What i did with our house yard (2.5 acres, with just shy of 1 acre as house yard), was i dug down 2m at 1 end of each swale, about 400mm round, and filled with with stones (its called a dry well), i have found the areas that the dry wells are in, a very lush green & the trees planted there really pump out fruit

I prefer to watch swale videos than anything else on the internet ❤

Armchair Canadian here, sitting in the snow. The reason you need a swale and berm is to keep your farm from washing away during intense rain events. Your big swale should handle a hundred year event. Sometimes, a normal rain would look puny and shallow but that's OK. You get to keep your dirt. It will need a challenge to truly assess the swale's effectiveness. Shallow swales are used in Africa , and Arizona they dig ponds at the end of a wash. Anything to slow your precious water. You are being effective so.... Well done!

Really enjoyed your analysis. Every one of the many projects that I've done, I always take a look at how I too would do it different the next time. You've given me a few ideas for my place (Mediterranean climate; hot & very dry summers with about 19 inches (48cm) of rain annually, snow here is now rare and quickly gone). I particularly like the idea of many smaller swales, instead of a few large swales. Instead of using an excavator, you might consider a road grader... I've seen this used on some projects and it should be much faster than an excavator, aware that it may not be feasible for your soil/slope/area. At my place I will use a bulldozer, as I've got small stumps from brush and trees that have died that I will have to go through. Here, I bag my grass clippings and use them where most needed, even though it is a bit of a bother to do so. I presently have access to some wood chips that I put over the grass clippings, so as to conserve moisture. I am doing this particularly around some of the more magnificent trees here that I hope to save and my orchard trees. Keep up the good work, Jerry

You are on a bit of a learning curve here . Imho a grader is tops forgorming swales effectivly and econonically . With the blade angled to deflect the soil to the lower side. First cut sets the angle of the inflow slope , second cut with blade flat forms the bottom of the swale . Dont be tempted to go too deep into the subsoil in order to make a high berm as the disturbed subsoil will take much longer to transition to be able to sustain plants. Use as much mulch as you can beg ,borrow or steal. Good luck with your project, celebrate the successes and learn from the failures. Cheers from Qld.🇦🇺

Congratulations on 1k subs , heres to a million more cheers 🤗🍻🍻🍻

As long as the swale typically loses surface water in under 2 days you should plant in the swale itself. Pioneer trees and shrubs as well as cover crops. Wattle, leucaena, tagasaste and anything else that will grow. I wouldn't fix the back slope yet as mulch may be enough. I think that you have sized it well, but would probably get away with smaller up slope or if placed closer together down slope. Love your work!

It does sound like multiple shallow swales would be good. It would give you a bigger growing area with catchment. You’ll get a better idea in winter.

G'day guys. Absolutely fascinating and I'm so keen to see the rains come to your area. Mulch. YES! Tilt bucket sounds well worth the investment. You soil locks and sounds from your description that it is very similar to the region here in Northern Victoria. I'm on an inland island, so I'm just that little bit more sandy again. Anyway, I'm rambling... Now to wait and see what happens when Winter comes. All the best. Daz.

Cheers for the video, great work on the swale

You should follow Jeff Lawton Permiculture.

Im in WestDale same sort of country all the hills covered in rocks and jam that the farmer didnt need,,,I got a few paddocks 2/3rds is trees,,,I have a track coming down a hill that brings a bit of water that ends up in a creekbed/gully ,,,I have dug out a shallow trench with a mattock to divert the water into my field,,I then used my dingo digger with a trencher to cut a trench across the field on the contour (I used an A frame like yours but with a spirit level on it),,the trench caught water for a few years and i seeded it and it grew lush but i found out it didnt fill all the way along,,,I think the ground has cracks through the clay where the water runs a bit like natural springs,,,at the other end of the trench must have been a spring as it was always full when it rained and im pretty sure it drained in the middle to somewhere underground,,,Ive also dug holes with post hole digger in winter and found some holes dry while others to be wet 4 feet down a week or so after rain,,,after a couple of years i decided to widen the trench to the width of the dingo,,then 3 times the width and so on,, my idea is because my feild slopes i want flatten it so it catches a few inches of rain and then pours down to the next level like the aztecs/incas did ,,,,well that was the plan instead the distance to move the earth became too far so i just started digging holes and making an extended long dam that doesnt hold water for very long atm,,,I need to get some bigger machinery in when i get some more money

My two cents worth. I was so excited to see this video. Have been hanging out to see how the swale was going. I would do more smaller swales, really get that water flowing down hill to slow down. As much as it all looks dead, I would think for the natives to be alive still, there must be some moisture down there somewhere, meaning the swale has worked in some ways. I personally would consider irrigating in the dry months. I know I sound like a broken record on this one, but watermelons, sweet potatoes and pumpkin will all run and cover the soil, keeping in some of the moisture and helping the native plants to have cooler soil with more moisture. Let the dead stuff off those creepers stay there and become organic matter. Brazilian and Egyptian spinach are other great summer crops, I can send some down if you want them. Neither will survive your winter, but that’s fine, you have plenty that will. Maybe plant some bulk cowpea at some stage to get some good nitrogen back in the soil. Please please please don’t ever put in leaceana. I know it’s a nitrogen fixer, but if you could see what they have done up here…… they put a declared pest to shame, please plant anything but them, unless you can 100% be certain you can keep on top of the pollarding and will never let a single tree develop a seed pod. Look into planting moringa trees. Not sure if they will survive your winter, but they are fast growing, and currently the most nutritious plant known on the planet, and they thrive in poor quality soil with low irrigation. I understand why you cannot mow, maybe consider building a small chicken tractor, and put them on the berm and let them eat down all the long grass, they will scratch around and fertilise as well. Before you build any more swales, if you can get free bulk hay and manure, I would lasagna layer your swales. That would help hold more moisture and improve the soil. The goal isn’t to fill the swales with water long term, it’s just to slow down the flow of the water on the property, so I wouldn’t worry about it not filling up. To me, having those natives alive with no irrigation is all the proof I need to show you are making good progress. Can’t wait to see what it does this year when you have it more covered.

I'll be working on similar land in S.A. my plan is to swale then post hole plant fig, oak and Lucerne in the swales. Then mulch and compost directly in the swales with as much green material I can then straw on top with some clay dust to help hold onto the moisture under the dermal layer. Can't wait to learn with every mistake and success. Good on you and prepare for the Witer wet when it comes again champ, you'll get there I'm sure.

Awesome, thanks, I'm trying to get ready for summers in Austria (Central Europe).

Smaller swales closer together. Speaking from experience. 🤠I always "harvest"/ pull the top soil uphill to slow the water a lil before it hits the actual swale itself. Good on ya mate.🤠

We are just starting in poppo .i only got to dig one small swale this year as ground got to hard.we plan on using a few small swales to help with holding water to help with summer dry spell.

So with the first couple years the swale won’t fill up as much because it permeates into the ground quickly once the soil reaches its water holding capacity the swale should hold more water. Permeation is a good thing. Also you might want to run a subsoiler in the swale to break up any compaction caused by the dry season.

Excellent explanation. Great job for your first go. Of course mulch and/or cover crops will be the go. How about trying a set of very small swales? Will be fab to see what the next rains bring. Onya!

Perhaps you should seek out Charles Massey on establishing swales and vegetation.

You guys are doing an amazing job I'm from Northern Territory look into vetiver grass I would spend a year or so on your Swales getting grasses and organic matter together before planting out

What about..... instead of the many small swales you mentioned, you instead put in lines of Lomandra grass? Not only would it be easier and less costly, but it'd work in much the same way that Ari over on Polyculture Farms did with his wood contour lines. As sandy as your soil is, any rain that falls is quickly absorbed into the ground, hence why your big swale doesn't fill up. Smaller swales might fill while it's raining, but it'll soak down into the soil within minutes and you're left with a long, dry ditch. A contour line of Lomandra grass would work in the same way as a swale, stopping runoff and giving the water a minute to soak in, but the hedge would also act as a fire-break should the unfortunate happen. The Lomandra's deep root system should be able to find water easily and stay green during the hot summer. I think. Could be wrong on that. Even if I'm wrong, though, it'd still work as both a water catcher and add much needed organic matter to the soil with it's deep root structure! Cheap, easy, and fast to install, it'd nimic what Ari's shown works and likely do even better than chopped up wood. In other words, instead of digging down, making a ditch and berm, build up with cut logs or plants.

I wonder if a very shallow swale just upslope of your big one might mitigate the water speed a bit - it looks like there is a fair elevation rise upslope and even changing the grade of your swale might not fully correct the erosion. That or you could just put in a rip line upslope of it. Good content, hope to see more of it.

Have you seen Natural Sequence Farming: how Peter Andrews rejuvenates drought-struck land on ABC Australia (you can find it on KZfaq) very interesting! Your doing great 👍

A handy tip for setting levels,,, start with as many star pickets or stakes as you can,, then stick them in where you want to set your levels,,dont be afraid to put them where you need to dig as you can move them and reset them as you need to,,, then set a level on them using either a laser level (I use a cheap bosch $90 from bunnings) or a water level in a hose works well ,,, mark the level that you set with Red insulation tape on all the pickets/stakes,,,then measure down 10cm and put a white tape,,10cm down a Blue,,10cm down Yellow,,10cm Green and then repeat with Red again and all the colors in the same order,, That way you can see at a distance your different heights in 10cm increments from your backhoe and can also easily see the difference between the same colors repeating as they are 50cm apart

Thought I'd add this video from LooseNatural's channel as an illustration of what I'd mentioned somewhere - filling the trough with organic matter. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gcmeg8Sbp8y6gp8.html Compost is compost, so where it happens isn't relevant. Why build a compost bin somewhere else when there's already a convenient ditch in desperate need of some organic matter? 😁 Not only would the compost add organic matter to the ground, but it would help to hold water, shading the ground so microbial life can flourish a bit. You can add to the water retention capability of the ditch by adding kitty litter. It doesn't take much and you can buy a bag or three as time and money allows. It's just pelletized bentonite clay so you can even cast with one of those handheld seed spreaders. A 20% increase in the soil's clay content would go a long way to slowing infiltration of the water. With the compost on top.... you'd have a veritable lake in no time flat!

Try cutting up old tyres and make long rubber blades for your slasher.................hugely reduces sparks, we did it with 20 foot mult head slasher to reduce stubble heights.😊

Plant some wattles on it, they are legumes, nitrifying. They will also drop lots of leaves carbon/mulch and are fast growing. let nature do all the work for you, they did die quickly and propagate too.. Nitrogen, carbon and moisture in the soil is the goal.

Thanks for sharing your first hand experience with swales. Plant roots and debris are natures way of slowing water and allowing it to infiltrate. Mechanical intervention seems to be a final and more expensive resort. Have you tried planting trees on contour and chop and drop? Plants recycle nutrients and minimise deep drainage whereas a swale is capturing those elements and storing them insitu. No doubt you have been through this thinking process…why swales?

I really ‘dig’ the combo swale. Ie ‘mown swales’, what you have, small ponds following natural contours etc I’ve found rosemary, citronella are really drought hardy and the Roos, potaroo and bandicoots don’t seem to touch them. Have you thrown out some ‘clay seed balls ‘containing a mix of local natural grasses nitrogen friendly weeds?

Nice informative with a few useful tips. Do you have any advice on how to make the swal water last for the dry season?

Great video! Swales are usually oversized and made for 10, 20 or 100year rain events. Especially in areas where flooding is an issue. But I saw a few people changing to smaller swales or leaky weirs after a while. Every situation (rain, soil, temperature) is different. It's your very first year. It will evolve, especially as you observe intentionally. If the grass is a problem in summer, could you plant native bushes/small trees to stabilize the berms and shade the swale? Any pioneer plants? I`m looking forward to see the swale filling up.

I would do small ones gradually spilling into the next. A system of small ones

Maybe just wippey to get down that grass.

Mate, where is your hat? 🤠

as you have so much land,why not dig massive storage pond at highest point on your land,also a lot more swales,not just one,water will gradually re generate❤

Just a question… would a machete or slasher hand tool work in summer to cut the bulk? Or a hand push mower, where you have more control of speed? Just a thought 😃

Plant native trees on the lower edge of your swales.

I’d say smaller swales more of them would work more effectively

A few cows will sort your grass out and fertilise if you have enough water for them … drink don’t mow

Can I ask you how did you find the contour to start your swale? I think I am overthinking it as we are about to start swales on our place and I’m procrastinating too much.

Have i misunderstood somting or are you draining the water with the swales? Dont you want it to infiltrate the water into the ground, retaining as much water on the property as possible ?

It would have been catastrophic here in today's conditions if a fire had started.

Have you heard of poly culture farms here on KZfaq?

To eliminate fire in ths field ,please try to have small bore well circular pits at 3 feet apart from each other say 3 inches in diameter and 2 ft in length where there is dry grass. Also try these small borewell type rain water retention pits in one acre of dry land by punching small holes in the land so that when rain comes, it soaks nicely instead of evaporating very fast after the rains.

Why don't you plant rows of vetiver grass instead of digging swales? It'll cost you 1/10th and improve your soil tremendously

Basically you are trying to create new rivers and wetlands. But together with that. You need Beavers. And something else. Most wetlands in australia right now are belonging to human societies. That is the biggest issue. That is why so many people are living in Flood Area. Why? Not because people are choosing to live there but goverments and developers corrupted. Those who are living in flood area should moved somewhere epse and those flood area should turn into wetlands for forest and animals and even bring Beavers from U.S to Australia just to re-create new australia habitats. Right now. Those flood area are concreted grounds created by those communities that stopping australia from growing more forest and wetlands to spread those rains into the desert. Most water right now are running out into the ocean through rivers. Most farming are still sucking under ground water up and killing the soils underneath those farms. Many towns and villages are also sucking underground water out to use for their villages instead of running water from those dams back to those towns and villages. Then when those dams full, they need to release water while there are heavy rain too. Then turn those housing and town into flood area. It is all about how those politicians did not care about the design of those towns, positioning those villages and building those flood water control systems.

There is away to fix australia lands. Bring those beavers from U.K and U.S to Australia. Give up Farmlands and Rivers for Beavers to build their Wetlands all around Australia. But that is not going to make profit now. But will make profit in 100 years. Again. Nothing can change the way those businesses are running. Nothing can change the way those farms are running. Nothing can change the way those human are consuming their foods and products from those farms. Nothing can stop those farmers from farming sheep on grass lands instead of inside a forest. Nothing can stop those cows farmers to farm their cows in forest instead of grasslands. Nothing can stop those big farmers from turning big patches of lands into a single weats farm. Nothing can stop those farmers from turning a giant rainforest into a corn farm. Just as sad as it sound. As bad as it looks. As depressed as it going to be for the future of "Greening" australia. They are turning australia into a farm. Not a rain-forest. To turn australia into a rain-forest? Those Leaders and farmers need to change a lot of their old ways of farming and doing businesses.

C+A, I see that you are "bossing" it and you have a 1% growth in subs in one week. Video production is strong!!! Since I am antipode of you ( Washington DC), I was thinking of your discussion being a "tradie." After getting out of my Internet/Computer Programming business, I was lucky to help business owners run their businesses. I did spend several years at a group of Ace Hardware stores in this region. I became the person doing most of the Commercial Account management. I would do most of my sales through web page sales. We had systems where I could set up private pricing plans by business type or focused down to customer buying. Regular item sales would by grabbed off the retail floor by me and added to orders. If you are in a hardware store and you need help, you grab the oldest staff member that you see!! And, I was that person, never mind that I was a career long tech-nerd--I had remodeled four homes and as many old offices. (And to the point--the tradie joke) So last night, after a long day of work putting tax returns together at my new post-Covid job, I visit a new Indian restaurant near my residence run by staff at one of my old store customers. I am eating some naan and enjoying a G+T. I sit at the bar, watching a young bartender taking a wrench to the aerator on a bar sink faucet so he could add a new filter. Two follows are fighting it for 15 minutes. I get their attention and suggest that I could go to the store and get them some PB Blaster, but my preferred suggestion is that if you tried for 15 minutes to take something off, try turning it the other direction. TA-DA. Corey, your tradie humor for the day. Per your question, I would accept that your slope observation was correct, I would do a span of deeper swale with a better wider slope and a higher berm. I would think that the area down hill from a bigger catchment would green up better for longer, but I am a know not elder-nerd. I would do a new smaller swale above the current one with a couple of well built spillways to your primary swale. This would slow down the water. You did mention tying a pond to the primary swale.