I Bought An Actual Desert Forest (Tour)
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2024
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In this episode, we tackle challenges like mulch and water conservation. The acquisition of a 70-acre desert forest which is just 13 miles away from Dustups, provides critical resources, reducing the need for extensive fuel and labor. Exploring this new property with Brandon and Joao, we uncover its rich biodiversity and unique landscape, showcasing its potential for the Dustups project. I can't believe that I actually thought of selling this property.
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#desertforest #desertplanting #greeningthedesert
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Why do you need that gun over there? American gun culture is quite frightening.
Nice place that can be further enhanced and support the upper land.
@@hotbit7327 feral hogs, drug and human trafficking cartels.
Nice savanna. Needs to have rainwater harvesting earthworks to help regreen it...
@@hotbit7327
Gun culture? You're desperate.
Anybody talk to you about your serf culture?
@@hotbit7327 I have a feeling its because wild pigs are extremely aggressive and not gun culture but more to do with a viable food source safety and not carrying a spear (the only other thing that will stop a pig attack).
This is huge! Now you have access to an ecosystem that's already progressed into a forest, you can use it to jumpstart your barren land using the existing deadwood, as well as build a nursery to grow more biomass in a protected environment that you can use for both locations. I'd do what your buddy is saying and increase the biodiversity of the forest, but also bring in some fast-growing species in bulk that you can use as biomass to mulch both locations.
Also, build a fence to keep the cows out and see if you can grow grass everywhere
the biomass is best used as a mulch on the 70 acres. the resulting growth of biomass can then be exported the dustup
The resources can flow both ways! Rocks and clean fill from Dustups to create gambions at the river property with organic matter going the other way. If you're doing that much driving you might as wel get the most out of each trip.
Exactly,👏👏
Great idea! I was trying to figure out how to increase the movement of the water in the river to help oxygenate it and make it more beneficial. Rock gabbions would do just that.
Space them apart and only halfway across the river to help force the water to meander.
@@RealRionRedingerSince the Rio Grand is an international border with Mexico, he might be legally limited as to what he can do other than to his bank which he should be able to improve.
Shaun if you don't have done consider getting a dump trailer that you can tow with your truck, as large as you can tow.
Use it to transport materials between the 2 properties & from home to the properties. Make each trip count. Use the river propery for mulch & anything else to enhance the ranch & bring materials like rocks to use at the river propery.
Shaun, don't knock that Adobe structure down!!! Believe me, it is restorable. When you consider what it would cost to have an adobe building built today, you have a treasure. You could actually do most of the work yourself as well as make more adobes to repair that one wall that is gone. Keep the vigas in the building and reroof above those. From what I could see, the building is not that old, and most of the adobe seems to be in very good condition, it has not been weathered down too much. A beautiful piece of property!
I would agree, cheaper to restore than buy more doghouses etc and suits it's environment.
I'd only take it down if it were a legitimate hazard.
I say restore it to make a shelter during Texas radical weather moments.
maybe it's abandoned because it kept flooding in rain season. gotta make sure it's built in a viable spot, where it's worth to put in ressources
That is where water harvesting comes in to manage the water flows so that it is encouraged to slow down and spread out. Berms and swales on contours and or key line principles should be considered.
a potential idea for the land; there's a pruning technique for shrubs and bushes that can make them grow taller than they naturally would by pruning the lower branches and leaving a single stem it forces it to grow up and turn them into trees, and once they reach certain heights you allow them to grow out, potentiallly increasing the amount of shade on your land and recreate cooler micro-climates you're enjoying at 8:00. it would take many years to show results, but an interesting synergy between your need to harvest organic matter and create a desert forest, it might be possible to do both simultaneously by pruning shrubs into trees.
also are you going to be digging plenty of half moons or ponds and swales down there or will the cows mess it all up?
Yeah i've seen that in other video's , Helps to make them grow taller and strong given more shade at the same time. I would consider fencing off that part where the grass wants to grow. Plus keeping some sort of cabin near the river, so you can rest or stay overnight when working in that area.
thats a really cool idea, liking in the hopes he sees
I've seen that in Namibia, where an Agave "forest" grew up to 3m tall. Was pretty awesome.
Re mulching. We have been working on selectively thinning dead (fire hazard) willows on our place. We considered going with a forestry mulcher, but that was more akin to killing a fly with a shotgun for our purposes. Last year, we employed a miniex with a thumb to selectivly pull the dead willow clusters (or portions of a cluster) and hand fed them into a skidsteer mounted chipper that had the discharge chute aimed to fill a trailer. This worked very well for us as it allowed a more selective pruning option while providing a surprisingly large volume of chips with minimal effort. YMMV. Good Luck!
Agreed! Don’t rush the transformation… work with it for long term success.
Fence off property to only allow cattle if and when you want; maybe electric. Check out timeless fence. Leave adobe structure intact and restore it to suit your needs, a primitive shelter/office for when you are there. Grow a variety of timber bamboo for your building projects and any other useful trees you want. Reintroduce canopy layer trees. Perhaps just do a few agroforestry experiments to see what could work so you don’t spread yourself to thin working on both properties. Consider fencing off a small section to experiment with.
Will bamboo take over if you plant it? I keep reading about people that battle it in yards at least.
@@matthodel946Some do that but some don't! I had both.
It's truly great advices.
@@matthodel946 There is clumping bamboo and spreading bamboo, learn the difference in their growth habits.
@@matthodel946 introducing a bamboo monoculture to a scarce biosystem where it does not belong would be a huge mistake. Shaun needs to use the land carefully and not wreck the biodiversity down there, yes fencing it off but introducing invasive none native species would be a really bad idea and probably against the law in that area to be honest. Work with the land and take only small excesses, anything else is a road to disaster.
Native willows and cottonwoods are what you need to plant there. If you see any Tamarix aka salt cedar, get rid of it. If you can, put in some beaver dam analogs to help with the erosion and if you are lucky, there might be some beaver in the area that will move in. Their ponds are nutrient sinks and will help clean the water plus they will raise the water table in the area. This will not only improve water quality and water retention, it will help with the erosion and start to raise the rive bed and eventually reconnect it with the flood plain. Before you know it, you will have fish, ducks and all types of other wildlife taking up residence in your little desert forest. Good luck!
Good point! Out in California and much of the desert southwest Tamarisk species are an invasive to riparian areas that changes the soil chemistry by adding salinity. It’s great if you just want a monoculture of Tamarisk and nothing else. You may also want to look into Baccharis salicifolia (mule fat) it’s a shrub that spreads quite easily and is native in parts of your area.
Yeah if you can improve the health of the desert forest it wll start expanding outwards. It creates it's own microclimate and that bubble will grow and create conditions for the forest to expand which will in turn extend the bubble of the microclimate.
At 9 minutes 20 seconds... Tamarisk / Tamarix trees and shrubs certainly have their place...sometimes. the only ones I know of are from The Middle East (referenced in Bible texts). There are 2 main types "Deciduous" and "(Apparently) Evergreen". Evergreen types tend to grow faster as they are more active for more of the year. They have a growth spurt during Spring and then later during "Autumnal Spring" in Mediterranean climates, and in the Texas climate will likely have a growth spurt when it is both warm and wet (I think, opposed to Meditterranean climates, you get most rain in Summer, right?)
Deciduous Tamarisk can be grown even in colder climates (within limits) but grow very much slower. The deciduous types can tolerate colder temps in Winter when they have no leaves.
Tamarix / Tamarisk are almost unique in the plant tree world in that they can drink up salty water through their roots and send it on up through the tree without harming themselves. They then excrete / sweat out the salts through their leaves. Occasional rains then wash the salt off their leaves. The area around Tamarix trees therefore ends up extra-salty and only other salt tolerant plants, like other Tamarisks and some others, grow nearby.
If it hasn't rained for awhile, you can check if you have salt deposits or salty water underground by sucking some tamarisk leaves, even while they're on the tree, or pluck off first if you choose. The saltier it tastes, the more salt lies below.
Previously I lived in a semi-desert rural area of Australia where Tamarisks were much grown.. Now i live in much cooler, temperate New Zealand.. Tamarisk trees grown here the foliage does not taste salty at all, as there is NOT a buildup of salts in our soils here.
Salt and wind tolerance means Tamarisk are popular trees and shrubs to grow right by the seaside/beach. In general the deciduous types have pink/mauve flowers . whereas the Evergreen types have a more white coloured flower.
Best time to start cuttings of Deciduous Tamarisk is in mid Winter when they naturally have no leaves. Best time to start Evergreen Tamarisk is when it is growing actively. Note, when taking cuttings of Evergreen tamarisk, first remove ALL green leaves. Don't worry it will grow new ones within days or a couple of weeks, as new roots form to support the leaves.
As with other deciduous trees, giant cuttings (called "Truncheons") can be taken in Mid Winter and set well into the ground. to give instant treelings in one growing season. Works best with Poplar and Willow but also worth a try with many others including Tamarisk.
Truncheon cuttings can be up to 6 metres long set into the ground 1 to 2 metres deep. Ensure they have enough water their first growing season. And always remove the green leaves when planting out Tamarisk cuttings, no matter whether it 's the Evergreen or Deciduous type, or whether the cuttings are half a metre long or however many metres long.
I also noticed the incised channel disconnected from the historical floodplain. Hopefully some well planned and executed BDAs can speed the recovery and encourage a more meandering waterway.
I was thinking about cottonwoods too, but I dont think the upland spot is anywere near ready for that unless it could be given a lot of water for the first decade till it can reach deep. Maybe near the confluence of the two arroyos?
Hey, Shaun. Nice purchase. You should do as Alejandro Carrillo teaches, and follow Gil's advice. Give the ranch a break and put your efforts in organizing this new area. It has much more potential and if organized will turn into a lusher desert food forest much quicker that will not only motivate you further into working with the ranch later on, but will also provide much better inputs and biomass that the ranch will need. My 2 cents. Great work. Keep it up.
As someone familiar with this environment and permaculture experts from there, this seems like the obvious move. I was always skeptical because he did not start with land like this and saw a long slog ahead, but this new land is full of possibilites.
I would agree, put the focus on the 70 acres while creating small enclaves etc at Dust-up.
Either way he is making it happen, kudos to him.
I remember Shawn saying in a previous video that Alejandro suggested that he starts with the most fertile land. Honestly I'm quite surprised today to see he owned this land and has been doing all the work at the other property. He should really spend all this time focusing on improving this property and put dust up on the back burner imo.
@@farmerjhemp It speaks to the mindset that got him the money to do this in the first place, and what he came into this with. He's learning and growing, I hope he can integrate this truth.
There's a UA-cam channel called, "Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't, and the guy is all over west Texas checking out plants. He knows a lot and if I remember correctly, he's trying to save a habitat area in west Texas. Don't know if this would help you.
YES!! I watch CPBD and I suggested a crossover episode. Go and comment on his videos!
I asked crimepays about a colab with dustups and his reply was roughly "that dude just doesn't understand a desert like that already grows what it can, you can't change it."
I tend to agree but on the other hand I want to see what dustups unending optimism grows.
@@pauldickman4379I agree. There are people in the permaculture community who think that if grow the right plants you can make it rain more. That's pure superstition, and I worry that the DustUp people are thinking this way. It's still interesting.
South texas. In Starr County. Much more humid and hot at night compared to west Texas. Around 10 hours away from dustups
@@pauldickman4379 There's a lot of merit in Crimepays message, and that's part of why we want him to go to Dustups! Shaun is trying to restore a degraded landscape with permaculture. I think does himself a disservice by describing it as "creating a desert forest" when he should be saying "restoring a degraded ecosystem" and focus on fencing to stop cattle from wrecking his progress. Even if he only gets more of the same plants he has, it can still become a lot healthier. That's what CPBD is missing. He's also missing the potential subscriber & view count upside of a collab.
🎉PS I do cut and use the thorny mesquite branches to build "Teepee type" of covers over new plantings, keeping the adorable desert rodents from eating them and creating shade for new seedlings to take root. Just make sure there are no pods attached and the cut branches don't take root. And, I have also found that the thorns are the Best Toothpicks in the world! They NEVER break down. I keep a branch with a couple of thorns on it at my bedside and on my car dashboard 😁😅😂🧓
Excellent ideas and recommendations!
I agree with most of the comments I've read so far:
- Increase the biomass on the river property. Your desert experiments aren't running away.
- Fence the river property off as much as the budget/labor allows. Only allow cattle back in, when it makes sense for pruning and fertilizing.
But be careful of removing too much of the dead wood around the living trees/shrubs. They use it to shade the area above their roots, slowing evaporation.
He has such the strangest sense of optimissism for certain "impossible" projects, but seems nihilistic in judging no point in keeping out cattle when the hogs will destroy any good biomass. Maybe he's right. Maybe we need a richer oligarch with automated defense turrets. Regardless it is an interesting show and kudos to him for trying something.
@@MrEspaldapalabrasShaun has never mentioned wild hogs being in this area or shown any evidence of them being in this area
If you're going to let that old structure go, salvage what you can. Then see if the old mud bricks can be laid out nearby in a primitive swale. Maybe you can use them to slow down a little water.
Create a couple of shed walls with them…. Create a cool spot to sit and observe your vista 🙏🏽❤️
….. ten to 12’ long…7’ tall
Do be mindful when dismantling it to wear proper PPE, especially becuase those "adobe" walls might have more in them than just Adobe, depending on the age (e.g. nasty stuff like asbestos). No idea how likely something like that might be, but that kind of crap was used in plaster back in the day, so depending on how old that structure is, it might be a good idea to test a few samples before demolishing it and kicking up a bunch of dust.
@@b4k4survivor more likely dangers: wasps, scorpions, snakes, spiders and harmful toxins and micro critters in the dust from years of old droppings.
@@shannonalaminski2619 Yeah I was going to say hanta virus risk too, but I think he clearly gets that when he mentions all the droppings and need for PPE. I just know asbestos was used in plasters back in the day, so it's probably a good idea to have a few samples of that material tested just to be sure. If they demo it the wrong way, they could spread all kinds of nasty friable fibers thoughout the nearby dirty (which is a huge problem). If they find out there is indeed asbestos or other nasty things (like lead from any older paint), at least they can take the proper precautions when removing it. Hopefully it's just straight adobe and the worst they have to deal with is all the critters and feces.
@@b4k4survivor I would want full face respirator, huantavirus from rodent droppings is no joke.
You should contact Brad Lancaster at Univ of Arizona and ask him to come out to your ranch. He's all about planting the rain first. 🙂
Plant willow shoots along the river and you can harvest them for forage for livestock and build living fences with the plants and use the pruning for mulch
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I feel so blessed to get two videos so close to each other in release time!
maybe plant a palm tree near river to help with navigation, like the orange growers do to navigate big orchards.
I like this idea. I would be willing to donate a W. Filifera to the ranch.
First time I heard this. Actually quite clever.
Wish more wealthy individuals went down this path of ecological restoration. Hope you inspire many, dude.
Yeah if he had a budget to fund an education program, in a small dwelling, and get enough equipment & labor to do in 3 years what it's going to take him 30 years to do. Trillions sit offshore, trillions for war. A small fraction of that could fund a million dollars each at thousands of sites. Not just in America but in degraded land all over the world. It would end climate change as well. It's happening in India fortunately.
Love that episodes are coming more frequently. It is like watching a miracle happen. Joao is a master so glad he is along.
Don’t remove the structure until you are waayyyyyy more familiar with the property and what you want out of it.
I also recommend leaving a portion of the forest untouched, to see what nature will do without input, doing this is really valuable when you begin work in a new area.
dry good thoughts, about leaving the adobe structure and especially intentionally marking out and leaving an section of the land in each different area to see how it does over time without intervention from you.
G'day mate, that rusted water tank may be of some use to you. Place the tank where you want it. Attach chicken wire to the inside wall and floor using wire and punched holes. Mix up a cement and sand mixture and throw it against the chicken wire. Build up the thickness of cement to about 30 - 50mm and trowel. It does not need to be neat or smooth or fully cover the chicken wire. This will last and hold water without leaks for decades.
Cool!!!
Set up a large solar distillery next to the river. If you only get a 55 gallon drum of clean water every few days, it’d be worth it.
You should take the bull dozer down your road once a year to keep it maintained, and make a drag you can put behind the truck to keep it smooth through the year, just drag it as you go in and out. Plus this could help bulldozing the road since I’ve heard your road isn’t quite wide enough for the dump trailer, wider smoother road will save tires and cut down on travel time.
In permaculture the problem is actually the solution. There’s something called mob grazing where you concentrate cattle in a confined area allowing their hoof prints to collect their manure, then all you need is seeds that will germinate in that particular environment and be able to survive. Of course timing is important because you also need rain. Wait for the South West monsoon season. Read Masanobu Fukuoka book on how to restore the desert also. For clarification. Winds will blow grass seeds into the hoof prints along with the manure, perfect environment for germinating with a little water. Seeds can also be spread by area including clay seed balls just before monsoon season.
the cattle are doing all the work that you are trying to do.
I read a fictional acount of a guy who built an oasis simply by controling the amount of cattle and the exact spot on his property they grazed. Mainly he was using them to fertilize and then moved them to a new area. I have read so many of these accounts, they must actually work.The neighbors of this fellow had allowed their cattle to overgraze and overpopulate their ranches. The accounts were specific enough that there must have been a basis in fact.
@@tonamiller6850 , once upon a time on the great plains of North America great herds of bison roamed. They likely moved from place to place as they sought out the most tender grass shoots. Along the way they left little gifts of pre digested fertilizer which was likely well inoculated with healthy bacteria that would populate the root zones of the native grasses and these roots reached down through the soil 20 to 30 feet they tapped into minerals that made them strong. The bison at the tops on and moved on and in turn grew stronger. The native Americans followed these herds, hunting them for sustenance and they grew strong as well. It was a great repeating cycle that had been played out for God knows how long. The bison dung feeding the soil bacteria, the bacteria acting as a go between allowing for the conversion of inorganic minerals to organic ones which the grass roots could absorb. In turn the grasses thrived and fed the bison followed by man who fed from them. Both moving along together leaving little impact on the land as the grasses were well anchored and thrived in a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria. Though I know little about Native American hoop dances, I know that they represent the never ending circle of life which seems like a fitting metaphor for this sadly bygone way of life. Now the bison are gone but, there are still ways ranchers can lesson the impacts of grazing on the land while also feeding the herds, soil life and in turn restoring the land to a better condition one of which includes mob grazing.
@@tonamiller6850 , once upon a time on the great plains of North America great herds of bison roamed. They likely moved from place to place as they sought out the most tender grass shoots. Along the way they left little gifts of pre digested fertilizer which was likely well inoculated with healthy bacteria that would populate the root zones of the native grasses and these roots reached down through the soil up to 20 or 30 feet as they tapped into minerals that made them strong. The bison ate the tops off and moved on and they in turn grew stronger. The native Americans followed these herds, hunting them for sustenance and they grew strong as well. It was a great repeating cycle that had been played out for God knows how long. The bison dung feeding the soil bacteria, the bacteria acting as a go between allowing for the conversion of inorganic minerals to organic ones which the grass roots could absorb. In turn the grasses thrived and fed the bison followed by man who fed from them. Both moving along together leaving little impact on the land as the grasses were well anchored and thrived in a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria. Though I know little about Native American hoop dances, I know that they represent the never ending circle of life which seems like a fitting metaphor for this sadly bygone way of life. Now the bison are mostly gone but, there are still ways ranchers can lesson the impacts of grazing on the land while also feeding their herds, soil life and in turn restoring the land to a better condition.
I was also thinking of citing the buffalo and what they did for North America. Which brings me to my very unpopular opinion. If one wanted a North America like the one our ancestors found, a Garden of Eden, they should bring back every animal that has been removed. Every cow, every horse, every wolf, every buffalo, every wildcat.
Any way you can keep the cattle off of the 70 acres? The best way to get fodder is to let it grow where it's trying to and then harvest it in a sustainable way. As you clear off the dead wood, you are essentially mining a resource that will be expended, if you can make the 70 acres a fodder generator, you'll be ahead in the long run.
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I have watched all episodes but barely if ever comment because you don’t need a non-expert when you have so many ‘experts’ in the comments. But you have affected my perspectives greatly. I have 2.5 acres in Conroe. Despite all the trees and grass I do have, I see bad erosion from any significant rain because of sloping and poor design. I need swales and French drains to handle it but I also want a catchment that could foster extra life in the back side.
Another connection to you is that my late father had a hunting camp out your way on 70 acres, only slightly less remote. Your terrain is a bit drier, for now. But I have no problem relating to the material you are working with. We spent New Years out there once where I got quite familiar with the prickly pear. I even cleaned some paddles to cook over the fire. It was all too old and tough to be good napalitos, but the process was fun.
I know what you are up to, not just in my head, but in my heart as well. That means you touched me where it counts. My four indoor rabbits preclude me from coming out to volunteer yet, but I wanna figure that out at some point.
Thank you for bringing experience to UA-cam. Carry on Brother.
Thank you for the comment
That adobe house is very restorable! Just give it some more plaster and latexcrete the roof, and new windows/doors. Soilcrete floor. .
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This is a great buy, it's going to help to kick start your other place and up the time scale on re-building the forest. Plus save you a lot of money. I'D keep the cabin use it as a base camp. Looking forward to you tiding the place up and planting new trees such as willows and fruit trees.
Europeans have old buildings because they preserve them. You have one here. If you restore it with the old ceiling in the long run it can also add value to your property (because it has an original old ceiling). Anyway these are my two cents ;) And what happened with the water saving ideas you had last year? Anyway, I like this type of videos.
We live in a place in Mexico with a very similar roof! (ceiling) I would build using all the old material that is still there.
Tamaridk can use 250 to 300 gallons away if available It has dried up some of our desert springs .It is an evasive species. Removal could restore some water sources.
Shaun, and DU family, why not work from the river outward? Perhaps you addressed this and I missed it but, wouldn't it be considerably more efficient to expand from the existing desert forest rather than trying to create one from scratch? Again, I'm sure you've already thought of this. Thank you!
Shaun, Every time that you travel from your home base, you should load up the bed of your pickup truck with wood chips from your local municipality. You're driving there on a regular basis. In time, you'll have a nice stock pile of organic mulch that you'll be able to distribute when &where it is needed. Just a thought. Keep up the good work. Peace ✌️
Good point! Doesn't make sense to make a full trip for it, but heck if you're going there with an empty truck bed might as well. You can sign up for free wood chip programs as well.
With it being so remote, why bother with woodchips - fill up large drums with fruit waste from farmer's markets and then just leave it in a giant pile so that it can naturally compost down. It will attract insects, birds, rodents, swine to shoot etc.
4 inches of woodchips
I thought the same thing. He could bring several buckets each time and dump them where he needs it. Volunteers could also bring a few with them as well.
Nature doesn't need us, but we need nature. So freakin' true!!!
I bet that dirt where the cattle have trampled it down is SUPER fertile. its got all the cow manure along with whatever duff was on the surface. i would think about extracting some of that to use at the ranch along with all the mulch. also, i would do what Joao said and try to improve the area near the river to make it as healthy as possible, then determine the best way to utilize it.
The water stains on the ceiling of the adobe structure indicate the beams might be rotten. The weatherproofing of a roof it the thing that can keep a building lasting for many decades. When the roof is gone or rotten it soon crumbles.
Keep doing your best! Joao's help will be invaluable as he is an expert in foresting and reforesting sites. Much love and admiration for what you are doing! I hope it all goes well and in , i dunno, 6 to 12 years, it becomes beautiful, green and full of life, plant and animal life! hugs from Argentina, dude!!
When the river flows cleanly, I would use a diaphragm pump to fill a large pond nearby to either draw from for the original ranch or to act as a water harvesting settlement reservoir to work towards a salt free water table.
how do you clean a water table? just flush it out with clean water from rainwater harvesting stop the surface runoff and redirect it inot the ground water?
The problem with cows is that if they are not managed well, they do a lot of damage. I take it they are not yours, so you have to fence them out. If you did get a few, learn how to manage where they feed, for how long, and them move them to a different part of the property.....cowboy time!
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I saw a technique that is being used to increase trees.
The tree branches are pruned because that puts less stress on the root ball. The opened spaces left allow more seeds to sprout because they have good sunlight.
So new trees don't actually have to be planted more trees because the trees reseed themselves.
In regards to mulch, I have used timothy grass and orchard grass (depending on price). Purchase it in 100 lbs bails at the local feed store. Mix it with cow and chicken manure. My recipe is 1 part each type maure, 1 party grass, 2 parts native soil. The plants thrive. To make it I use 5 gallon black containers and a wheelbarrow.
Can you build a pond at the high point of the river to catch flood water? Then let it soak into the land through the pond or through more channels. As soon as you have water in the soil the grass will grow. The trees will grow. The river will start to flow properly again, with a more consistent flow and not a stop start flow.
If you can use the tanks for that job, then use the water. No sense having full tanks without using it.
The river was ruined by Elephant Butte, this bioregion being split between two nations has been a disaster.
Take all those dry sticks and make shrub piles. Put it over, logs and sticks, and your bird population will only improve. Also, the prickly pear will be complemented by agarita berries native to that region and are a food source to over 80 native species. They will also massively boost the bird population as someone who has a lot of agarita berries and prickly pear on their property this will make an impact.
I’d add large native deciduous trees by that river. That grow fairly tall. Maybe try to fence off a section of the area where the cattle trample the ground so bad and sprinkle the honey hickory seeds within the fenced area.
extremely good idea to produce mulch with some kind of chipper using the waste from making a road. id love to see a primitive pallet cabin or shelter at the river bank too
always a good idea to do the chipping on site where you collect the organic matter too, you'll get way more in your trailer and save on the number of trips.
Selective pruning in, not all out get it all down pruning, because, as some have pointed out, the dead wood on the plants also provides important shade.
Love it. Like suggested, fence off at least the pasture area and let it regenerate.
Definitely utilize the over growth for Dustups ranch. But i would stay away from using Tamarisk. We call them salt cedars. Invasive, and not good for soil.
Great riverfront property.
I wouldn’t spend money on big equipment I would try using lower impact. I wouldn’t tear Dow the house either it’s proof people can live there fix the roof use it as headquarters buy trailers and fill them up with dead material first then do chop and drop. Use it for a nursery for other plants. Also bee hives. Bee an Ideal place for Honey bees.
Yes, exactly!
You need to build a solar powered battery charger and get some battery operated hedge trimmers. trimmers. And other tools. You should clear the dead’s stuff and plant other trees if the water is salty mangroves, Montezeuma cypress or bald cypress. Plant cottonwoods down there. Maybe date palms.
That 70 acres looks great! Fenced in I'm sure it would thrive well
I would definetely follow Jus guidelines to create a diverse Ecosystem at the riverside... look into plants that can thrive on salty water. Also native american agriculture (they were able to grow crops on 9 inches of rainfall per year).
Maybe have a nursery where there is more humidity. I think the structure if restored can serve as an accomodation for workers and or birdwatchers. You could plant a couple of rapid growing shade trees close to it even if it needs some extra watering. God bless and respect for your project.
Oooh, that's very nice! First thing I noticed is that the river is pretty deeply channelized, and that means the water table is low. What that does, then, is cause a lot of plants to not grow there even though you've got green, because only some species can root down deep enough to access the underground moisture. And what that means is that you can work wonders with very little effort on your part is you build a few beaver dam analogs along the river! The BDA's will work for you 24/7.
Two things are going to happen with a BDA. Firstly, it's operating constantly to drive water into the banks as the ponds build up behind. Secondly, as the water trickles through the BDA, it will be aerated. I don't know that the later is all that critical, but it sure couldn't hurt considering how slow the movement of the water is. Without ripples and rapids, the water's lacking a lot of what's needed for a lot of the life it should be supporting.
With even a small number of BDA's, you'll see the Riparian Zone really start to explode with life. And, you'll quickly see the scrub farther away from the channel start to change in nature as some plants die off due to the rising water table.
You've got all that brush right there on the sides of the river. It's just begging you to start cutting some posts and pounding them into the banks to make obstructions of some kind!
i'd be concerned about the salty water, raising the water table could just bring salt to the surface and poison the land, perhaps its just salty because of farm runoff. not enough information to really know, but something to think about.
@@jimdotcom1972 When they say "salty", I'm not entirely sure what they mean. However, we can say that phyto-remediation works wonders and plants are designed to fix all sorts of ailments in the ecosystem. As the water table rises, you'll see the herbaceous growth of the Riparian Zone take off. Those plants are designed to handle the worst conditions and make them better.
Now, that doesn't mean you won't kill off some plants. A lot of that scrub probably doesn't like "wet feet", so when the water table rises and their roots are now immersed in the underground water, that brush will die back. And that not only creates more organic matter in the soil as the roots die, but it helps to break up the hardened ground as the root mass rots, allowing rain to penetrate the hard soil rather than sheeting off in the rain. It creates a softer soil that other plants can then root into and establish themselves.
In other words, the pro's outweigh the con's. We can see that the current channel is nothing more than a deep gutter that evacuates the water from thousands of square miles upstream. It's a mad dash to get the rainwater to the ocean, and then folks complain about how arid the area is.
Here's a good video of how Beaver Dam Analogs were used to repair Dixie Creek, a very similar desert watershed to what DustUps is dealing with -- ua-cam.com/video/kSctr0aQOso/v-deo.html
As you can see from the video, the "before" was heavily dominated by scrub... but as soon as the water was slowed down and given a chance to sink into the ground, that scrub moved back to the higher ground and made way for lush green growth right alongside the channel. While it took time, nature fixed what had been broken.
I thought it was particularly interesting how the Dixie Creek Restoration hinged on controlling the cattle - the exact same problem that DustUps is dealing with on this new plot of land. Just look at the damage those cattle have done, always eating things to the ground so there no chance for new growth to get a foothold. Even with Beaver Dam Analogs installed, everything will be for naught if the cattle aren't excluded from the area.
What they did on Dixie Creek is exactly what needs to happen here. The water's there, in spades, but it's channelized and given an express pass to get out of the land as quickly as possible. That can be fixed pretty quickly and economically, and the returns on that investment will be seen within weeks.
Touching the river is illegal in many ways.
@@dustupstexas Really? Even a simple BDA that doesn't hinder the water's egress?
@@dustupstexasI bet you can get permission with the people who restore rivers and together make and implement a plan that you can monitor with them. This is being done in many other places from what I’ve been seeing.
Put solar powered premier one fence around that overgrazed pasture and let them in twice a year for disturbance and grass cutting. Idk but just my thought.
That's awesome you have a close source of fertility to draw from and boost the main ranch.
interesting land and water, well salty water. my one suggestion is to look at a DR filed mower, instead of the forestry attachment for the skid steer. it will be much more manageable, and maneuverabile , then trying to be selective. while still chipping everything in its way to mulch.
I could watch these updates all day, I hope it never stops!
Any river that is incised down from the floodplain runs through a desert… the Tigres, Euphrates …so you need baffles of rocks across the river, rock weirs effectively (beavers achieve the same thing) Uphill silt fills it up eventually connecting to the floodplain. Once the hydrology is reinstated, grass trees grow well and it’s a drought proof floodplain
I have been mulching in my garden with wood chips and straw for some time now. Just scattering a thin layer or top. It traps moisture in the ground and provides a substrate for fungi to grow in. It has done a great job of invigorating some of my plants. The more mulch you can get back to the ranch the better.
Would love to see a couple solar panels, battery and a starlink terminal set up in the restored adobe structure. You could offer birding tours to bring in revenue and awareness to native habitat restoration. This will aid in your Dustup project
This area will gives will so much more motivation. Its truly a great área and will evolve faster also.
I read that Tamarisk is invasive, at least along the Colorado River. They estimate that it reduces the flow of the river by at least 15% and it's growing uncontrollably. Possibly it's native to TX but I thought I throw that out there.
It's non native
I’m a 7-8th generation Texan. (we lost count)
I genuinely don’t understand the appeal of this type of land, but I commend you for what your goals are with this property. I love land restoration.
This will be cool to watch progress of. Subscribed.
i would encourage you to find a way to hold back silt to get rid of the steep banks so the the water can spread out during the rains, raise the whole areas water table and be stored. one way to do this is through beaver analogs and sand dams. you really need riparian growth to clean the water for you. Holding back silt to raise the river floor, the water table and improve water quality is step one. If you can get that going you'll have a huge impact on the whole area
Fence around the pasture to keep the cows out, and let it recover before opening it up again for a few days at a time to let the cattle graze it down a ways.
You could also take and cut the grass that comes up to make hay to bring to the main ranch for mulch.
The forestry mulcher could be used to mulch paths on contour and just let them be, this could help promote more growth on this section by retaining more water for longer.
Can you do riparian restoration on the riverbanks and maybe build beaver dams on the river itself? Some gambions might help clear the water as well. I've also heard dropping some trees into the river can help build ecosystem. Also there may be folks at the horticulture departments at Texas A&M and Texas Tech University or Plant Biology at University of Texas Austin who can help figure out what to plant or how to rewild/restore the ecosystem. In particular the folks at Planthropology Podcast might be able to give information or point you to other resources.
Since the Rio Grand River is border with Mexico he might be limited as to what he can do that involves doing anything in the actual river bed. He should be able to do things to the river bank that will repair it.
I was surprised to see what the river looks like, how small/narrow & poluted it looks. I wonder how deep it is in that area that borders his property.
I hope Shaun can do things to help clean up the river.
Great property Shawn!
Makes perfect sense to harvest organic matter for Dustups.
Also, I would fence off the pasture area you showed and plant it with a cover crop. This will improve water infiltration at this property and provide bio mass (hay) that can be harvested for use at Dust Ups.
Definitely do hunting tours to generate some income to facilitate the work on the forest.
While he can fence off the cows, the hogs are such a disaster from developing this into the food forest it could be.
@@MrEspaldapalabraswhy is that? I'm from a part in Europe were hogs are natural, so I don't know the destruction the cause in arid environments.
@@rogieriuswild hogs destroy property. Shaun has never mentioned or shown any evidence of wild hogs in this area or on his property. I hope he doesn't have a problem with them.
Thats a gorgeous forest you have there Shaun I am really glad you didnt sell. You can protect it now and help clean up the Rio Bravo, the better your bit grows the better the rest around you will be too.....Is it Dustups two...or the not dusty ranch
When this is reset to a food forest, I think they’ll have reason to rename the river, to happy or content, not angry.
It appears to me, you have two properties to manage. I would be as interested in the second, as the first.
The river is lower than the ground level slot it would help the Salt with a lot of bank's to slow the flooding and washing that will wash awaythe wood water grows alot after a good rain it will be less salty every plant that grows a great organic source for both places 👏✌️
Terrific video. I got frustrated because so many commenters urged you to plant these tree species on the original plot in modified soil, and protected from cattle. Your comment that transporting the organic material to your location would be too expensive explains why you did not do that.
Hey man ! Another great video, think if you could keep the cattle out of both your properties, you would have a lot better success, especially with that pasture, I’ve worked with the cattle for many years, and they will ruin what you’re trying to do faster than it can come back, so my recommendation would be fence off your property And keep the cattle off of it. But I bet you know this
Agreed that unmangaed livestock will do some damage but managed livestock is the answer. Allen Savory’s Ted Talk. Solar electric fence puts a stirring wheel on livestock.
@@titan6174managed livestock, cattle, goats or sheep, can regenerate the land, but it has to be managed, therefore there has to be someone there to manage it. I doubt Shaun is ready to do that or hire someone to do that yet.
What about getting a tractor with a grapple to gather the branches? A mulcher will just pulverize the material into the ground. I like the idea of the three point hitch chipper. You could use a grapple to gather into a large piles and then chip in stages.
I love that idea
If you want the animal impact you could still allow access for short periods of time, but that land needs some rest periods from grazing.
You could try corriente (criollo) cows. They are adapted to the Texas desert, cheap, and may help restore certain areas because of their browsing.
The amount of land needed to sustainable raise cows in this current environment is far more than what he has. It takes thousands of acres. Just fencing off this new property and only allowing occasional grazing would be a game changer. I wonder what the water rights situation is, would be amazing if he could divert or stop some of the water by creating wetlands by either irrigation channels or dig water catchment holes. Having watched this environment, building up biomass from where the water already is, spreading it out is how nature works.
@@MrEspaldapalabras💯
@@MrEspaldapalabras I didn't mean it as a way to earn money. Corrientes only get like 1,200 pounds or less and also browse. It was only an idea.
With the last video and this new plan for the organic material you really got yourself setup to make some big pushes these next few months. Looking forward to seeing the progress!
Have you heard of using cattle and managed grazing to dramatically improve soil and plant life? I read a book by Gabe Brown called Dirt to Soil, and I think about it everytime I think about this project you're doing. I'm not sure when you'd introduce something like that, but it seems like something worth looking into.
The first thing I would do is dig a big pond to hold the "river" water. Then arrange a solar (some sort of) desalination system for that water. None of your land gets enough rainfall to thrive, so only a fraction of it will be farmable.
Maybe the salinity might also decrease if the water is stopped from flowing back into the river.
Dig out a big pond beside the river and some irrigation line off it semi shallow and create some more shallow ponds off them that fill when the river is higher but dry when lower and let nature do its thing, in time you can harvest some of the more fertile soil and use it in the other areas.
I'd harvest alot of the dead matter from river property to create biochar based hugelkulture mounds at the higher elevation points back at Dustups
Agreed-- I'd make biochar and hugelkulture mounds at the top of the Dustups watersheds. Then the challenge becomes making the biomass production by the river sustainable, so there's enough to keep restoring the upper ranch.
Seems like to need to make a huge compost pile and when ready mix it into a larger patch and repeat
At Sunland track Casino in Southwest El Paso they've got free horse manure. Truck loads
Go to your city landfill anybody that mows their yard and bags their Leaf clippings will give you free compost and stuff to mulch with
Great to see the new area! Fence in part of the degraded areas to keep cattle out of there. Get that mulching attachment and spread mulch on those areas and plant them. I know you want to work on Dustups, but consider setting up permaculture in the new plot soon. It's your reserve and backup. In 10 years, you can compare how restoration work goes on both plots. Cheers!
Have you into Chop and Drop method? I think this property could get cleaned up with this method and the extra could be used on your property for mulch.
Your idea of hauling the wood and bush to your property and turning into mulch is great. Is Mexico on the other side of the river? Keep up your awsome work. Keep thinking of Yellowhorn trees as a potential future resource and cash crop. They will thrive out there once they are established. The biggest challenge is keeping the critters from eating them, cows for sure, as well as rabbits and rodnets. I have only lost one out of 23 that germinated, but likely lost a lot of seed as I planted over a hundred.
Is it doable to keep cattle off the small green property? It will be much easier to recover that site alongside working on dustups. Not that you should spend lot of resources there, but just a cow fence if possible.
I like your idea of using a wood chipper since there is a lot of dead material you can chip up for mulch and it is close by.
Selective wood cutting though, as others have recommended, seems to me wiser for the long run.
@@louisegogel7973 sure, once you have a wood chipper you can chip whichever you feel is best for your situation.
You need to do some key line plowing to capture the rain water.
lol when I saw him walking around with his gun I was like… are they worried about cow attacks or are there bandits out there?? I didn’t think about hunting in the desert!
would selling the dozer and getting a used skid be more useful? The ability to switch between attachments would speed up the process. You'd need a high flow one for the drum mulcher if anything.
I think that desert forest is perfect for purslane cultivation, if it doesnt get eaten by animals. Cant you make a barrier with cactus, or will the cows just ignore them. That desert forest also seems nice for introducing beavers, maybe.
Great Channel Shaun, you're doing something I thought about many times with all that land available. There is wild boar down by the river in that area as well. Stay safe out there!
Wild boar? Javelinas should be in that environment. But they are not edible: taste horrible and cant be cooked/seasoned away. Likewise, rattlesnakes.
If you can clean up & salvage the adobe hut or any of the materials you should save what you can.
The idea of a road to the river would be a real aset to the property, if you do make one make it wide enough to accomidate any machinery you might need to use.
Trees you clear to make a road, use the materials.
You should remove all of the tamarisk, if it's safe to use as a mulch use it.
Consider removing the tamarisk & replacing with cottonwoods near the river.
Do whatever you can to clean up the river & repair the bank. I don't know what you can legally do
the Texas desert is rough, i live near the river here in 915 so lucky we get the arrogation Canals. Im also trying to accomplish building a food forest on my two acres.
You need to use large stones or something similar to restrict the flow of water in order th raise the water level enough to create a pond then aerate it with solar fountains as well as planting anything to filter the water
Once you get it lined out you can you a tank to to take it to your other ranch for irrigation
The cattle are a definite advantage you can fence them out of areas if you need to - solar electric is cheapest - but all that trampling and dung are key
Agreed with this
The cattle are an advantage to the people who own them and get free grazing at the expense of others vegetation.
Definitely keep that building. Also using the river property to test and grow your own seeds and harvest mulch would be fun to watch.
Well, you already planned to use the existing desert forest as a source for biomaterial. Other than that, I would not invest much work into naturalistic improvements of this part of the property for now. The land is fine quite fine as it is and the full desert property is in much more need for improvements.
However, this land is already far more liveble and has sufficient water. Therefore I would consider to build something like a gazebo for recreational purposes and plant a individual productive bushes and trees with fruits, to make it more enjoyable.
In the long run, spending free time there, will help you to implement many little improvements of the natural environment as well, without the need to let it become more real work.
That ruin is awesome! Hopefully you can save the bones and rebuild it into a proper shelter.
More than a ruin! Definitely worth saving.
what I see at dustups is a natural ecosystem functioning as intended. At the riverfront I see degraded land that can be restored and productive. divert way more energy to riverfront, less to the dry land
Thanks for the video. The dead sticks along the river serve another purpose during storms, catching and holding debris and slowing the water. I would think leaving them and taking from just higher up in the bank would still give you material without negating the natural effect of these 'dead' branches. Personally, I'd love to see one gabion built in this area and see what happens near it - maybe some good information can be found there.
In the last one, when you were preparing seeds, you mentioned a package of Cat-Claw Acacia. There's a special way to prepare Cat-Claw Acacia seeds before planting. This is very important, so follow instructions exactly. First, start a small campfire and get it burning god and hot, with a good bed of coals, then carefully place the Cat-Claw Acacia seeds in a pile in the middle of the fire. Let them toast until they turn to a fine, gray ash, let the fire burn out, then take all of the ash and dump it on the side of the highway far, far away from your land. That stuff is the devil's weed and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
I have owned a house in Las Vegas, NV for 15 years. Most plants there die. I bought a couple of thornless Mesquite trees. They are excellent at providing filtered sun underneath their branches. Most Mesquites that start from seeds have thornes. It is well worth 50 bucks to buy a thornless tree. I don'r understand why you have not bought a couple of desert loving trees to shade the area around your housing units? Mequite and Shoe String Acacia are excellent. The Shoe String Acacia is like the weeping willow for a desert.