How to fix a Mudhole?

have_blue · Jan 6, 2004

Nobody mentioned sand, so I'll give it a shot. If you can afford a lot of sand, it will build up AND drain your low area with no more work than spreading it.

I had a 400' road that was boggy, and I built it up with 1-1/2 2" of coarse sharp sand. It worked miracles. Even when it's under water, it's not muddy. When the water goes down, my road is the first thing to drain. Ruts "self-heal". I can get it delivered for $8 a yard here, but your area may be twice that expensive.

htiek126 · Jan 6, 2004

Sand is cheap here. I wonder what ratio of sand to clay tilled would make for imporved soil conditions?

I measured 6% slope on Sunday. I am thinking of building a 1' foot retaining wall at the very back corner of the lot (lowest point), and then I can daylight the french drains out the side of the wall.

I also dug a 6' deep test hole at the back corner of the lot on Sunday. In that area, there is only 8" of topsoil, and the rest is white marl (light weight white colored clay). The ground was saturated the entire 6', and it filled with water at a rate of 1 foot per hour.

have_blue · Jan 7, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Sand is cheap here. I wonder what ratio of sand to clay tilled would make for imporved soil conditions? )</font>

If you have grass in your low place, no tilling is necessary. All you need is enough sand to raise the low area and promote drainage. The grass will easily grow up through the sand.

If no grass, do the same. Till it in, but not too much or too deep. The finer and deeper you till it, the less drainage you will get. If sand is really cheap, you can add lots of it and till it in deeper.

Once the area is drained from built up sand or tilled in sand, you can expect good grass growth, depending on available sunlight. Grass can not usually withstand prolonged periods under puddles.