Hopefully, you’ll have already read our post last week on the importance of good garden drainage. If not, please take five minutes of your time to read it now as doing so will make today’s post much more relevant.
Water is obviously essential for plants and flowers to thrive, but too much of it and they can actually die. That’s why if you suspect or know you’ve got a drainage problem, you need to take steps to remedy it.
Fortunately, you can fix poor drainage yourself by installing a drain pipe or a French drain. Both are jobs that most DIY enthusiasts should be able to handle, but if you don’t feel comfortable tackling it on your own, call in an expert.
How to install a simple drainpipe
A simple underground drainpipe is an effective way to get rid of water from a particular spot in your garden. All you need to do is identify which part needs draining (this should be obvious to you after heavy rain) and then decide where you’re going to drain it.
Start by digging a gradually sloping trench (at least 1/8 inch per foot) from the waterlogged area to the outlet area. Next, fill the trench with a couple of inches of gravel and level it off.
It’s up to you what type of drainage pipe you use, but one of the simplest to work with is the kind that comes in flexible rolls and has all the fixings required to join it together if needed.
Unroll the plastic pipe in the trench from source to outlet and then install a plastic catch basin at the source of the water and connect it to your newly unrolled pipe.
Now it’s time to fill your trench back in and make it look as though you never even disturbed the ground. Just be careful not to damage your newly installed pipe while you’re doing this.
If you want, you can camouflage the outlet end of the pipe a little, but be sure not to cover or block it.
Hopefully, if everything’s okay, your new drainpipe will remove water from your problem area every time it rains.
Look out for next week’s blog post where we will show you how to create a French drain.
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