In my experience, I cut down the trees in my backyard for a garden. Now the sun dries the ground out faster allowing it to soak up excess rain water. Before that it flowed into my neighbors yard and at times flooded my basement. I grew up on a farm and soil dynamics still puzzle me.

I did not grow up on a farm so you probably know more. However, in the DMV, we have a lot of clay and maybe where you are you don't. Here you have to build up the soil on top and that happens through plant decay mostly (unless you truck in topsoil). Chemicals impede the process of building up that layer. Once you get good topsoil and plantings it may be that you solve some of your runoff problems without having trees around. Maybe that is what happened in your case (you may have added soil for your garden so things would grow there). I agree that it's complex.

I just talked to my husband about this and he knows more than I do for sure. He mentioned that the worst are the kinds of lawns that use chemicals on them and also do not keep the lawn clippings there to rot both of which produce richer soil. There are fewer insects and worms to enrich the soil as well (basically the ecosystem is totally disrupted). Lawns where chemicals are not used have grass and yes, weeds, with much longer root systems. He mentioned that a lawn that is chemically treated has grass with maybe one inch roots, but untreated you can get grass with 10 inch roots. Obviously this will soak up much more water in a rain. Another thing we do is to cut the lawn, but not too short. A lot of people cut their grass too short.

Before about the 1960's nobody put this stuff on their lawns. It became a "thing" after that.

In my experience, I cut down the trees in my backyard for a garden. Now the sun dries the ground out faster allowing it to soak up excess rain water. Before that it flowed into my neighbors yard and at times flooded my basement. I grew up on a farm and soil dynamics still puzzle me.

Does this apply when the rains come every day and the soil is saturated (which it will be if you don't have enough sunny time in between rains)? Rains are coming more frequently last summer and this summer too.

I just talked to my husband about this and he knows more than I do for sure. He mentioned that the worst are the kinds of lawns that use chemicals on them and also do not keep the lawn clippings there to rot both of which produce richer soil. There are fewer insects and worms to enrich the soil as well (basically the ecosystem is totally disrupted). Lawns where chemicals are not used have grass and yes, weeds, with much longer root systems. He mentioned that a lawn that is chemically treated has grass with maybe one inch roots, but untreated you can get grass with 10 inch roots. Obviously this will soak up much more water in a rain. Another thing we do is to cut the lawn, but not too short. A lot of people cut their grass too short.

In my experience, I cut down the trees in my backyard for a garden. Now the sun dries the ground out faster allowing it to soak up excess rain water. Before that it flowed into my neighbors yard and at times flooded my basement. I grew up on a farm and soil dynamics still puzzle me.

Anonymous wrote:May I ask for the source that the forest obsorbs 25x more water? Is it because the ground is not packed so hard or other reason(s). Thx

I read that a few years ago, I believe in this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Average-Neighborhood-Systems-World/dp/1609611381

Anonymous wrote:BGE offers free trees from the Arbor Day foundation to (Maryland) residents. They “sell” out extremely quickly.

In Fairfax, the county has a native seedling sale (for very cheap) every spring. I think they sell out every year.


Fairfax Releaf also offers free native tree and bush seedlings twice a year to residents if you e-mail them.

Anonymous wrote:I will add that we have two rain gardens in our yard installed by DC DDOE's program and they have been holding all the water from our roof during these storms. Run off from our property is significantly reduced.

Agree rain gardens are more helpful than trees if the lawn is sloped.

Driveways are another large source of runoff if they are not constructed of gravel or permeable pavers. Converting a concrete driveway to something more eco-friendly is an expensive undertaking, however. The concrete has to be broken up and removed and permeable pavers--quite a bit pricier than non-permeable--put down.

I am thinking of this as a future project after seeing the water course so strongly down our driveway last week.

Anonymous wrote:I will add that we have two rain gardens in our yard installed by DC DDOE's program and they have been holding all the water from our roof during these storms. Run off from our property is significantly reduced.

Reduced I’m sure BUT the ground is so saturated people need to recognize that rain gardens are are part of water management but all the basics need to be in place (correct grading, cleaned gutters and downspouts.)

I will add that we have two rain gardens in our yard installed by DC DDOE's program and they have been holding all the water from our roof during these storms. Run off from our property is significantly reduced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to give people a per tree planted on their property credit.

This exists in md. Rain check rebate or something. There’s also a program that offer subsidies for buying native trees.

In DC too: https://doee.dc.gov/service/riversmart-homes-overview

and https://caseytrees.org/plant/residential-planting/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May I ask for the source that the forest obsorbs 25x more water? Is it because the ground is not packed so hard or other reason(s). Thx

Think about it. Trees are tall, and able to absorb lots of water. Not grass.

It is because trees have a tremendous capacity to not only absorb and hold water, but to do so in a way that accounts for when to hold and when to release the water based on the weather. ONe large tree can absorb and release into the air up to 100 gallons of water in a single day.

https://projects.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/treefact.htm

I’m with you, OP. I’m still learning and still planting my native plants and trees but I’m trying to do my part and teaching my kids about conservation along the way. Next year, I’m aiming to plant a garden. I saw this article today...wish everyone would take on this initiative. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/07/11/planting-trees-climate-change?utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com

BGE offers free trees from the Arbor Day foundation to (Maryland) residents. They “sell” out extremely quickly.

Anonymous wrote:We need to give people a per tree planted on their property credit.

This exists in md. Rain check rebate or something. There’s also a program that offer subsidies for buying native trees.