Best Rock For Drainage Swale

Start by making a swale essentially a gentle shallow drainage ditch.

Best rock for drainage swale.

Then line it with gravel or stones and add interest with boulders a bridge or plantings. How to landscape drainage swales. The crushed rock is usually 1 to 2 inches approximately 2 5 to 5 cm in length and is used for a number of purposes including driveway installation building foundations and large drainage areas often found near industrial buildings. When planning the landscape for a new or existing garden you might need to work around a drainage swale.

These same equations can be used to size rock placed on the banks of large drainage channels provided the bank slope does not exceed 1 2 v h. The crushed stone varieties of drainage gravel consist of shell gravel and crushed rock. Gravel is also a good option for a ditch such as crushed stone mechanically cut rocks and gravel cut in many sizes. The rocks are used to allow for greater drawing of water from the source area where the water was pooling.

For example take at look at this drainage swale installed by a homeowner. You can also use a french drain a gravel filled trench that may have a perforated pipe at the bottom. Intercept the water by using a swale a shallow ditch with gently sloping sides. A simple swale is an effective and subtle way to control surface water.

Planting the swale with grasses legumes and shrubs will help accelerate establishment of a root mat that holds soil in place to prevent erosion catches and holds more water increases soil microbial activity and takes advantage of the minerals present in the rock. How to landscape a drainage swale. The water will flow into the rocks instead of being absorbed into the surrounding soil. While it may seem like these utilitarian trenches are completely unusable or impossible to landscape in an attractive way swales actually provide some great landscaping opportunities including some that are particularly well suited for drought prone areas.

He used granite rip rap which are small boulders used for edging in stream beds to prevent erosion and so on. If puddles are the problem gravel could be the answer. Sizing of rock used in lining of drainage channels table 1 provides the recommended design equations for sizing rock used in the lining of drainage channels. In older landscapes a long shallow grass covered.

Lining drainage ditches with rocks creates a drainage system called french drains. Of course you don t have to turn your drainage project into a creek bed.