Drain tile in garden

I won"t get back home in time to bother with a garden this year, but I want to get it ready for next year. I am planing to put in drain tile as it get soggy in spring sometimes, delaying planting. It"s 100x100" roughly, and I was planning on putting in tile around the perimeter and two or three cross sections. I"ll be using the tile with the silt sock on it. The garden is fairly flat with just a slight dip in the center. I"ll put a sump pit at the low spot so I can pump out water. My subsoiler will go 10-12" deep, so I"m planning on putting the tile around 16". Am I on track here? I"ve not used tile this way before, so I"m just checking. BTW, it"s plain Ohio clay soil, and I"ll be adding some compost on top, about 1".

Your mileage may vary, but we have a piece of property that is sloped a little. Spring on the property above it. We dug a ditch on the property line then cut across ours to the ditch about 2ft deep, put in some gravel and leachbed pipe (sandwiched) and covered. Been living happily ever after.

Dave

In farm land, you'd just need one tile down the middle, will drain to 50 feet on each side.

But you'd want it a lot deeper, at least 24 inches of dirt on top, like to be 3 feet deep. Tiller, potatoes, carrots, posts for bean poles, tomato stakes - get pretty close to 16 inches!

Pump in the low spot? Would be better to drain it off to a lower area, let it free flow. Run the tile off to a low spot if you can.

But I'm thinking 'farmer', what you're doing might be proper for 'gardener'.

--->Paul

I"d have to run the tile at least 500" to get any appreciable drop for a gravity drain. I"ve got 100" of old firehose that should get it far enough away.

I know just a little about tile... Not much... But a little... I think the perimeter plus a "lateral" in the center sounds a bit much.. but sounds like you're on the right track.. I too would try to go deeper.. and I think I would try to put my sump on a corner as opposed to the center.. but when we work the garden at home, we use the big tractor (as the garden is right on the edge of the field.. takes all of a minute to swoop in and done).

Just spitballing thoughts for you, but I was once told (and not saying it will or will not work.. but seemed like it could..) that if you set up a similar setup like you described.. and the top of the crock is higher than the tile ( which usually it would be) and you filled the crock with water (which should ultimately fill the tile) that it works as a makeshift irrigation setup. I don't know that you would get good results from it or not.. but seems as if it would get water closer to the roots.

I'd also like to say that I don't know how the silt sock will work for you, as it seems as it would plug the sock (My grandad and uncle run drain tile as a business) and it seems like in clay they use a "slitted" tile maybe? could be the slit was for sand though.. I can't remember... but the sock seems as it would plug, as I believe for it to work around basements and such and not plug it needs the gravel around it

Just my 2 cents

Brad