Rain is the elixir of life for the green lawn. He is allowed to rain down on him regularly and thus saves his owner the occasionally necessary watering. However, if the excess water cannot seep into the ground well and the blades of grass bathe in it for days, things become critical. With a few measures, the problem can be solved before the grass roots suffer major damage.
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Why doesn’t the water drain away?
After a heavy downpour, large puddles of water form everywhere, even on the beloved lawn. This is because the earth cannot absorb the water as fast as it flows. This is perfectly fine and not detrimental to our plants and lawn in the short term. The water accumulates on the surface and seeps away with a time delay. How quickly this happens depends on many factors. The condition of the soil plays just as important a role as measures to promote rain seepage.
Why do rain puddles remain on the lawn?
If puddles of water form on the lawn after it has rained and simply don’t want to disappear even after a long time, it is rarely the fault of the lawn itself. It is the subsoil that prevents it from seeping away quickly.
- Rainwater will not seep away if the ground is too firm
- e.g. For example, loam and clay soils are naturally not very permeable
- water does not seep away well, even on compacted ground
- on uneven surfaces, rainwater collects at lower-lying points
- A lack of or inadequate rain protection exacerbates the problem
The rainwater does not seep away quickly even if the lawn is very densely overgrown and interspersed with moss. Then the water has a hard time even reaching the bottom.
Negative consequences of waterlogging
Grasses like moist soil but not long-lasting waterlogging. If the soil cannot dry quickly after the rain, the roots will gradually begin to rot. With broken roots, however, the absorption of nutrients is disrupted and the whole plant suffers massively from the moisture. Depending on how badly the roots have been affected, the lawn can die in places.
If it is foreseeable that the water will not seep away so quickly, for example because the rain is still continuing, a practicable solution that can be implemented quickly must be found.
First measures in case of lawn flooding
Freeing a lawn from large amounts of water is not that easy, but it can be done. The following short-term options are available:
- Drain water manually
- Dig out drainage wells
- drain with pump
Avoid walking on wet lawn surfaces, as this will compact the soil, which has been soaked by rain.
Scoop out water by hand
Small lawn areas that have puddles of water in places can be skimmed off the easiest way by hand. Small buckets or shallow bowls work well for this. It’s a laborious job, but it’s doable on a small area.
Skimming should be repeated after a few hours if the recessed areas have filled with water again in the meantime.
Dig various drainage wells
Sometimes it can also help to dig a small hole in the deepest part of the lawn.
- the water will flow due to the inclination
- the pit fills up more and more
- from this the water is regularly skimmed off
Alternatively, small drainage grooves or deeper drainage ditches can be dug at strategically suitable locations.
You can also drive several deep holes across the lawn so that the rainwater gets into the dry and therefore still absorbent layer of soil. It is best to use a thick iron rod, which you drive into the lawn with a hammer and then pull out again. To widen the hole if necessary, you can still move the rod back and forth with your hand.
The digging will destroy part of the lawn and will have to be reseeded later. But that is still less effort than leaving the entire lawn to its fate.
Pump out water with a pump
If, after very heavy rainfall, the lawn only resembles a lake, a pump may have to be used. To what extent the effort is worthwhile and whether a suitable pump is available or can be procured is something every lawn owner must clarify for themselves.
Preventive measures as rain protection
After the rain is before the rain. Anyone who has learned from damage is now at the latest thinking about whether preventive or subsequent rain protection is feasible and how it can be implemented in the simplest and most cost-effective way. A few simple measures, if carried out regularly, will increase the water absorption capacity of the soil.
- Scarify and aerate the lawn regularly
- poke holes in the lawn with a digging fork
- fill them up with sand
Ideally, prepare the soil before sowing
A lawn is usually laid out for several years, if not decades. Once sown, it stays that way and only needs optimal care. The subsoil is easily accessible before sowing, after that it can hardly be reached, let alone fundamentally changed.
Therefore, before you sow the lawn, consider the infiltration capacity of the soil. If you have missed it, but over the course of time you find that significant infiltration problems keep occurring, a new system may need to be considered.
A suitable location for rain protection
A lawn that is well exposed to the sun usually dries faster. Even removing shady shrubs and cutting back trees can bring about a significant improvement in this regard.
Leveling the area before sowing also ensures that no water can collect in depressions later. To do this, all depressions must be filled and elevations removed.
You can also subsequently fill in depressions in an existing lawn with soil and close the resulting gaps by sowing new lawn seed.
Improve soil conditions before sowing
Before laying a new lawn, the supporting soil must be ideally prepared. As a first step, you should take a close look at the soil conditions. On loamy soil, the water does not seep away as quickly as it would for the grass. Waterlogging occurs regularly after heavy rainfall. This type of soil urgently needs to be mixed with sand before sowing in order to achieve better water permeability.
Dig up the ground deeply
Loosen solid soil deeply, ie to a depth of at least 50 cm. A layer of humus provides additional loosening and also supplies the grass roots with nutrients. Especially with new houses, the soil is often very strongly compacted by heavy construction equipment within a very short time.
Build a drainage system
The best rain protection is to install a drainage system.
- Pipes are installed underground
- the rainwater collects in it
- this then flows to a septic tank
The drainage can be integrated most easily before a new lawn is laid, but it can also be added later under an existing lawn.
The construction of such a drainage system is demanding and complex and a real challenge for laypeople, where a lot can go wrong. For example, the pipes must have a gradient so that the water can actually drain off. Get professional support for the planning and, if necessary, also for the implementation of the project so that the water drainage works exactly as you imagined.
Create a lawn replacement
For some garden owners it just has to be a clean lawn, others could consider a lawn replacement.
- do without grass that is sensitive to moisture
- plant walkable ground covers instead
- Choose varieties that tolerate moisture well
- z. B. feather upholstery or star moss.
Avoid grass altogether
If the subsoil is so compacted and the rainwater does not seep away as a result, seeding the lawn without extensive preparatory work does not produce a permanently beautiful result. Then all that remains is to do without the green with a heavy heart and to console yourself with a few beautiful flowers or shrubs that don’t bother when your feet are wet. A wet meadow may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is certainly an interesting lawn alternative for some people.
Conclusion
Extensive rainfall can damage the lawn if the water cannot seep into the ground in a timely manner. Grass roots do not like waterlogging and rot quickly. The water has to go so that the lawn can dry again. With the right measures, this can be achieved with almost all floors, but sometimes it is difficult and time-consuming.
