Improving Lawn Drainage

Lawns can be prone to waterlogging especially in winter when we usually experience heavier rainfall, and snow. Water sits on the surface, and drains slowly, hence the pooling on the surface. Lawns with a high clay content will also be more likely to pool water as the soil doesn’t absorb the water very well.

Firstly aerating the lawn regularly will allow the soil to absorb the water more easily, and can be done by any DIY’er. Another solution you can try is pricking, or slitting the surface of the lawn to then allow you to fill these holes with either a lawn top dressing, or horticultural sand which allows the water to flow from the surface to deeper less compacted layers. Spiking tools are available but a simple garden fork would be more than adequate. Keeping lawns healthy by applying fertilizer in the spring time will help the grass recover from the winter, and grow better roots enabling the lawn to better withstand flooding etc. Then during the autumn feeding the lawn with lawn feed will aid good growth.

Another solution if your waterlogging is severe, and the previously mentioned solutions don’t seem to improve matters, is to devise, and install a drainage system such as a French drain, or soak away. This solution is obviously more expensive and you may need to employ a professional to carry out the work which will involve digging up part of your lawn to install special pipework, and drains to aid the flow of water away from your lawn keeping it from getting soggy and waterlogged. As well as improving the lawn drainage it may be the case that the excess rainwater flow from the surrounding pathways needs to be addressed as well. If the pathway leans towards the lawn then maybe a channel could be created to divert rainwater away from the lawn, and towards a nearby drain. All these solutions will go someway towards hopefully giving you a nice healthy lawn for you to enjoy all year round.

For further information on improving lawn drainage, please do not hesitate to contact Speedy Plastics and Resins on local number (0844) 8586670, and our team will be delighted to help.