If there’s one thing that the UK is rarely short of, it’s rain. This can have benefits for the plants in your garden, of course, but can also create problems in terms of soil drainage.
Waterlogged soil following prolonged bouts of rainfall is not great for plants any more than dry soil is. There are things you can do to help this though.
Add compost
Adding compost to the garden soil is a great way to make it drain more effectively. You can buy bags of readymade compost from a garden centre, or you can make it yourself, if money is tight.
Mix together things like cardboard and non-food kitchen waste with plant trimmings, weeds and grass cuttings in a bin to create homemade compost.
Attract worms
Worms help to improve the overall health of your soil, including removing excess water, so you should do all you can to attract them. You do not have to sit on your Lifestyle garden furniture all day holding up a sign saying ‘worms welcome’ – instead, you can create a ‘wormery’.
This is compost full of nutrients made from garden and kitchen waste, which worms will feed on if added to your soil.
Remove stones
Large garden stones can make it harder for excess water to drain from the soil. This is because the water pools against the various layers of stones and leads to saturated areas of soil. Take some time to remove them, and you may begin to see better drainage results in the future.
