Does anybody know any effective techniques for draining waterlogged land using only handtools ?
I need to drain a boggy section of land , and I want to be able to do it using hand tools if possible . I was told that French drains and trenches can be effective ?
It's only a small patch of land that I want to be able to grow something useful in.
Probably a bit difficult to assess without knowing about the slope/lack of slope, reason for the water being there, water table and whether there is somewhere where the water could go if it was able to be drained off. Those drains you mention could be perfect if there was a direction that the water could flow away, like a stream/river, but also equally might be a waste of time if the water just still ends up pooling. Creating a slope and ensuring that the water moves away might be something to consider.
Thank you.
Might be a bit larger scale agricultural but some good theoretical info here.....
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/environment/soil/Teagasc_Drainage_Manual_2022.pdf
Checking it out man, cheers .
I'm not sure at all what you're dealing with, but my first idea would be to find a way to use it as it is or with minor modifications. Perhaps plant something like willow or bamboo that is water tolerant, build a little pond, or alternatively create ridges that rise above the boggy area but that can take advantage of the water.
Throughout much of the US Midwest a lot of agricultural fields were drained using field tile; back in the day it was clay tiles and today they use a special plastic pipe that has holes in it. There is a special shovel called a tile shovel or tile Spade that is long and narrow just for digging trenches to bury things like this.
Feedback has been fantastic , thank you.
You can still see fields in England and persumably in Ireland too where they have ploughed up and down the field creating what is called ridge and farrow lines which are off contour. They tend to be pasture fields now and sometimes people plant trees on the ridge and the excess water collects and drains in the farrow. If Seimi could plough in a load of biochar at the same time with a horse (to minimise compaction) he would be increasing the water holding capacity and forming the earth works at the same time.
First ask why you want to drain it. Plant water tolerant plants around it?
The easiest scenario is where there is an area nearby that is lower than the bog. Dig a trench between the two and you're done.
If the bog is the lowest point in view, then you would have to fill it in while making a new "low area" somewhere else for the water to collect.
A third option is to spread the low area/bog over a larger surface area. It might dry it out if the low area is made wide enough to absorb more moisture than is draining to it.
Plant Willow trees there. They will eventually dry it up and continue to do so after large rain events. They are also a kick ass fodder for animals.
Serving Size 100 g
Calories 122
Total Fat 1.6 g
Total Carbohydrate 20.7 g
Protein 6.1 g
Calcium 130 mg
Iron 3 mg
You can use ecalyptus to help drain it along with willow and dogwood (cornus) will survive being flooded too. Pears and mulberry enjoy wet but not waterlogged soil so you might be able to include them in a drier patch or on a mound somewhere. If you can incoorperate as much carbon into the soil as possible especially (with using biochar) it will help with it's water holding capacity long term helping to buffer some of that wet into the drier months.
Being in Ireland though I hope it's not a literal bog that might be challenging!
