How can I improve clay soil?

last year the lawn didn’t turn brown but also didn’t grow well because of waterlogging

Do you know about drainage?

Our property is about 10m wide and 20m long
How would you set up the drainage in our garden?

What distance should the pipes have from each other and how would you lay them?

The soakaway is roughly in the middle of the back third of our property

Do you know about drainage?

Only theoretically... I have never dealt with the topic myself in my own measures. More likely, I have broken through a clay layer once (already during the construction phase) - but otherwise never for the garden.

The soakaway is roughly in the middle of the back third for us

Then, in my opinion, the rainwater, guided through the clay layer, already flows into the soakaway. Or is it simply too small for your property?

Is the problem really the clay, or is the soil still very compacted from the construction work? And do you want just lawn or also flower beds?

We have very clayey soil and even some clay in places at a depth of 40-60 cm. Most plants do not root that deep for it to be a problem. Fruit trees and shrubs manage well with the soil, as do flowering shrubs and flowers. In winter the soil is already very wet and does not dry well. However, with spring the problem mostly resolves itself. Most plants grow extremely well, withstand longer dry periods and also stronger frosts – especially where the soil structure in the top layer is right. We have applied a lot of humus, a lot of compost, and mulch all the beds with grass clippings and leaves, which loosens the soil deeply and saves me trips to the recycling center. Coarse sand, so that the water does not stand even in winter. However, the lawn is more like a closely mown meadow, which is good for playing but unsuitable for golf.

How would you set up the drainage in our garden?

For the garden size, a ring drainage seems appropriate to me. Distance to the fence 0-1m, 1m deep, with vertical inspection shafts with submersible pumps in one or two corners. This should make your garden drier. This is how our ancestors drained entire areas of land, of course with ditches.

We also suspect that the clay or the deeper soil was somewhat compacted due to the construction measures.

The soakaway is large enough and has never overflowed.
The problem is also that the topsoil is like a sponge full of water and the water percolates down very poorly.

When drilling the holes, it was wet on the surface, but when you went 5 cm into the clay, it was dry.
However, the holes only have a slight effect, and disposing of the clay is not easy either.



We want to make flower beds on the right and left at the fence and then the lawn in the middle.

Would you only lay a drainage pipe around the outside and none in the middle?

I’m not familiar with this, but I would have said on the spur of the moment that we need drainage pipes spaced 1m to 1.5m apart, but that would probably be way too much, right?

Take it slow for now. Currently or in the last few months, everything is quite wet and muddy. Where you want to plant perennials, dig the planting hole bigger and fill it with some sand first. Have you tried deep-rooting ground cover? You probably have compacted soil just under your topsoil. What have you implemented from what was recommended to you last year in the other forum?