Can a productive garden and a flooded yard co-exist?

[MuckieDuckie]

Hello,

I am new to this but I have a major question. I want to start an edible garden, mainly using the combination of lasagna gardening and square foot gardening. I'm sure I can accomplish this in the summer time, but I would love to have seasonal produce. My biggest problem is the yard itself. I don't know anything about the soil, only that once the rainy season hits - I live in Northern California - my yard is more like a small pond. It's not select areas either, it pretty much the entire property - the only difference is the depth of the water. The time frame of this water logged period has been as long as November/December to April.

So I guess my question is: Am I going to have to make due with what I can get or is there another option for me?

Oh and I guess I should point out, that I'd consider raised garden beds and containers, but I'm hesitant of the price tag.

Any advice, suggestions, tips, and pointers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

-Amber

 

[journey11]

Hi MuckieDuckie and

When does your growing season start there? It could really interfere with planting time or drown out anything you have growing, which is no good. I had drainage problems with heavy rains last year on the lowest side of my garden and everything that was on that side was stunted and yellowed. You would probably be best off to deal with the drainage issue first and permanently. Don't know what resources/knowledge you have available to you (i.e. big, strong hubby who can dig ditches/haul fill-dirt, ) or if you could get a contractor in there to fix it for a reasonable price... Even raised beds will be difficult to work with in a swamp and could rot out prematurely. All that water can leach out your soil's fertility too. Good luck -- hope you can work something out so you can enjoy homegrown fresh produce too!

ETA: All else fails you could grow cranberries or rice!

 

[boggybranch]

While there would be some expense involved, obviously...I would check into having a French drain system installed. My dad's backyard held water like yours, but not quite as long. It was always a mess and even grass had difficulty get a foothold. He had one installed and now there is no standing water.....EVER.
I don't see a "fix" to this situation that would not envolve an outlay of money. It could be a DIY project, which would save labor costs.

 

[patandchickens]

Two words: raised beds.

You will have to water more during the growing season, but it will keep your plants abovewater and happy.

IMO this is one of the few really *important practical* uses of raised beds, as opposed to the multitudes who use them just because "if so many people have raised beds they must be a good thing right?"

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[digitS']

While there would be some expense involved, obviously...I would check into having a French drain system installed. . .

My first job off the farm was digging a drainage system in a neighbor's yard in Arcata, California. We had just moved from southern Oregon to this very low area near Humboldt Bay and a little community called Bayside.

Drainage was a real problem but that French drain system worked real well for the neighbor. No backhoes, 2 boys with shovels -- I've come a long way; it is now 1 old boy with a shovel in the garden .

We angled a ditch (which was probably only about 18" deep but seemed like 4 feet ) across the yard to the lowest point near the roadway bar pit. We laid in several inches of gravel, sections of concrete pipe of about 4" diameter, more gravel, and covered it all with a roll of roofing felt. The ditch was refilled with soil and the sod was moved back in place.

I felt real good about how nice a lawn they had in that big yard after that . Probably, plastic pipe would be used today.

Steve

edited to add: Probably mulch (as in lasagna gardening) in that location would have harbored the deadly banana slug - death to garden plants. I didn't use mulch and had a great garden of pole beans for me and turnips for my rabbits . . .

 

[hoodat]

The pipe made for leach fields on septic tanks works well. It has drain holes all along it. Remember, the ditch goes at the TOP of the slope, not the bottom. You want to stop the water from entering the garden. If you put it at the bottom the water will still have to perc through the soil before it drains.

 

[patandchickens]

Bear in mind though that not *all* flooded properties *can* be drained, by means of ditching or french drains or whatever else. It works fine if there IS lower ground, accessible from within your property line, but when a person's entire yard is flooded it is often the case that the surrounding land is equally flooded too. In which case, there is not much you can do other than a) vacate the yard for those months or b) elevate yer stuff above the waterline.

Don't know whether this is the case for the o.p., just pointing it out,

Pat, who is somewhat in that situation and is REALLY TIRED of everybody who comes here saying gaily "well why don't you just tile it?" (answer: there is nowhere for drain tiles to go TO )