Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sand man

We have the problem here in Düsseldorf in our back yard that it gets very soggy after it rains. I recently told a friend about this and he said I should spread a thin layer of sand on the grass. This will create a layer to absorb or filter water to lower layers of earth and the grass will simply grow taller in order to accommodate the new layer. It makes sense given all of the water we get around here and what I know about filtration under the earth.

So, I tried it today. My neighbor saw me and asked what I was spreading on the grass. I told him it was sand. He said - yes you need to do that from time to time.

Amazing - I had never heard of such a thing in the US. And, here it is a normal solution to the problem of water drainage in lawns (or the lack of drainage). Another tip for life overseas or life in an unfamiliar environment - ask a friend or a neighbor if you are baffled by local conditions.

To think - I could have asked three years ago.

3 comments:

Expats Again said...

Excellent solution. We have a home in the U.S. that has a dip in the lawn that always collects water after the rain. We'll try it!

Gardner said...

We'll see how it works, but the theory seems good.

lytha said...

i'm from seattle and i can attest that they use sand on golf courses. my family uses sand on their lawn because they want it to look as nice as a golf course.

now that i finally have my very own yard, and live in your region of germany, maybe i'll do the same. there sure is a lot of moss in there.

~lytha in NRW