Working with a wet-ish field

Hey!

Kind of an open-ended question here. Got a small field that gets pretty waterlogged in spring and fall and looking for suggestions. Ive been at this site less than two years. In spring 2021 it was tilled up by PO and buckwheat was scattered. Much of that came back last year. I have no idea if these big pools of water that currently form previously formed prior to tilling, I'm wondering if maybe they did not.

In any event about half the field is pretty shaded—the other half is open and sunny and I grew a small garden there last year. The sunny spot has a slight slope and I shaped the beds facing down the slope (to the south) which in retrospect maybe wasn't a great idea because in spring water just tends to run down the spaces between the beds.

In any event—I'd like to expand the garden to make better use of that sunny, garden space while better retaining water. And then I'd like to think about what might work in the shadier section of the field to more effectively manage the water there. It's just kinda swampy!

Couple pictures attached, one looking from the shady middle of the field to the sunny side (facing west), then a couple of the beds (again, which slope down to the south). These photos were from a week ago—most of the standing water is gone now.

I see a few possible solutions mostly involving earth works.

IN the current plan it looks like the full potential of sun isnt harvested and this is one of your prime spots so i would likely build Hugelkulture beds that raise the gardening space up and create more space in this prime spot while creating some more carbon material to soak up nd take advantage if excess water.

another option is moving the water.

one could simply install drains that move it away quickly but this mightr not take full advantage of this abundant resource so instead of drains i would look and see where is the higher gound the water is likely coming from. if you find that then is it possible to put in swales to slow the water coming down hill and allow it to seep into more of the property providing water for other plantings and charging your water table.

another option would be to create a pond to irrigate with or attract natural pest control species.

maybe plant crops that are extreme water hogs like willow for making baskets or rice if you live somewhere thats possible.

my favorite designs are very specific to the property with lots of issues that must be designed around. perhaps its best to look at the property holistically and find a custom mix of many solutions to make this problem an abundance.

good luck!

Thanks very much! Yeah I too try to think holistically about the whole place. And speaking of... down below this field is a driveway, and then below that a much larger field with a mix of early succession trees (lot of white pine), little shrubs, grasses, and so on. This larger area is much more overgrown and I'd like to get to work on it at some point, it's a few acres of open space at least. This includes, at roughly its lowest point, what seems like may be an ideal pond site.

However, I'm trying to take things one stage at a time! For now the water in the upper field drains to the driveway, and at a certain point crosses it and goes down into the lower, larger field. That point might be a worthwhile spot to install a culvert eventually, but again, one step at a time.

I didn't even consider a swale higher up on the upper field, closer to the water source, but that's an interesting idea.

I have been thinking of hugelkultur beds. I was thinking of building at least one east-west (rather than north-south as my current beds are)—is that what you'd suggest?

I think north to south gives several hours to both sides east to west gives a significant amount of sun to one side and not the other. perhaps you could angle it  so that its a little off true solar south to allow a variety of micro climates.

I  am not an expert but I like problem solving. perhaps the best soltution is to create one the  runs around the field to hold water back and slowly divert it.

If the larger field needs clearing then there is your solution. clear the early trees you dont want and use them as hugel fill. then you create more surface area for the existig plot while opening up the larger field. once you have that clear you can maintain gardens higher up or use the hugel to slow down and divert water to an irrigation pond so that you can have gravity fed water for plants and animals below later on.

My garden used to be layed out with the rows lined up east to west. My garden is on a slope. So is everything else on our acre. I was watching my soil wash away into our big pond. Not good.

A few years back, I reoriented my garden north to south. I no longer see loss of my soil. But I did develop standing water in my garden every spring and fall, our rainy-er seasons. So last year I dug my paths out, creating a trench. The soil was moved into the beds, raising thier level higher. You can see pictures of this process in this in this thread.

The area of my garden that is below my small pond did not need to be watered at all last year, even during July and August, when we get very little rain. Typically in our area, folk water at least once a week all summer long. Thanks to years of improving my soil, I only need to water to establish a bed, and during that dry season.

I have found that my garden gets plenty of sun if I keep my tall crops in alternating rather that adjacent beds.

Best advise I can offer is to study the land, ask questions of the neighbours and prepare a 'whole of farm' plan
detailed with as much information you consider essential.
Then you have a staring point.
Maybe consider doing earthworks from the lower end, not the higher end first.

I'm new to the site but not new to the subject! My land is pretty sloped. My original garden site was pretty much like yours minus the trees. East to west beds don't maximize the sun. I have found my plants were stunted quite a lot with that orientation. Also, the backside of the plants tended to get leaf rot more in my experience. Turns out I had also placed my garden in the downward slope of the water pathway to one of our coulees. It had WAY too much water running through it and ponding creating a whole set of problems. Let's just say I had the worst growing season ever since I started gardening. How did I fix this? I listened to the land. I chose a new site for my garden beds. This season my beds are N and S. They are now located out of the water pathway, and I have plans to put an orchard there instead. The tree roots will help with soil retention and most fruit trees LOVE water. I plan on creating guilds around them and adding in water tolerant edible bushes in the space as well. If you don't have another site to move your beds to, you could build swells above the garden area to slow water to the garden. Then you could plant edible bushes etc in the swells to further expand the garden area. You could also build a berm in front of your garden beds to direct water away from the site. Or do raised beds! But if you keep your beds there at the minimum switch their orientation to N & S. You're already doing the work so get the most out of it! Best of luck!

Thanks! That's all helpful and sounds like you've dealt with some similar things. Quick note though, beds are now N-S. Land slopes slightly to the south there, so water is running that direction.