I've been following you for many years Mr. Matt. You are an amazing person. Thank you for sharing so much knowledge with all of us. I hope you and your family are all doing well.
Hi Matt, How deep do you normally make the swale? What too have toiled to do, the overland run off I have to correct/slow down wouldn't even notice. I've seen some that Geoff Lawton has shown on his farm which seem much deeper. I'm going to use mechanical aid to, in the form of a small excavator. Regards Dennis.
It really depends on your situation - on slopes the more you create dynamics, the more you create erosion, so I go for the least change for the greatest effect (one of Bill's principles). BUT I'd also to be thorough say there ARE actual %'s and #'s that define the limits though SOIL TYPES can skew this as well and the BEST EARTHWORKS IN-DEPTH BOOK AVAILABLE is by Brad Lancaster - his 2nd edition is about to release and I was privileged enough to be a reviewer too!! Everyone should own: Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond EARTHWORKS Vol II
Great video. Hope you're not too worn out. Looked exhausting. Any tool that you recommend could ease the work? I dont think I could dig a swale with such a tiny hoe with my clay and rock heavy soil without breaking my body.
I recommend the Meadow Creature Broadfork & a Grub Hoe - those two are vital for breaking into and breaking up the compacted hard dirt, and then I'd say my flat end and flat bottom shovel that allows for leveling is critical.
Not for this work - you need to be able to create flat surfaces and essentially sculpt things - a rounded shovel will just make the job take a lot more energy and time. Once you've been shoveling swales a few years you get to see what works best.
I've been following you for many years Mr. Matt. You are an amazing person. Thank you for sharing so much knowledge with all of us. I hope you and your family are all doing well.
Thank you!! The new site and being close to family and longtime friends has given us a serious boost :) :) :)
Excellent Matt beautifully illustrated.
doing awesome matt!! your enthusiasm keeps me going!!
Wow! There is incredibly hard work there but I know in the end it is worth it thank you for the video
Awesome information Matt, I'm learning so much, ty for sharing 😃👍
Hi Matt,
How deep do you normally make the swale? What too have toiled to do, the overland run off I have to correct/slow down wouldn't even notice. I've seen some that Geoff Lawton has shown on his farm which seem much deeper.
I'm going to use mechanical aid to, in the form of a small excavator.
Regards Dennis.
It really depends on your situation - on slopes the more you create dynamics, the more you create erosion, so I go for the least change for the greatest effect (one of Bill's principles). BUT I'd also to be thorough say there ARE actual %'s and #'s that define the limits though SOIL TYPES can skew this as well and the BEST EARTHWORKS IN-DEPTH BOOK AVAILABLE is by Brad Lancaster - his 2nd edition is about to release and I was privileged enough to be a reviewer too!! Everyone should own: Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond EARTHWORKS Vol II
Where's part 1? Thank you for the video!
I got it backwards! Tomorrow part 1 comes out 6am - thank you for watching!!
Very clever
~Nice. Much love❤❤❤~
Great video. Hope you're not too worn out. Looked exhausting. Any tool that you recommend could ease the work? I dont think I could dig a swale with such a tiny hoe with my clay and rock heavy soil without breaking my body.
I recommend the Meadow Creature Broadfork & a Grub Hoe - those two are vital for breaking into and breaking up the compacted hard dirt, and then I'd say my flat end and flat bottom shovel that allows for leveling is critical.
Rounded shovel
Not for this work - you need to be able to create flat surfaces and essentially sculpt things - a rounded shovel will just make the job take a lot more energy and time. Once you've been shoveling swales a few years you get to see what works best.
Pick axe