Soggy soil

[maverick302]

New homeowner here - house is on a wooded lot, sloped from the front of the property to the back a decent amount. Here are the relevant facts:

1. There is a French drain around the property to divert water from the foundation
2. The lawn is shaded for most of the day, so the grass is pretty much overrun with broadleaf and moss, depending on the area.
3. The soil percs well in the back yard (seems sandier/finer) but the front yard seems to have higher clay content

Where the slope of the front yard meets the garden bed, I have standing water. I added topsoil to help the grading a bit but I think the main problem is the soil just doesn't perc well enough to allow the water to reach the French drain. I'm not looking for rich healthy grass, just getting rid of the soggy soil. Can anyone provide some insight on the best solution for this situation? Should I till it and mix some sand or will the sand just wash away? Maybe just aerate the compacted soil and reseed?

 

[WWShop]

Could the frame of the garden be acting as a dam and holding the water in and creating a bowl for the water to stay in? Maybe the drain is clogged with soil too?

 

[maverick302]

It's possible the garden is damming it, and I'm making an educated guess that the PO used landscape fabric under the mulch. A clogged drain is a possibility as well, but how would I diagnose tha without digging it up?
Fwiw the guy was a professor and a total stickler for maintenance and labeling/scheduling and did all the work that I've seen the right way, so I'm assuming the drain was installed properly.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Extend the existing French Drain into the soggy area. Make sure it has the proper pitch.

 

[maverick302]

It seems to be more that the soil itself doesn't perc well enough for the french drain to be effective, as even when it's dry I can spray it with a hose and the water sits on top of it and takes awhile to soak in. The topsoil helped a little but it was only a shallow lift. This is why I'm leaning more towards soil remedies than drain solutions.

 

[bczygan]

Sounds like soil remedies won't work.

If you have a subsurface of clay, that is damming up the water, and no matter how much topsoil you load on top, you'll still have mud in a tub.

Make a physical path through the clay, sloped to a drain with properly sock covered drain tile.

Bill

 

[KEH]

Rent, borrow, or buy a 35hp farm tractor with 3ph. Rent, borrow or buy a 3ph subsoiler plow. After due consideration of water lines, electric lines or drain lines(really, you should do this first), plow the area with the subsoiler. Try to go 2 feet deep. Use a garden tiller to break up the clods of dirt dug up by the subsoiler and smooth yard out. Reseed. Water should now soak in. It wouldn't be a bad idea to subsoil the garden also.

KEH

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ If you go to this trouble, be sure to add LOTS of soil amendments to loosen up the soil as appropriate . . . ie lime, compost, sand, etc.