need help with drainage problems!

[lil_sprout]

hello, i am starting a vegetable garden for the first
time this year in my backyard. I am working with s
sloped area, which I terraced into three levels each
about seven inches higher than the other. My soil is
fairly rich and maybe a little on the clay side. Last
week I planted peas, kale and onion seedlings (which i
started indoors), and also some herb and flower seeds.
Since I planted those things, we have had two heavy
rains that have caused a lot of problems. Yesterday
some of my seedlings were totally underwater! We ran
out in the rain and tried to build some channels to
divert the water away. Today I went out to assess the
damage, most of the seedlings are damaged and soggy
looking, I think many of the tiny seeds washed away as
well. Obviously a lot of erosion is happening, mud is
in places where it shouldn't be and rocks and weeds
have washed on top of the beds from somewhere else. I
need to build a drainage system immediately. I have an
idea to dig trenches out and down from the levels. I
am thinking of burying some buckets in the ground at
the lowest level to collect the water from the
trenches. I would cover the buckets when it's not
raining. Then I might even be able to use that water
when we have a dry spell. Or I could drill holes in
the buckets so the drain slowly.

Also yesterday when we were trying to do the emergency
rescue i put soda bottles with the bottoms cut off as
shelters on top of the seedlings. Wind is also a big
problem i need to deal with. Please share any advice
you can! Thank you so much!

--sarah

Hi Sarah,

you're not saying where you are or what amount of rain you consider
downpours. I'm in a similar situation. The good part here is that the
underlying rock is fairly porous, so the water never stays very long
unless it keeps raining. - Being in the tropics, I planted bananas in
the deep spots as those like all the water they can get. If you have
areas where the water tends to form puddles you may be able to
find something to grow there that likes it wet.

If your soil is on the rich side and going towards clay, any organic
matter you can add will improve the drainage, as will sand.

And while it may be too late for this year's seedlings, maybe transplanting
them when they are bigger is a possibility. When they have bigger
root systems they are less likely to get damaged.

Most plants don't take too much offense if they are waterlogged for
a while if the while isn't too long. They may not look very healthy
when the rain stops but they'll probably recover.

The seeds that washed away may very well make for some surprise
plants in areas where you didn't expect them.

Hope this helps,

Maren
(in Hawaii, zone 11)

[Newt]

Here's my answer in the Garden Design forum.
http://www.backyardgardener.com/foru..._to=5130#p5130

Newt

[Gashead]

High Sarah.

Another thing you could do next year is to dig out the clayr/ich soil and put or mix with some new top soil. Methinks there must be a lot of clay there as it should have drained off a bit next day.
Ray