For several springs now I have had a real drainage problem in one corner of my garden. The spring run off actually bubbles up out of the ground, saturating the soil in this area. Earlier in the spring when I saw the water was pouring out, I marked the spot with a stake so I would know where the problem originated from.
A couple of days ago when I planted my peas, I had the rototiller out and in my enthusiasm I got over into that problem corner and my rototiller started to sink, with its wheels turning madly. I had to manually pull the rototiller free from the muck and decided I had better put off tilling there until it dried up. A half an hour after getting stuck, I noticed that the holes the tiller had made were already filled with water from the saturated soil.
I knew that in order to solve the problem had to dig a trench the entire length of the garden to drain the soggy area and give the water someplace to go. Digging at our place in the spring is not an activity I look forward to. When moist, our clay soil becomes extremely sticky, leaving big globs of the stuff clinging to my shovel and boots. All of the many tree roots that I ran into while digging the trench just added to the frustration.
I did finally finished the ditch and the water has been running through it along the edge of the garden ever since. Once I get to the hardware store and buy some drainage pipe and lay it down in the trench, I can cover it up. Hopefully that will put an end to my soggy garden.
When I am not digging trenches in the clay, I paint. See my paintings at: www.davidmarchant.ca
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