Question
 I live in Arkansas, I think that it is zone 7a; I could be wrong.  My back yard is constantly waterlogged.  The terrain is uneven and I have puddles of green water in many places.  When i walk in the yard the ground is very squishy; even days after rain.  I want ideas about how I can alleviate this problem.  Is there any way that I can get photos of my backyard to you for you to peruse?

  Also I am attempting to grow a Chinese Windmill Palm and my soil is very much clay.  I have been told to dig a wider and deeper hole, fill it with sand, but shouldn't I put something else in the hole with the sand to make sure that it is not too heavy? Being in my back yard the ground is very wet as described above.

  Thanks for any information you can provide me.

  Tiffinee C. Baker  

Answer
Tiffinee,

[ drainage ditch in the back of my house?]
This might be a good place to get your water headed to. Convenient!

[ tutoring session in french drains?]
French drain is basically a covered ditch.  You're artificially giving water a place to drain through and away from wet area.   Dig a trench (18-24" deep), grading it toward the target (city ditch?). Add a layer (6-8") of gravel at the bottom.  Lay a perforated pipe (4") wrapped in a special fibre-cloth on top of the gravel.  Cover pipe with gravel.  Fill remaining space with decent soil (not clay), tamping it down slightly as you fill.

[ a couple of areas that are sunken in単round seems to be sinking even more. ]
If you have slow but active sinking, you may have some significant groundwater movement under that area, or you may have some old roots of trees now gone, that are rotting away.

[ a series of ditches? Would these be open ditches?  ]
These could be open ditches, or French drains as discussed above.

[ If I was to bring in top soil and compost would there be any
tilling? ]
 You could till.  This would be a step to improve existing soil.  It will also help loosen everything up so you can rake & contour the surface so it tilts toward ditches/drains.

[ how to keep the soil in the higher areas from washing away ]
匲nless the slope is really significant, or the flow of water is more than I'm thinking, I don't think this will be problem.  You'll need to roll the soil after the tilling, and grading, but before seeding it for grass.  The rolling will slightly compact it, and the roots of grass, or whatever you decide to plant will be holding it in place.


Overall, I don't like to do more work than necessary, so I often start small and work my way toward a solution.  For your situation, I would just start by adding soil, tilling it in if that works, and contouring the area to tip slightly toward the city ditch.  See if this is enough to keep the water moving.  If it partially works, add even more soil.  If it doesn't work, think about the drains or ditches.

Hope this helps.
Mark in Portland