As spring continues to warm up, gardeners are embracing the growing season – but waterlogged lawns can throw a spanner in the works. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is warning homeowners about the risks of soaked gardens after rainfalls, especially when they battle heavy or compacted soil that doesn’t drain quickly, leading to moss, algae and fungal issues.
Those squishy greens aren’t just unpleasant underfoot; they might be a death sentence for the more delicate grasses, resulting in barren and uneven patches across your once lush lawn. But fear not, garden devotees: Gardener Dave, better known as @davetheplantman on TikTok, has put forth a fab tip to nip your soggy sod problems in the bud.
With over 45 years in the horticultural game, Dave started his helpful clip by laying out the problem: “I’m back at the new build, which has terrible subsoil because it’s just been run over and squashed by the building work.”
He then showcases an astoundingly simple solution, saying, “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.”
The sand-slitting method, according to experts at Lawn and Turf Maintenance, has minimal impact on your turf and promises quick recovery for standing tall again.
Dave, a gardening expert, has given out some green-fingered advice on how to prevent waterlogged gardens by creating your very own drainage system.
“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.”
Dave said, going on to reveal that you should fill the unsightly ditch with “very sharp sand or grit or gravel” so that eventually the grass grows back over it, making the gap invisible.
Dave added: “But at least it’s getting this grass to drain and it’ll help it to grow. Interesting fact.”
Eager followers were quick to jump into the comments section of the informative video, with one writing: “Going to try this in spring because mine is like a quagmire.”
Another was full of praise: “Great advice, I need to do this as our garden is swamped.”
Another user expressed their gratitude, saying: “Really helpful thanks – I have this exact issue.” Others confirmed the method’s success with a commenter sharing: “I did that, no gravel and emptied a partially flooded field, it works.”
The Royal Horticultural Society also offers a tip, recommending that soil aeration using a garden fork can help with drainage, alongside bolstering the lawn with suitable feed.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
