Garden Location

(Question)

Hi, I live in Peterborough Ont and our house is on a sloped hill, there’s a wet spot in our back yard which I believe is from our uphill neighbors weeping tile that is soaked thru to early/mid July, and was thinking of putting a raised vegetable garden there. There’s about 20 inches of topsoil on hard clay , the wet spot is about 10ft by30ft, would it be ok or am I asking for trouble…?

(Answer)

A raised vegetable garden sounds like an excellent solution to your drainage and soil condition problems. By having complete control over the soil mix inside the bed, raising it to improve drainage, and growing shallow-rooted herbaceous annuals, you should be able to turn an otherwise problematic area into a productive one. We wish you the best of luck and many bountiful harvests to come!