Soft Fruit Farm, Hampshire

The customer required a land drainage scheme to a 2.5 hectare area to ensure more productive growing conditions within his poly-tunnel soft fruit planting areas.

MJ Abbott laid out the drainage system using state-of-the-art surveying equipment. This served to ensure that all of the drainage runs were set out accurately, with precise GPS coordinates lining them up underneath the poly-tunnels.

MJ Abbott carried out the following scope of works:

• Setting out all drainage runs using GPS equipment
• Excavation of drainage trenches using a Dynapac 1800 tracked chain trencher complete with laser control, pipe laying chute and gravel hopper
• Installation of drainage system comprising 270 linear metres of 100mm carrier drains and 1,100 linear metres of 80mm lateral drains
• Installation of porous fill to within 100mm of the surface
• Backfilling of trenches with selected as-dug materials
• An outfall headwall was constructed in a drainage ditch for discharge of the drainage system.

The area was handed back over to the client, who then erected the poly-tunnels prior to planting the strawberries. The client is looking forward to an increased yield of strawberries as a result of the drainage improvements.