Poor Drainage = Soft Grass = damage HELP! RECOMMEND GRASS?

[do_it_yourself]

Hello, as the headline suggests, I'm having probs with the grass on my outer verge.

Anytime the rain comes it goes as soft as putty and even when you walk on it you get a soggy footprint and dont even start on the tyre tracks that has wrecked the verge.

What I want to know is can you get a certain type of grass that looks good but will somehow either NOT soak water into the soil below (dries up on surface) or DOES soak water into the soil but disperses quickly. Are there any techniques I can use to solve the problem?

One of the main factors is that below the 6 inches of soil is concrete!!! So the water cant drain down through the soil, which means it sits in the soil making it very damp.

Any suggestions would be a great help. Thanks
MM

 

[Old Perennial]

Try bullrushes or reeds!!! I think you're problem is definatley the concrete beneath the soil. When it rains you have a lawn thats suspened on a layer of mud!

I suspect that the concrete isnt that thick maybe 100mm or so. Only thing I can think of is to drill a series of 12mm diaholes thro the concrete say at a pitch of 400mm x 400mm. fill up the holes yo the grass level with sharpe sand to stop them compacting with soil. Hopefully this should act as drainage and get rid of excess water.

If you visit the hire shop they will kit you out with a decent sized drill and bits. It might take a bit of time but what eles can you do with concrete beneath the lawn?

 

[do_it_yourself]

thanks mate....

I was kinda hoping a specie of lawn grass was the answer but obviously not.

The drill idea sounds good but will take an age.

have to see how free time goes this year

 

[Old Perennial]

with the right peice of kit it wont take that long. leave the blacker and decker in the shed and hire a proper job!

 

[JohnD]

you could also use a coarse sand or grit in place of the soft soil you currently have. Sand drains easily and does not form mud but will dry out very fast in summer. It contains no nutrient but somehow grass can grow on it.