How to Build a Swale

[@aaronburford5701]

Thanks for rhe breakdown! Great comtent and channel!!

[@EagleriseFarm]

Thanks for your feedback. Hope you are enjoying the channel. I have more information on our website. [e-mail]

[@ladyofthemasque]

Thank you for showing the use of surveying tools. I kept seeing all these videos saying "build a swale on your contours!" and "a swale is a level ditch!" but nobody showed *how* to build a level ditch on contours.

[@EagleriseFarm]

No worries ladyofthemasque. There are many ways to mark out a contour. I find the optical level ideal for the scale I need. These guys in the video were our covid backpackers, sheltering with us when covid lockdowns first impacted on backpackers in Australia. I gave them a quick tutorial on the level and they were right to mark these out. Laser levels only require one person, but they present difficulties when you stretch out the mark spots. A-frame levels take a bit longer to use on this scale.

[@j.s.boehme8991]

If you go to the page for the Weedy Garden and look up his swale videos, he has Geoff Lawton demonstrate how to install a small scale swale.

[@EagleriseFarm]

@@j.s.boehme8991 Thanks for your input. Geoff does a great job explaining and demonstrating his small scale swales. I've used a different approach for my farm swales. My soil is quite porous (gravelly sandy loam) and my swales are not designed to hold water for any length of time - hence, no overflow. I've designed the swales to hold back a 50mm rainfall event, which is a significant fall for us. These swales are for improving the soil moisture to supplement pasture production. I've included some calculations on my web page eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/ We have constructed swales in our fruit tree area to supplement the fruit trees water availability during our hot dry season. I deep ripped the contour first, to increase water infiltration deeper for the tree roots. eaglerisefarm.com.au/fruit-trees/ Slightly different designs for different outcomes. Geoff is designing swales in a subtropical bioregion with much better soil and much heavier rainfall events. That is why he included overflows and why he is able to plant them out so extensively.

[@j.s.boehme8991]

@@EagleriseFarm Hello, my friend. Thank you for writing. I apologize if my comment caused confusion. I wouldn't dream of trying to send you to a Geoff Lawton video. It is quite clear that you are well versed in the subject and I am learning from your process. My comment was for layofthemasque, who commented that it is difficult to find videos on how to build on contour. I just suggested to her another video that showed a fairly simple technique on a small property using hand tools. Thanks for the links and the info on your process. I'll be sure to check them out and good luck with your continued project. I look forward to following your efforts.

[@EagleriseFarm]

@@j.s.boehme8991 No worries. I understood your message, but I took the opportunity to add to my previous replies to this video. I look forward to further responses.

[@michaeleldridge5640]

Great video, I always thought there must be easier ways of building swales than bring in massive machinery. With your way, a lot more people can do this on a affordable scale.

[@EagleriseFarm]

Thanks for your feedback Michael. We are trying to show people how we have designed and implemented our farm setup. We have a web site with more information, www.eaglerisefarm.com.au

[@foldupaudi7645]

Awesome, now I just need to borrow your tractor

[@EagleriseFarm]

I can rent you a shovel!

[@sharonhoffer3599]

I think an Aussie with some ingenuity needs to come up with a new implement to pull behind a tractor - a swale digger! Imagine an implement that could do a swale with one pass. Some shape that could create the swale and roll the ground over and down to make the berm

[@EagleriseFarm]

Thanks for your comment. It would be interesting to see the outcome. There are many conceptions of swales - depth, width, purpose. I let the berm settle and vegetate for at least a year before I put stock in. This is what suits our farming practice. They are surprisingly quick to form. We've just made some more and included an extra pass with a different grader configuration, to deepen and widen the swale a bit more. I used an A-frame level too. I'll have some footage up on KZbin and in our website soon. I've developed a system to grow squirrel glider linkages across the farm. It will be exciting to see the growth in 20 years or so.

[@JKTCGMV13]

I don’t have enough property to make swales, so I’ll just have to appreciate yours

[@EagleriseFarm]

Thanks for your comment King of Dongles. Swales can be downsized to even work within a suburban backyard. The principles don't change, just the scale.

[@JKTCGMV13]

@@EagleriseFarm I've gone and dug a small swale on a slope in my backyard. Maybe it'll catch some sprinkler runoff and we'll have a new spot for some small bushes :)

[@jwnigel]

Thanks for the video. The grader made fast work. Though it looks like it scraped the soil into serious hardpan. I guess any other blade would have done the same. I did something similar with a small excavator on 3 hectares. I noticed the ditched(uphill) part of the swales I dug was (literally) the hardest area in the field to establish seed. I'm thinking a pass or two with a subsoiler in the scraped part would be a big help. Anyway, I appreciate seeing videos about swales done on a bigger scale like this.

[@EagleriseFarm]

So nice of you. In a flatter paddock, I deep ripped before I used the blade. This left fractured soil to improve water soakage in the swale itself. My soil is not very good. It is gneiss based and is quite gravelly/sandy. An excavator will produce a hardpan much easier than a lot of other machines as it presses down as it crowds. Thanks for your feedback. I'll add this into my web site explanation. eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/

[@rianajansevanrensburg2444]

Lovely video thank you.

[@EagleriseFarm]

Glad you got something from it. I have more information on our Web site. www. Eaglerisefarm.com.au.

[@LennyLeLizard]

I've watched many Swale and Keyline videos, and this one made it seem the absolute most simple. Of course, watching all those other ones means I already understand the general concept. Not sure what type soil that was, but I have hard clay based soil here. Not sure that grader blade would do such an easy job, but I'm willing to try one out. Did mine with a box blade tilted 10 degrees. Took many passes, but I didn't know about the "middle one" which makes perfect sense, now. My uphill side is pretty much a straight down drop off.

[@EagleriseFarm]

The soil moisture is important . If it is too dry, the swales will break up and the soil won't flow. If the soil is too wet, it will stick and clump up on the blade. If you think the clay will be a problem, you can rip a couple of passes to start with. There can be advantages in improving moisture absorption if you rip first. I did that when I made the swales in our fruit tree area. The paddocks in the video are gravelly loam soils with high infiltration. I've explained a bit more on our web site eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/ Good luck.

[@looneyRoOK1]

That was a well made video! And nice looking swales. What is that blade attachment called, and is it available for compact tractors?

[@EagleriseFarm]

Thanks Sunil, glad you enjoyed it. We tried to make it universal for all languages and cultures. The blade attachment is simply called a grader blade. It is made to fit the tractor 3 point linkage. They come up in a google search here in Aus. There are also many that come out of China. Our tractor is only 35HP, so is nearly a compact tractor. You need something strong enough to move the soil and curve it over. We have more information on our website (don't worry, we're not selling things!) eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/ Get back to me if you want any more. Regards Gerard Lawry

[@LureThosePixels]

Awesome vid, I see you've got exclusion zones around that waterway on the side 2:07 Any tree updates around it?

[@EagleriseFarm]

I've revegetated all the drainage lines. The one below the main swale paddock has had a sad time. The sheep kept getting in and grazing the trees. There are also many rabbits. I've planted it out at least 4 times. I'll get there in the end. You can see our revegetation areas on our web site here eaglerisefarm.com.au/revegetation-biodiversity-at-eaglerise-farm/ . Hope you enjoy the read.

[@nc4801]

What tractor implement are you using?

[@EagleriseFarm]

I have a 35hp tractor and I use a 4 foot grader blade to form the swales. I swing and pivot it to get the angles . This is similar to mine www.ebay.com.au/itm/172825085363?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=172825085363&targetid=1278430613696&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9072031&poi=&campaignid=12502547511&mkgroupid=123612187918&rlsatarget=pla-1278430613696&abcId=9300512&merchantid=119332392&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4b2MBhD2ARIsAIrcB-Rhi51fexsXWnEhPdrPKFDf5BUS32wAVxXlmK0rCp1LHJcBWVv2e8YaApkTEALw_wcB

[@nc4801]

@@EagleriseFarm Ah got it! Awesome, they look amazing. Does the grader blade make it completely level, or did you have to go back over it to smooth it out?

[@EagleriseFarm]

The first pass forms the swale. Coming back, I drive along the sharp edge to roll it in. Then, I do a third pass to smooth the swale and angle it into the hill better. You can read more on my web site. eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/

[@ozlakota1]

2disc plow does it a little faster can find those for less than $500

[@EagleriseFarm]

Yes, but I don't have one. I've used one previously though.

[@sallycheater6763]

Looks great. So is the drone yours?

[@A2Zandeverything]

Lol. No. You obviously didn't watch to the end. Drone footage supplied by Andre Garcia.

[@EagleriseFarm]

No Sal. We've had some international backpackers here since the world changed with covid-19. One of them had the drone. But my birthday is coming up if you'd like to get me one.

[@sallycheater6763]

Eaglerise Farm Chris was given one. Not an expensive one.

[@sallycheater6763]

Definitely makes for a good video

[@spermworks1580]

Did you have to angle the blade to cut into the incline?

[@EagleriseFarm]

Yes, I angled it down and spun it forward. I was able to cut about 100mm in. I also had to drive off the contour when I turned. This stopped the blade swinging uphill in a drainage line and downhill when I was working the ridge.

[@EagleriseFarm]

You can see the angle of the blade at 1.08. Compare the vertical section of the blade to the tractor.

[@spermworks1580]

I suspect my land is too steep, unfortunately. May have to back hoe instead.

[@EagleriseFarm]

Depends on the size of your tractor. You can widen your back axel by shifting your wheels out. With the blade, I also shorten the lower right 3PL link and extend the left. This shifts the blade to the right (uphill for me). You may need to do another pass or two to get the swale deep enough too. A small excavator would do a neater job than a backhoe. You get the hang of making one scoop then tracking along the contour for another - still slow though. We sometimes hire these small units for a weekend - great for digging postholes too

[@spermworks1580]

@@EagleriseFarm What would you say would be your maximum incline of slope to work on? I'd say my slope is around 25 degrees, on average.

[@pesci96]

Your video actually shows almost nothing about how to do this. How to set up the tractor, and why you do it that way would make this video useful. That looks like a job well done.

[@EagleriseFarm]

Sorry about that. I presumed that anyone attempting to make swales would have the knowledge to set the blade. You can see from the back of the tractor how much I angled the blade. I didn't want to make the screen too busy with overly wordy explanations and I deliberately omitted a voice over to simplify the message. Thanks for your feedback. I've extended my explanation on our website. eaglerisefarm.com.au/eaglerise-farm-water/

[@LennyLeLizard]

@@EagleriseFarm I could understand the angle perfectly well from the video as compared to tractor driving forward, but how about in reference to horizontal plane. Was it "level" with the tractor or tilted "up-hill"?

[@EagleriseFarm]

I tilted it into the hill i.e. tilt down on the right side. It allowed about 100mm cut depth

[@cliffrose9492]

What's the blade?

[@EagleriseFarm]

I have a 1.2m grader blade that fits onto my 3PL on the tractor.

[@AnimeAccord]

Great video. I wonder what it looks like now after more than a year. :D

[@EagleriseFarm]

Good question! I planted 20 or so eucalypts along the swales and have tree guarded them. I've just grazed it. It'll come back very well next rain.