One side of our yard is always wet and muddy. Can anyone suggest a cheap fix?
Plant Willow trees all you really have to do is cut a branch from a mature Willow and stick it in the ground.It will feed from the wet soil and also dry up the area around it.
Could there be a reason for the muddy area i.e. broken water pipe, underground spring,etc.? I guess that would have to be fixed before you planted anything.
I have about six such areas in my yard where there are springs. Some of them are only there during wet weather and dry up during the hotest summer months. But they are good drinking water. If you have a spring, it will be very difficult to get rid of it. It will just come up in another part of the yard, I think.
You don't say how big the area is, or if it is being used at this time; is it something that you could do something else with, without leaving yourself with no back yard? Is the area too large to fill in with fill-dirt? Another suggestion would be to cover the muddy area with gravel, mulch, or vegetation of some kind; (a ground cover), at least if you did that, you could still use the yard.
The area is between the house and the gate and is a walkway. Therefore can't really plant anything there. Rain drainage from two homes cause the problem (even with gutters)
I saw these at an Green Living Festival:
www.treehugger.com/
Something like this might work because it would keep the mud from pooling.
Susan at ThriftyFun
You can try putting a product called Oil dri, or cat litter on the soggy area and/or some sand. It contains a clay mineral absorbent called bentonite which firms up and conditions the soil and is safe to use in yards.
Have a load of "clean dirt" brought in and raise the level of your yard at that spot. Place the dirt at such an angle that the water drains in the direction you want it to.
