24 March 2024 , 07:00
561
0
With spring fast approaching, all gardeners will be gearing up for the growing season, but this can be difficult when you’re grappling with a waterlogged lawn.
Homeowners can be left with flooded lawns after rainfall, especially when the water drains away slowly due to heavy or compacted soil. Not only will this cause swamped grass, it can also encourage algae, moss and fungal problems, warns the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
What’s more, the squelchy soil will hinder the growth of finer grass species, which may eventually die, leaving you with a bare and patchy lawn. Fortunately, one green-fingered guru has shared a simple trick for effectively draining your lawn.
The simple trick can effectively drain excess water from your flooded soil (Getty Images)Gardener Dave, also known online as @davetheplantman, took to TikTok to reveal his handy hack, which channels out water and keeps your grass healthy. The expert, who has been working in horticulture for over 45 years, kicked off the video with: "I’m back at the new build, which has terrible subsoil because it’s just been run over and squashed by the building work.
"I’ve dug a trench so that the border can drain into the trench, but the lawn is sitting very wet. So what I’m doing now is a thing called sand slitting using a spade." According to Lawn and Turf Maintenance the drainage technique is designed to cause minimum impact to the grass and boasts a short recovery time.
Four bedroom home with its own TRAIN TRACK on sale… but there’s a catch
To carry out this task, make sure you have dug a reservoir or a small section to the side of your garden for the water to drain into. Dave continued: "You have to make a nice trough through your lawn leading to the section. It looks a bit ugly when you first do it, but the surface water now will run off the top of the turf down that hole and into your reservoir."
He then explained that you fill the trough with "very sharp sand or grit or gravel" so the grass can grow over and hide the gap. Dave added: "But at least it’s getting this grass to drain and it’ll help it to grow. Interesting fact."
Impressed followers flocked to the comments to share their responses to the helpful video, as one user penned: "Going to try this in spring because mine is like a quagmire." Another gushed: “Great advice, I need to do this as our garden is swamped."
A third shared: "Really helpful thanks - I have this exact issue," while another posted: "I did that, no gravel and emptied a partially flooded field, it works." The RHS suggests that drainage can also be improved by aerating the soil with a garden fork, and strengthening the grass by applying lawn feed.