy place can cause the active development of insects and reptiles. Therefore, choose a secluded place away from home. When planning the size of a reservoir, keep in mind that even a small swamp needs serious care.
• Remove the layer of sod. You will not need it for further work, so you can use it to make compost.
• Dig a hole 50 cm deep. In the process of excavating the pit, keep the fertile soil layer. It will be required for backfilling.
• Lay a drainage layer on the bottom. It can be gravel, crushed stone, broken brick. The main thing is that it ensures the spread of liquid under the entire stain of the structure.
• Cover the drain with sand. To prevent the waterproofing film from tearing, fill the sharp edges of the material of the drainage layer with sand. Try to compact it.
• Waterproof the pit. Line its bottom and walls with a special pond film. Calculate its size so that there is a small margin (about 30 cm) for laying on the surface around the perimeter of the pit. Press down the edges with stones.
• Make holes in the film. In an artificial swamp, water should not stagnate. Therefore, in the bottom for each square meter, make one hole with a diameter of about 1 cm.
• Install a water level control device. On a soft waterproof substrate, vertically install a piece of pipe (PVC, asbestos, metal), and place a rod (stick, rail, etc.) inside it. The pipe, as a communicating vessel, will fill with water as the soil moisture increases.
• Fill the bottom with expanded clay. It will serve as a kind of filter and prevent clogging of the holes in the film. In addition, expanded clay has good hygroscopic properties and will retain water, adjusting the balance.
• Fill the hole with soil. To do this, use a mixture of fertile soil and peat in a ratio of 1: 2.
• plant your plants. More on this below.

What plants to choose

We have come close to the question, for the sake of which several square meters of a summer cottage are turned into a swamp. This is done mainly in order to create specific conditions for the growth of beautiful plants.

The following plants will look appropriate along the banks of a decorative swamp:

• Willow. You can plant a white or brittle willow, which will provide excellent shade for other marsh plants. They are undemanding to the composition of the soil, but in dry periods they need abundant watering.
• Deren. All types of turf are suitable for planting. Like willow, this plant is moisture-loving and does not require special care. Seedlings with a well-developed root system are planted in spring.
• Elder. The common and Canadian elderberry fit perfectly into the composition. Grows on any type of soil, tolerates drought well. For planting, it is best to purchase biennial seedlings.

In order to avoid damage to the waterproofing of the swamp by growing roots, trees and shrubs are planted at a distance of 1-2 m from the coastline. It is possible that a layer of geotextile is additionally laid under the film.

Plant a little closer to the swamp:

• Heather. Possesses excellent decorative qualities all season long. At the same time, it is quite demanding to care for. It is planted in moist peaty soil to a depth of 30 cm. Every year in the spring it must be fed with mineral fertilizers for heathers (according to instructions), sprayed with water in dry seasons, and constantly monitor soil moisture (heather does not tolerate drought well).
• Cotoneaster. Creeping cotoneaster varieties look appropriate, which will reveal their decorative qualities in full force in the fall. Unpretentious, seedlings are planted to a depth of 50 cm, after which they are immediately mulched. Additional watering is carried out only in a dry season.
• Juniper. Dwarf varieties of juniper are in perfect harmony with the environment. The plant does not require special care. Planted at a depth of about 70 cm.
• bathing suit. Herbaceous plant, which is perfect for decorating the coastal zone. Seeds are sown to a depth of 10 cm. It requires periodic weeding, loosening and watering.
• Iris marsh. A perennial herbaceous plant with beautiful flowers, which looks appropriate on the shore of a reservoir. Prefers fertile soil and does not like to grow in the shade. Seeds are sown to a depth of 10 cm in fertilized soil. Needs constant care: weeding, loosening the soil, watering and top dressing.

If you don't know how to decorate your swamp, just visit the nearest swamp and look at ready-made solutions from nature. Here you can also dig up individual specimens to plant them in your area.

Directly in moist soil will grow:

• cattail. Many still confuse it with reeds. It has recognizable brown inflorescences in the form of an ear. It looks good along the edges of the swampy area. It is better to plant in containers, because. cattail grows rapidly.
• Sedge. Peat-forming herbaceous plant that grows rapidly on waterlogged soil. Propagated by dividing the bush, planted to a depth of 20 cm. Does not require special care, but needs growth control.
• reeds. A plant without which no large ornamental swamp can do. Propagated by dividing the bush, planted to a depth of 30 cm in autumn or spring. It grows quickly, so you have to control its growth.
• Astilba. A beautifully flowering herbaceous plant. Undemanding in care, moisture-loving. Needs periodic top dressing. Propagated by dividing the rhizome and bush, planted in late spring to a depth of 30 cm.
• wild rosemary. Evergreen moisture-loving shrub that prefers places with medium light. Planted in a mixture of peat, acidic soil and sand to a depth of 20 cm.

This is not a complete list of plants that can decorate your site. Do not forget that many of them do not tolerate strong lighting, so they are placed in the shade of taller marsh plants. Build the composition as follows: plant taller plants with powerful foliage at the edges, lower ones closer to the center, etc. - to the swampy area. Examples of the correct combination of various representatives of aquatic flora are discussed in.

Ornamental bog care

Only under natural conditions, the swamp easily preserves all the diversity of aquatic flora. A decorative swamp of any size requires special attention. No wonder experts call it one of the most difficult elements of landscape design. Here is a list of the main operations that will have to be periodically performed when caring for a decorative swamp:

• Watering. Preservation of the water balance is the most important condition for the development of marsh flora. Control the water level with a pipe that reaches the bottom of the swamp, and a rod that is placed in it. Water should saturate the soil, but not form a mirror on its surface. The frequency of irrigation depends on climatic conditions and the location of the swamp.
• Weeding. Despite the fact that the marshy soil is depleted in minerals, it can serve as an excellent environment for moisture-loving weeds. To prevent them from drowning out authentic swamp plants, remove them periodically.
• top dressing. The main task is to maintain the acidity of the soil. Use acidic fertilizers for this purpose, such as chloride and ammonium sulfate. Acidity control is carried out using a litmus indicator or an electronic pH meter, making sure that the pH value is in the range of 4.5-5.5.
• thinning. In nature, in wetlands, there is a constant competition between various aquatic plants. To prevent one of the plants from overwhelming all the others, you will have to act as a regulator. Remove some of those plants that you think overwhelm their neighbors.

Other decorative elements

In an effort to decorate a decorative swamp with small architectural forms, be careful. Such reservoirs look advantageous only with a minimalist approach, when a limited number of items are used as decorative elements. For example, a small wooden bridge thrown across the border of a reservoir and an adjacent swamp will look good. In this case, the design of the bridge will mask the most difficult part of the formation of such a hydraulic hybrid - the line of their separation.

Moss-covered snags of the original form look good on a swampy area. Several large stones can be placed along the perimeter of the decorative swamp.

The installation of a variety of lighting fixtures must be approached selectively. We recommend using them only when they are needed from a practical point of view. The paths lined with natural stone look good next to such a reservoir. Terraced structures will also be appropriate.

If you are not afraid of difficulties and you are full of desire to turn part of your site into a swamp, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with some.

Waterlogged soil on the site is a problem for its owners. When buying a plot, you can determine the excess moisture by the presence of reeds, sedges, and rushes. Subsequently, the owners are faced with unpleasant fumes, mosquitoes, poor growth of garden plants. Plants disappear due to insufficient access of oxygen to the roots, their decay, exposure to toxic products (nitrates, acids, aluminum salts) formed in swampy soil.

Wetland and clay soil

It is costly to build a house on swampy land. We have to build a deep pile foundation.

All these troubles can be eliminated by draining the territory. There is a solution to the problem, and you can try to get rid of excess moisture yourself. The key to success in this case is an understanding of the nature of the swampiness of the site.

Different situations - different solutions

It is sometimes difficult for a specialist to determine the cause of the formation of a swamp. In this situation, it is important to get acquainted with the surroundings, inspect the lands of neighbors. Excessive soil moisture usually has two main causes:

1. The placement of the allotment in the bottom of the reservoir, which leads to the location of groundwater quite close to the surface. This reason is rarely confirmed, since few people will dare to consciously acquire land in the swamp.
2. Disturbance of the natural flow of water as a result of heavy rains. This problem is associated with several factors - the location of the site below the neighboring ones (water constantly flows to it after rains), the location of a layer of viscous clay close to the surface, or the presence of a source feeding the swamp.

Each case has its own solution to the problem, tested by more than one generation of farmers. An analysis of the situation on the site will allow you to decide which of the drainage methods to apply.

High groundwater level

Reed grows - water nearby

Drainage of superficially located groundwater (“perch water”) will allow closed-type drainage, made at a sufficient depth. Such drainage is installed along the perimeter of the site, as well as throughout its territory. With abundant waters, when drainage into the deep layers of the soil does not lead to a result, a drainage well and a pump are needed that can constantly pump out water and divert it outside the territory.

clay soil

Organization of drainage on clay soil

Soil with a high content of clay does not pass moisture well, and the earth remains damp for a long time after rain and snow melt. If at the same time the land plot is located at an angle, the inflow of water comes from the surface of the earth located above. The optimal solution in such a situation is the use of backfill and open ditches for the accumulation and removal of moisture into the depths of the earth.

The organization of drainage of a closed type is not so effective, and the formation of a filtration layer to the surface of the earth is far from always justified.

marshland

The optimal, but very costly solution is to raise the ground level and make a drainage ditch along the perimeter. Before draining the site, it is important to consider plans for the use of the territory and determine the depth of drainage. With seasonal waterlogging of the territory, you can dig a ditch in the lowest part of the site. In addition to it, it is necessary to make open drainage channels, often located throughout the entire territory. The sloping site should be protected from the sliding of the earth by plants or geomats.

Drainage ditch along the site

The location of the allotment in the lowland

You can cope with waterlogging with a pump and a drainage well. If it is appropriate and possible, the problem will be solved by a reservoir in the lowest part of the allotment and closed-type drainage performed over its entire area. Drainage must be carried out to a state in which there will be no destruction of the foundations of buildings, and it will be possible for plants to develop.

Learn more about dehumidification methods

An allotment of land can be drained by various methods of reclamation. Before choosing the right one, consider the following factors:

• soil water resistance, its composition;
• direction and level of groundwater location;
• buildings in the garden;
• the height to which the groundwater level is to be lowered.

Import of soil to raise the level of the site

Raising the surface level of the allotment will allow the delivery of fresh fertile soil. If the land is plowed up, it will mix with the viscous and dense swampy soil, and it will be possible to grow crops in the garden. Lands cultivated in this way do not require fertilizer for several subsequent years. However, the swamp is a stable ecosystem, so it cannot be ruled out that it will return to its original form over time.

Sand application

If you add sand in the same proportion with the soil of the site, the quality of the land improves and air exchange increases. With the additional introduction of humus, it is possible to cultivate vegetables, berries, and herbs on the ground. Adding sand to waterlogged soil is the creation of more efficient methods of reclamation. The method is effective on its own when applied to clay soils with a slight excess of surface water.

Drainage

The arrangement of the drainage system is the most effective way to divert surface water for a long time. To create it, plastic pipes with small diameter holes in the walls are used. First, it is necessary to wrap the pipes with holes with geotextile in 1-3 layers, depending on the size of the soil particles. They are placed in pre-prepared channels to the following depth:

• for clay soils - 65-75cm;
• for loams - by 70-90cm;
• for sandy areas - up to 1m.

Open and closed ditches

Construction of closed drainage ditches

Open drainage ditches will allow excess water to be removed from the soil surface. They are made with edges beveled at an angle of 20 degrees. The disadvantage of this method is rapid shedding, contamination of the outflow with leaves, debris, and stagnant water. Such drainage structures should be cleaned regularly with a shovel. Open drainage ditches are not used in areas with sandy soil, since the sand is quickly washed out and drainage becomes inefficient. It is convenient to place an open drainage ditch on a site along the fence, where it does not interfere with anyone.

Closed drainage ditches are deep dug trenches covered with a layer of sand and disguised as garden paths. They have an aesthetic appearance, the soil does not collapse in them, the water inside does not bloom.

For the system to function properly, dug trenches are led into a well or dug them up to a layer of sand that will absorb moisture. If the channels become clogged, it will be difficult to clean with soil.

raised beds

When planning to cultivate greens, vegetables, strawberries, owners of waterlogged plots build high beds. Excess moisture is collected between the beds, and the land with crops becomes drier. With the right approach, it is possible to grow crops even in areas with excess water. This is confirmed by photos of vegetable gardens in Holland, shrouded in a network of canals. Such conditions allow you to grow anything.

Creating high beds will allow not only to divert excess water, but also to decorate the garden

Digging a pond or well

A decorative pond will collect excess moisture and allow it to gradually evaporate. At the same time, the territory of the garden will become noticeably drier, and the pond itself will decorate the landscape. A good example convinces of the effectiveness of this method - the Canal of the Cross, built for the same purpose in the park of Versailles.

Wells are not inferior in efficiency to ditches. To create them, pits are dug at the lowest points of the site, which are covered with rubble or sand. Their diameter at the bottom is half a meter, at the top - two meters, and the length is about a meter. After rain or snow melt, excess moisture gradually drains into them.

A pond collects rainwater and decorates the site

Planting moisture-loving trees

Moisture-loving trees help rid the swampy garden of excess water. Weeping willows, alders and birches feel good here. Such trees evaporate excess liquid through the leaves. Willows and birches dry out the wetlands, but it will take several years for sufficient drainage. You can also cultivate cranberries, blueberries, viburnum. When the area becomes drier, you should move on to growing your favorite plants.

Willows will decorate and drain the site

Usually reeds and sedges grow in wetlands. To combat them, drain the area in a suitable way, for example, by draining excess moisture into the nearest stream. These plants have a powerful root system, and only by removing it, you can avoid new growth for a certain time. To do this, you will have to dig deep holes with your own hands, remove each root, lay roofing material on the bottom of the holes. The bulrush seeds spread well, and if the ground remains wet, the problem will return.

Extreme measures

If none of the listed reclamation methods gave the desired result, or you don’t want to wait, you can invite specialists. With powerful pumps, they quickly pump out unnecessary moisture, and the effect will be visible within a day. However, this is an expensive service, and the problem of waterlogging may return over time.

When it was not possible to win in the fight for dry soil, you can put up with and beat the excessive moisture of the earth. To do this, you can equip the pond, surrounding it with plants that are demanding on moisture.

In humid conditions, blueberries, viburnum, cranberries, marsh iris, mint, buttercups, thuja, and heather grow well. A good addition will be girlish grapes, lush ferns, callas, some varieties of orchid plants.

There are many ways to deal with excess moisture in the garden. However, when none of them helped, you will have to accept and create your own corner of nature. The owner of a swampy allotment can successfully not only grow garden crops and flowers, but also build a house. There are many proven solutions for this.