Yard Drainage Solutions – show notes

Today’s links: ely.how/episode51

Yard drainage tips

  • Causes
    • Compaction
    • Dense soil – clay, low organic matter
    • Shallow soil
    • High water table
    • Poor grading / planning
  • Issues
    • Wet spots
    • Soggy yard
    • Dead spots
  • How to improve yard drainage
    • Is it really a problem? Why is it really a problem?
    • Small interventions
      • Redirect traffic
      • Reduce play of children, pets in the area
      • Replant with wet tolerant ground cover
    • Medium interventions
      • French drain
      • Garden bed ‘Rain garden’
    • Heavy intervention
      • Regrade to remove water from space
    • Watch-outs
      • Utilities
      • Foundation damage
      • Long standing water >3-4 days
      • Rotten, mucky smell

Today’s favorite plant

Fringed sedge

  • Carex crinita
  • 1-3ft tall, 1-2ft wide
  • Spreads slowly by rhizome to form clumps
  • Prefers moist to wet soils
  • Full sun to part shade
  • USDA zone 3-8
  • Tolerates some dryness