How to make swales

How to design, dig (with an excavator), plant, protect and care for swales.

[@RRaucina]

I built a 3 mile road up my mountain and down again with an excavator. The side ditches or swales were made to have numerous "Retention basins" or small ponding areas. Never just a smooth channel for erosion. Now, those holes are silting in a bit, but hold water into June in areas. Pine trees are repopulating like crazy and water rarely makes it to the culverts. Rather it stands and soaks in, making home for frogs and water for bees and mammals. In some large basins, I can harvest a truckload of fine silt for the garden yearly. So easy and self evident, but rarely done.

[@BuddyCrotty]

I'm so glad youtube recommended this video, it was a great intro to swales! I've already started watching your other vids and can't wait to see what else you post.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thank you!

[@williamhad]

I found this video to be more informative and easier to follow than most other Permaculture videos. Even better than a lot of Geoff Lawton videos.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thank you! I will try to upload more videos when I have something worth sharing.

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

I could watch someone work... all day !

[@HankODonnellDesign]

Great video man! I'm about to start on my flat (less than 12" high to low), very wet, land. The A frame worked great for me...had some spare parts and built one. Good luck on this season! Hope everyone is stocked up and ready. Much love.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thanks for watching! I dug more this spring in a smaller field. Tried to make them shallower and wider because I've noticed some erosion along some of the steeper, more abrupt ones I dug in this video. Just a piece of advice. Good luck with your project as well!

[@B30pt87]

Thank you for posting this. It was interesting to see and hear you talk about the excavation- and the note about the learning curve for using the excavator was helpful too. I really liked the overhead shots of the whole project the whole way through. Subscribed.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thanks!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Nicely done. Those were deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), they don’t usually girdle trees.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Good to know! I didn’t notice any damage

[@-abheda]

thank you, nigel for a very useful, informative and accessible video. i appreciate your slower pace and the time you allowed for comprehension of information screens. the method for determining how and where swales go over land is very helpful. i also unexpectedly learned that google earth can calculate the measure of a field, who knew? :) thanks also for introducing that permaculture tool for obtaining level. it is small, simple and affordable. dude, this is most excellent work! gracias, amigo:)

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thanks for watching and your kind words, I'm glad you found some things helpful! Gracias a ti amigo que estes bien :)

[@-abheda]

:) what is the name of the small sighting tool again?

[@nigelsearthprojects]

@@-abheda sight level

[@-abheda]

hilarious! sight level:). thanks! watched the film about the rain a month after setup and boy was i impressed - the sound of water running in the channels was like a temporary self created river, fantastic!

[@somegladmourning443]

What a great video! Keep posting. I'm on a similar adventure building a food Forest with swales. I live on a kind of high desert/ prairie. Windy, dry and not many trees. Hoping to hydrate the land and build the soil with trees and swales and wood chips.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Oh yeah swales would be great to capture what little water you get. And wood chips keep the soil moist. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@susanayersmatonis732]

Me too! I'm on just 1.5 acres in the desert. So challenging.

[@DubDigital]

Wow! This is great content, my guy!

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Appreciate it!

[@dubhaltaghohearcain2431]

Great chanel on swales with good tips and advice. Would love to see a video dedicated on how to use the site level. Thank you

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestion. I’ll make a video on the site level this spring when I lay out some more swales :)

[@TheWoodlandOrchard]

Do A frames have the advantage of giving more data points as I suspect the sight levels would tend to be placed further apart? Excellent video. Thank you.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Yes that’s true, but I personally don’t think that level of precision is necessary

[@LongboatAline]

Thanks for showing your experiences with the voles nesting within the treetubes! I'm desperately researching how to prevent the deer from reducing my castanea sativa seedlings to bonsai sized miniatures, but voles are my other problem...

[@nigelsearthprojects]

I don’t know if it’s because of our cold winters, but I haven’t found any vile damage over the first two years of this project. I did find a paper-thin skull in of the tube though…

[@Twotimepyro]

I use window screen and stapler to make tree tubes. Really cheap and effective

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Can you get the window screen in rolls?

[@Twotimepyro]

@@nigelsearthprojects yes. Several sizes

[@nigelsearthprojects]

@@Twotimepyro I’ll look into it as an option, thanks!

[@tj21bem]

What do you call that tree shovel/planting device? Thank you for your video.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

A dibble bar

[@jacobkaufman6663]

Awesome breakdown of your land use techniques - the voles peaking out the tubes cracked me up! Did they appear to be eating the plant matter on the trees or primarily just nesting in the tube?

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Jacob, thanks for the comment!! They hadn't chewed the trees yet but the during the winter when there's nothing green to eat is when they do damage....So I will have an update this week as soon as I can get back out there.

[@iwanabana]

Good luck!

[@nigelsearthprojects]

If you would like me to focus on a specific part of the process in a future video, let me know with a comment!

[@ankitsingh1909]

Kindly make a separate video on using that measuring instrument.

[@nephilimPB]

Swale size planning and their spacing.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

@@nephilimPB Will do

[@joxxxyalpharius2008]

thnank you for sharring your knowledge and feedback !

[@faizaniqbal1683]

Why did you make them? And what benefits you got? As I can see the whole area is full of trees, so there is not much use of it. If you just let your land spared for a year or so the whole area is covered in thick forest with no effort at all.

[@lidiamiota3234]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and process, so interesting and useful! Specially the design of swales. Im curious if something would change if you gave the voles an alternative place to nest. I'd be interested in friendly ways of controlling the damage predators can cause to your trees (since i have no idea). Have a nice day:)

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Thanks Lidia, I don’t have any alternatives yet but I didn’t notice any vole damage this spring (I also only opened about 10 of the tubes to check)

[@B30pt87]

Just be aware that 'alternative nesting area' reads (to voles- or rats, or mice) exactly the same as 'more nesting area'. I had a friend who was horrified at my 'kill them all' strategy for mice, so she made a series of nice little places for them to move to in the backyard while I was away. The result was a population explosion in the house and in the backyard.

[@carmengloriamugaastudillo1265]

Maravilloso. La REFORESTACIÓN debe ser responsable y con biodiversidad, así volverá el ciclo de vida. Los árboles regulan la temperatura en la corteza terrestre. Resguardan las NAPAS SUBTERRÁNEAS. Un gran ejemplo.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Gracias amiga por la afirmacion!

[@dmcafee8882]

I love it Trying to do I swale project myself. Do you have advice or a good resource where to buy a lot of food Forrest trees? Fruit etc

[@nigelsearthprojects]

State DNRs are the cheapest source of seedlings, they sell native fruits like persimmon, mulberry, wild plum etc…

[@dmcafee8882]

@@nigelsearthprojects thank you very much sir, I will check them out.

[@mrThoreKarlsson]

Skip the Swale (Many people regrets there swale projekts) and lern Key Line acording P. A Yeoman to manage water and build soil ontop of it

[@lynnej7219]

@@dmcafee8882I follow a woman in Northern Australia, very dry area, and she collects seeds from local wild fruit, street trees, fruit she buys, and also swaps with other people. Growing trees in her swales that cope with severe drought. Grows and plants in the wet season, so they have a good root system when the dry season comes. She needs hundreds of trees to provide food and shade, so she said it is a cheap way to cover your land. Very interesting.

[@janelleryan7869]

what kind of trees are they that they can be planed so close

[@shumwaymike]

Hello, I see this video is a couple years old, hopefully you get my message. I noticed the Holmes rental logo on the excavator. Im in Killbuck area. Would you have any interest in possibly consulting with me at my property on swale placement. Ive been thinking about installing some this spring. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Mike

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Yeah I can help you. I’ll be out of the country til April but when I get back I’d be glad to. Send me an email at nigelsearthprojects at gmail

[@DoomSquadTennis]

enjoyed the vid brother

[@inthegarden6556]

Great video. I'm wanting to do this but need to do a little more research and learn how to do it properly like how many swales, how far apart, and how deep. So the property you're working on is in Ohio but you live in Mexico? What part of Mexico? I've Been looking at property in Campech and surrounding areas there. How is the weather and how are the prices for land in your area in Mexico?

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Yes the property is located in Ohio. I’m not sure about prices in Campeche but I’ve been through there. I didn’t look seriously at any land in Mexico, or find it to be any cheaper than land here… the going rate for 10x20m lots outside my city is 25-40k! If you speak Spanish and make connections you can ask around. You will definitely find land if you look seriously!

[@nigelsearthprojects]

As for swale size and spacing, all I can say is it depends! There are wrong answers but also many good answers, depending on your land and goals for it. I’ll make a video to address it when I can.

[@inthegarden6556]

@@nigelsearthprojects thank you.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Maybe the voles couldn't climb up the tree tubes if they didn't have those big holes that make it easy to climb up?

[@Nick-me7ot]

so is this location in mexico or in ohio? very beautiful!

[@nigelsearthprojects]

It's in Ohio, thanks!

[@kennhurt5636]

How much do they charge to rent the excavation machine and where is this property

[@nigelsearthprojects]

The excavator was $800 pre-tax for one week, and I'm in the great state of Ohio

[@kennhurt5636]

Thank you so much. I have asked others and I guess they we afraid to tell me thanks again.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

​@@kennhurt5636 No problem! It is a small mini-excavator (8,000 lbs I think). This year I rented a larger one (17,000 lbs) and it cost $1200 for the week. The place I rented from also added a 10% damage fee (non-refundable) and tax which added 200-300 to the total. And running it all day I could spend $80-90 in diesel so it adds up. Still many times cheaper than hiring someone!

[@KalvinistKyle]

What was that tree planting tool you used?

[@nigelsearthprojects]

A dibble bar

[@KalvinistKyle]

@@nigelsearthprojects thanks! Haven’t heard of it before and wasn’t sure i heard the name correctly. I want swales and may have to resort to a grub hoe to move the earth. But a dibble bar will have to accompany it

[@nigelsearthprojects]

@@KalvinistKyle It’s just a straight blade you step into the ground and lever a hole, easy for fast planting. The dirt is easy to dig when it’s soft!

[@RRaucina]

Steep areas? That is a parking lot compared to mine. Rocks the size of cars and 40% slopes common. Don't be afraid, you have to work really stupid to roll over. Usually on a loaded swing with a full bucket on an edge can do it. Mine weighs 45,000 pounds but I would guess the stability is better since it is 11' wide. Work it for a year, You will be climbing trees!

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Well for a first timer the feeling when it wobbles off the skids is very unsettling. This one was tiny, 8000 lbs and less stable than a big one. It was my first time operating but sounds like your an old timer! Yes I’ve learned to bring the bucket in when swinging it with a full load.

[@ankitsingh1909]

Kindly make a separate video on using that measuring instrument. Is it available on amazon?

[@nigelsearthprojects]

It's called a sight level, I think the only one on amazon is the johnson brand. It cost 10 or 15 dollars last year (probably more now).

[@meaghanorlinski8464]

Never thought to use Google Earth!!!

[@mahmoudabdelaziz5360]

Checkout the work of matt kilby

[@TheNativeTwo]

I don't understand the purpose of these swales. Typically I've seen swales used to fix drainage issues... This seems to have another purpose entirely.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

These are on contour to capture water

[@TheNativeTwo]

@@nigelsearthprojects Ah I see. Well would swales be useful in a climate like California, where there is only 2 seasons: rain and no rain? During rainy seasons, our problem is how to remove the water the fastest. During our dry season, we need water but there is no rain to catch in a swale.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

@@TheNativeTwo good question, I don’t feel qualified to answer but I’ll try anyway. It probably depends on where you are in relation to the local topography-if you’re in a basin where hundred of acres of water are running down into you or whether you’re upland. Upland I’d try to catch every drop but in bottomland you’d need to be sure you have stout and wide spillways. Look around your area for people who’ve tried!

[@mrThoreKarlsson]

Skip the Swale and lern Key Line acording P. A Yeoman to manage water and build soil ontop of it

[@laurier3348]

Video was not short

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Insightful lol!

[@laurier3348]

@@nigelsearthprojects Yo, great achievements

[@Not_Built_For_This_World]

No way I would have let those vols out alive! It's one of the few animals I can actually bring myself to kill. Mice, rats, vols, beaver and anything non-native and invasive.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Swales did no good at all for my land. I guess I will plant trees in the rows. Alot of construction for nothing.

[@nigelsearthprojects]

Hmmm I’d be interested in seeing what your project looks like

[@mrThoreKarlsson]

Skip the Swale and lern Key Line acording P. A Yeoman to manage water and build soil ontop of it