Perhaps it's a testament to Sean's and Sacha's ability to demonstrate and communicate the details of the urgency, importance and utility of storing and distributing in a planned beneficial way, water in the land, and their dedication and deep love of all living things! Awesome fruition with the aid of a machine. Blessings Abound!
Permaculture engineers at work. So inspiring. So exciting. For the steep sides of the pond, I would suggest experimenting with vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) which is used extensively in erosion control and as a trap crop in places like Vietnam and Hawaii. It is fast-growing and has crazy deep roots.
Just binge watched all 11 of these... You and your neighbor should do a Ted Talk on how to be neighborly. If everyone thought and shared like this, we would end poverty, homelessness, and hunger... Bless you!!! I live in a neighborhood with neighbor on top of neighbor and unfortunately one of mine was a not so nice guy for 30+ years, he finally moved and the new guy is much better. The other side and I have worked together on many projects for the neighborhood and our little areas. In spring I am going to attempt to convert most of my front flower beds into a more edible garden... City restriction prevent total conversion, but I have ideas to circumvent that... Best of luck with continued success, please keep the videos coming...
@edibleacres. Adding several fruit and nut trees, with some berry 'hedges' to reclaim some of the yard, without breaking the rules too much. Flowerbeds are going to double and be ornamentally planted with lettuces and the like to confuse the look of a 'food garden' over a flower garden...
The end result and ongoing results of terra forming justifies the usage of an excavator without a doubt! Also with the depth and low temp in the pond you can do a solar bubbler and keep a few trout, i'm guessing with the surface insects, tadpoles etc you will not to supplement them with food either. The shoreline area will invite a myriad of "beings" as you say, and a plunge in the Summer is a bonus. Very nice!
You made a great investment of time and energy while using machinery. You weren't clear cutting a forest or bulldozing a lot, you were investing energy into a system of flow.
I've been devouring your videos lately! I've found them to be of an easy digestible length, concise enough to be both informative and engaging, the camera work stable enough so it doesn't give me motion sickness or eyestrain, and hugely inspirational for things we can do on our section in New Zealand. All the best from the other side of the world! Keep up the great work!
It's wonderful how your neighbor is working with you. It shows that in due time they see what really matters. Good influence 😉! Don't apologise for the use of the machine. You surely are a great example of gentleness and kindness towards nature. Great job, Sean!
I've been enjoying your channel. Thank you for showing me a different approach to gardening and life. I appreciate your calm, peaceful, thoughtful approach to life.
Maybe an idea to address the steep pond edges: willow cuttings or even wattle walls made of willow, holding the edges while providing extra biomass, possibly shading part of the surface,.....
EdibleAcres You don’t want to add weight, nor things that will grow tall and tip over from weight and wind. I have a very steep slope that runs uphill from my garage. It was weedy, impossible to mow, and not stable enough to even create a path. I’m doing an experiment with asparagus. I like the way it looks...like loose ferns with a flowing look as it tips over. But...it has roots that grow 10 feet down and out and it is food! And it is not top heavy, so it won’t be able to pull the slope down. I planted many crowns, but only about 10 plants survived the winter. Asparagus will spread, so I’m okay with that. Personally, though, I would make the edge a 2-3 foot border from the pond to grow plants, and move the walking path to the outside of that. The roots will help stabilize the pond wall, and you reduce the risk of a mishap for people falling in, or the wall collapsing.
@@Mulberrysmile I'm not sure that the really wet conditions of a steep pond wall would be optimal for asparagus. As mentioned in the video, the steep walls at the "end" are probably going to stay there but should be reinforced so a terracing with wattle of willows could be an option with the asparagus on top on the outside. The willow was more intended to be harvested as biomass and thus it won't become top heavy.
This video being released this morning lined up perfectly with a chapter in reading in Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture about dogging ponds. It’s perfect reading his thoughts and process and then seeing a video of the same process and similar thoughts. Also y’all have really opened up a lot of area to plant food! So awesome. “Thanks for watching” Thanks for posting!
I sure love your videos. You are so inspiring. Your ideas and explanations have guided me in doing a lot of hand work to capture water on my farm, as well as gardening. I want you to know you have opened my eyes as to working with this earth to grow food sustainably and with really much more ease once the groundwork is in place. For all this, I thank you greatly.
Bravo! What a terrific amount of thought that went into it at all levels - everything from planning the sources and uses of water to the diesel offset. Well done!
Have you thought about strengthening the steep bits with some rock “walls” a great habitat for animals and an interesting area to see what grows capers maybe?! Great video!
It's about appropriate technology. This was appropriate and you would never have uncovered that spring with just hand digging. In one of the many books I have laying around here there is one that discusses how grapes respond to that reflective light from a pond. They love it! If you check out Mother's web page they have an article on natural swimming pools and how to construct the filtering planting... in case you haven't already seen it. I haven't finished my hoop house yet but my neighbor is trying to talk me into doing the water reservoir/black barrel system to heat it over winter. Kind of like your pond idea. But the barrels are lazier and that sounds good to me! LOL
Really enjoy your channel the two of you and your friends are doing a great job in producing your foods as much as possible in a way that fits your way of viewing the earth and your impact on it . Another addition to renting a local machine you are helping several others in your area by purchase power of your money . I am familiar with your area a beautiful section of NY. We are farther northeast a bit by Lake Ontario on our family farm since 1843 . We have some “ mucks” also I grew up farming many soils but your bare feet on a hot day in 8” of loose peat soil is heaven . Minus the deer flies lol
Wow, thank you! It's evolving quickly at this site now. I'm excited to share when the high tunnel is up, with a passive solar pond inside it and low tunnels, I think we can do year round food production at this spot!
Wow, that’s a lotta work my friend, nice job! On your topsoil pad where the high tunnel is gonna go, did I see a stump nestled among the straw or was that something else? If it’s a stump, I encourage you to plant a huckleberry or two directly in the top of the stump. They love rotten stumps and they are extremely drought tolerate once their roots get established. Just a friendly suggestion from Johnny Huckleberry. 🍇 thanks again for sharing your work, it’s very inspiring. Can’t wait to see the new solar pump setup for the pond on your property.
I'm curious to hear more of your thoughts on your experience of digging homes using hand tools, hand operated motor tools, and large earthmoving equipment
You are going to see a lot of erosion on those sides with how vertical they are, I dug a pond once with higher vertical sides, and even compacting it with the digger there still was quite a bit of erosion into the pond. With the sides that vertical and not compacted by the digger you are really going to see some erosion in there, just don't plant anything or start investing a lot of time in beds near the edge.
@@edibleacres I'll second the erosion issue. We dug a similar sized pond with one steep side that looked like it was doing ok until we had several heavy rain events and then it sloughed off into the pond. Which not only wrecked the edge but reduced the ponds maximum depth. We may pump it out and re-dig it. It's still decent but not exactly as I imagined now.
Looks like a similar size to a pond I had dug a few years ago, it was in a low swampy area so it filled from below too. By the second year it started to get too much stuff growing in the water and we didnt want to swim in it anymore, pumping the water out so it could flow through a filter bed and then back in might have helped. Also I didnt manage to establish wetland plants around the edge like I wanted to because too much grass and other awkward weeds kept growing too fast there.
You have made so much headway with this project! I think using that machine was a great idea because to dig something like that would be a backbreaker and it would take a long long time when a machine like that could do it so quickly. Is there a way to filter a pond like this by placing different types of maybe gravel or different things in the bottom because I would love to have something like this for my dogs to swim in. I know you're doing it to help with the irrigation which is amazing. Thank you for another great video!
That's really cool how that cold blue water is coming up from the bottom. Do you guys have a well system? If not, you could probably make one pretty easily at a shallow depth. Your water table appears to be really high.
When I use a big diesel machine to dig ponds I usually stop by the local station that carries biodiesel and I top off the tank with that but I'm sure you know that's really not a good solution either.
Bio-diesel can clog fuel filters, tends to act as a solvent compared to 'typical' diesel fuels. Best fit is to designate type of fuel a machine will run & tweak systems accordingly. Bit like legacy gas powered engines in these times of ethanol, older plastic parts can be attacked & fail using ethanol 'doped' fuel. Learning this the broken chainsaw/lawnmower way.
biodiesel is kind of junk imo, if you don't use the machine constantly. I once used it for some machines, and when I came back from a two week break, everything was overgrown with weird plants and mushrooms
Dont mind the diesel. Too much of anything will be bad in the long run. You could have done it without it anyways! 😆 Now your just ahead a year in helping out all of our ecosystems!
Perhaps there is local lake with pier or bulkhead building services nearby? That may be the only way to retain that topography at that end of the pond. Those vertical walls will collapse without shoring. Unless you have 8-10" locust posts to make a break water? Wave action will be minimal & it would preserve the current contours. bol
on that slope path have you considered adding contour trenches i think they also call them swells to help making areas where the water can sit and pernitrate the ground water level instead of just all flowing slowly?
Regarding use of the diesel powered excavator: I have no hesitation about using a machine like that to do a piece of ecologically beneficial work that will potentially last hundreds of years, where the work can be done for twenty gallons of diesel over a couple of days. To hand dig something like that is not a worthwhile project, imo. It simply takes too much time that needs to be spent on projects with a more current productivity timeline. You can't both do all of your nursery work AND hand dig that scale pond. I may be a bit biased, since the design for our twenty acre site involves two ponds, one a shallow reflecting pond that I've already started digging by hand - but that should be close to an acre in size when complete and I just haven't got enough time to do that and everything else if I do it by hand :) The second pond is a much more substantial project, probably well under an acre in surface area, but going to maximum depths of at least ten feet. On our site, our belief is that these ponds will be highly beneficial to the ecosystem as a whole, provide us with substantial yields and more than justify the costs in terms of use of fossil fuel.
I hear you on this. As an example, the pond I worked on last summer at our 6 acre site is 16 miles away and I spent at least 20-30 trips this last summer working just on that pond. Took about 1-2 gallons of gas to drive there and back (I collected compost and did other things with the trip, but still, not 0 gas!)... I'm happy to have done that work by hand and now have ideas of much more substantial ponds in the landscape there that would be done with machiines :)
Beautiful work. I've been criticised for using machinery for building ponds. In my view, it's just sensible to use a small amount of fossil fuel energy to create self perpetuating, productive systems. If we weren't using it, it would just be used to truck bottled water around the world. There's an important distinction between using a few gallons of diesel to establish a system, and the routine use of hundreds of gallons in the maintenance of a system.
@@coleweede1953 in my context, water is pumped from a lake using electricity, for the whole area. My compacted clay berm pond at the top of the site, built with a digger, replaces 90% of my water needs from off site. That's a much bigger energy saving than the few litres of diesel that went into its construction, it's a net carbon saving. And that figure improves every year. The question of whether to use machinery to do it is irrelevant. The berm of my pond was built with compacted layers of clay. Without a heavy machine it would not have been possible to build it at all. No matter how long I pounded it with hand tools, it would not have consolidated to the point of being able to hold water. Even if that were possible, I'd never have got it finished before winter. The winter wet would have destroyed an unfinished pond berm. We all make compromises. Anyone who eats supermarket foods, with its thousands of road miles is making one compromise, for example. Using machinery to build permanent earthworks is another compromise, but one I'm prepared to make. We all live in an industrial society that's dripping with fossil fuel energy. I'm creating closed loop, low input systems that are easily maintained with human scale effort, rather than relying on huge inputs of purchased fertility and animal feeds. In my opinion, using a few gallons of diesel to create them is a very small compromise. Do you not use any fossil fuel transport yourself? Do you ever eat supermarket foods?
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture I do but I'm not so wrapped up in my own actions thinking I'm god. I'm saying you are still developing and using fossil fuels. It's not net sum loss to be using LESS fuel. That's just using less not using none. In the sands of time we will be remembered as the problem because of our inability to divest from our own selfish actions.
@@coleweede1953 are you the same Cole Weede who's a salesperson for Aquascape? A firm who routinely use heavy machines for vanity projects, that have constant energy inputs?
It's totally worth it to use heavy machinery to terraform the land. If you're renting the machine, the amount of fuel you use isn't that big of a deal. Can do more work in a few days then you could do by hand in a few decades. The benefits of the work will last at least a few lifetimes.
one thing I've wondered as I've watched this project develop - did you and your neighbor form any kind of legal/liability agreement about the work being done, etc? i always grimace when someone asks me that question about my projects and ideas, but with something this elaborate, it might be a good idea
Good question. I wrote up a document that outlines expectations for us both. We haven't gone back to it in a bit, but I reminded him of it, and I think we'll adjust details and then print it out and both sign it so we have some protections and clearer expectations.
Wow. Things are progressing quite nicely for you. If I may ask....that is a large pond, do you have to fence the area off? Many places have strict guidelines when it comes to these things. Just curious. Hope you are able to take time for reflection on this day...or any day for that matter. The times they are changing aren't they? Peace and love to you both
This pond won't need sealing I'm pretty sure. It's the other smaller ponds at the main 6 acre site that may need that, which we'll explore when the time is right.
This is unrelated to the video but I can't stop thinking about the chicken compost system. Anybody think it's possible to still create the system in a chicken run?
Excellent progress. This is going to be quite a mouthful, however it's an area I've researched extensively, and though this is not an emotional exercise, cognitive dissonance is probable, while I simply thrive on correction. I'm always alert to people overemphasizing CO2 in discussion of climate change for the following reasons: 1) CO2 has no causal connection to climate; 2) CO2 is a coolant, not a GHG; 3) Atmospheric water is the direct global temperature regulator, with ocean currents also significant; 4) The sun and to a much lesser extent the nearby planets are what drives climate change; 5) CC is cyclical because the sun and indeed the known universe all operate on a clock cycle; 6) Ice ages are triggered by solar micronova which recur on a 10-15,000 year basis, averaging 12,000 years; 7) The next Gleissberg cycle of solar maxima, the next grand solar minimum, and the arrival of the galactic super wave are scheduled for early autumn 2046, which is the most probable occasion to plunge into the next ice age; 8) Ice ages start in the span of hours from the impact of the micronova; 9) Pollution is a completely different question; 10) We do not cause climate change - we survive it. Just not everyone. This is a plasma universe. The Thunderbolts Project www.thunderbolts.info/wp/ is the place to start if interested.
Great job on the pond and I love how you planned the overflow and used all that soil that came out of the hole! I just finished my tiny pond (by comparison). Here a link to the video. So cool that we can all share what we're doing! ua-cam.com/video/3yqFpgMcwwA/v-deo.html
Nature does what it wants to do and doesn't care about all the engineering you've done. Those banks are too steep and will fall into the pond. If you live in a high clay area it will keep the water silty. Good luck with it but I think you will always be playing around to keep it "alive".
we see this on our creek banks, the high walls get water soaked underneath and it climbs up to release the bank when rain water meets ground soaked clay. But this is a learning experience and I'm interested to see the process they will go through. they may also have some kind of new technique to use to shore things up, exciting project we are witnessing here.
@@edibleacres I guess finding a plant that has a strong root system would help to steady the banks. Like "Tall Cedars" said... it's a learning experience that we'll be watching.
No shame in using machine for efficiency, as mentioned you've actually burned less fuel than you may have doing this by hand As you well know, impact is a tool to be used and though there may be some who use impact in a negative fashion(such as feedlots) there are plenty of opportunities to use impact in a helpful and healthy manner such as regenerative grazing if using the cattle example, or using this machine to impart massive benefit to the land and its inhabitants with this pond project
It seems like your neighbor has really embraced and expanded upon the original plans you discussed at the beginning of this project.
Nice progress.
Nice, I had the same thought. They escalated from lawn to orchard to earthworks pretty darned quick. :)
Yeah, he's fully in now. I think this will only deepen and evolve :)
Perhaps it's a testament to Sean's and Sacha's ability to demonstrate and communicate the details of the urgency, importance and utility of storing and distributing in a planned beneficial way, water in the land, and their dedication and deep love of all living things! Awesome fruition with the aid of a machine. Blessings Abound!
Permaculture engineers at work. So inspiring. So exciting. For the steep sides of the pond, I would suggest experimenting with vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) which is used extensively in erosion control and as a trap crop in places like Vietnam and Hawaii. It is fast-growing and has crazy deep roots.
Just binge watched all 11 of these... You and your neighbor should do a Ted Talk on how to be neighborly. If everyone thought and shared like this, we would end poverty, homelessness, and hunger... Bless you!!! I live in a neighborhood with neighbor on top of neighbor and unfortunately one of mine was a not so nice guy for 30+ years, he finally moved and the new guy is much better. The other side and I have worked together on many projects for the neighborhood and our little areas. In spring I am going to attempt to convert most of my front flower beds into a more edible garden... City restriction prevent total conversion, but I have ideas to circumvent that... Best of luck with continued success, please keep the videos coming...
I hope you can grow a ton of food in your neighborhood and grow community there!
@edibleacres. Adding several fruit and nut trees, with some berry 'hedges' to reclaim some of the yard, without breaking the rules too much. Flowerbeds are going to double and be ornamentally planted with lettuces and the like to confuse the look of a 'food garden' over a flower garden...
Machines are great at scale, and people are great at detail!
Yep!
The end result and ongoing results of terra forming justifies the usage of an excavator without a doubt! Also with the depth and low temp in the pond you can do a solar bubbler and keep a few trout, i'm guessing with the surface insects, tadpoles etc you will not to supplement them with food either. The shoreline area will invite a myriad of "beings" as you say, and a plunge in the Summer is a bonus. Very nice!
This is my favorite channel on UA-cam, edible acres or we plants are happy plants either way you are awesome.
Incredible how you are transforming your neighbors land. Looking forward to seeing all the food you can grow from it!!!
You made a great investment of time and energy while using machinery. You weren't clear cutting a forest or bulldozing a lot, you were investing energy into a system of flow.
Thanks. Yeah, I think this site will provide real deep value for a very long time.
I've been devouring your videos lately! I've found them to be of an easy digestible length, concise enough to be both informative and engaging, the camera work stable enough so it doesn't give me motion sickness or eyestrain, and hugely inspirational for things we can do on our section in New Zealand. All the best from the other side of the world! Keep up the great work!
So thrilled you find them of value
It's wonderful how your neighbor is working with you. It shows that in due time they see what really matters. Good influence 😉!
Don't apologise for the use of the machine. You surely are a great example of gentleness and kindness towards nature. Great job, Sean!
Love your dedication to hand tools as well as your pragmatic approach to machine tools.
I would hope to think it's a balance.
Man, talk about progress. Machines aren't always ideal but it's nice to get such a large amount done. Great job!
Yes! Thank you!
Wow. Interesting how you're setting up the lay of the land for the best water flow.
We're trying. Definitely more observation and adjustment will need to be made for sure!
@@edibleacres - Well, you're doing a good job. That's good of your neighbor to allow you to put that pond there!
I've been enjoying your channel. Thank you for showing me a different approach to gardening and life. I appreciate your calm, peaceful, thoughtful approach to life.
You are so welcome!
Maybe an idea to address the steep pond edges: willow cuttings or even wattle walls made of willow, holding the edges while providing extra biomass, possibly shading part of the surface,.....
I am going to look into that option.
EdibleAcres
You don’t want to add weight, nor things that will grow tall and tip over from weight and wind.
I have a very steep slope that runs uphill from my garage. It was weedy, impossible to mow, and not stable enough to even create a path. I’m doing an experiment with asparagus. I like the way it looks...like loose ferns with a flowing look as it tips over. But...it has roots that grow 10 feet down and out and it is food! And it is not top heavy, so it won’t be able to pull the slope down.
I planted many crowns, but only about 10 plants survived the winter. Asparagus will spread, so I’m okay with that.
Personally, though, I would make the edge a 2-3 foot border from the pond to grow plants, and move the walking path to the outside of that. The roots will help stabilize the pond wall, and you reduce the risk of a mishap for people falling in, or the wall collapsing.
@@Mulberrysmile I'm not sure that the really wet conditions of a steep pond wall would be optimal for asparagus. As mentioned in the video, the steep walls at the "end" are probably going to stay there but should be reinforced so a terracing with wattle of willows could be an option with the asparagus on top on the outside. The willow was more intended to be harvested as biomass and thus it won't become top heavy.
@@Mulberrysmile I would love to see what you made or how it is going, hope your doing well random person from two years ago
Awesome project. Try all you can while you can. That space will be nice in the future.
I really think it will be nice over there.
This video being released this morning lined up perfectly with a chapter in reading in Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture about dogging ponds. It’s perfect reading his thoughts and process and then seeing a video of the same process and similar thoughts. Also y’all have really opened up a lot of area to plant food! So awesome. “Thanks for watching” Thanks for posting!
I sure love your videos. You are so inspiring. Your ideas and explanations have guided me in doing a lot of hand work to capture water on my farm, as well as gardening. I want you to know you have opened my eyes as to working with this earth to grow food sustainably and with really much more ease once the groundwork is in place. For all this, I thank you greatly.
So very happy to share and know that it has been helpful to you!
I would love to see a video of you planting your cover crops. 🤗
HUGE! I just keep thinking of all the frogs!
Frog at 9:05!
So many in there already.
The main part has a great slope and looks like you have some great shelves for water plants.
I'm excited to plant this whole space out!
@@edibleacres any consideration for "wild rice" as part of a wet spot guild?
Looking at the size of the project, you made the right decision.
U nailed the fuel usage quantities on the head.......in the long run.....it will benefit nature..out waying the fuel used.......
It's important to think about.
Bravo! What a terrific amount of thought that went into it at all levels - everything from planning the sources and uses of water to the diesel offset. Well done!
Thanks kindly! We hoped we did our best.
To lessen your down time of reading;
ALL the positive things others said........
WOW I agree !!!!!
Really enjoyable episode and definitely my favorite so far! I love hearing the insight into design that you have developed over the years.
Glad you enjoy it!
Thank u...will do...
Great work can already see it!
Very nice progress on the pond. Thanks for sharing
You bet
Wow! That escalated quickly. Great job
Yeah, it's moving quick now!
Work smarter not harder!
Gratitude
Wow! Just amazing!
I go swimming in there a few times a week now :)
this is fascinating, can't wait to have a little piece of land to create my own permaculture farm =)
What fun!
Have you thought about strengthening the steep bits with some rock “walls” a great habitat for animals and an interesting area to see what grows capers maybe?!
Great video!
Good idea. I am weaving branches along the edges now and plan to plant them out with something this fall.
It's about appropriate technology. This was appropriate and you would never have uncovered that spring with just hand digging. In one of the many books I have laying around here there is one that discusses how grapes respond to that reflective light from a pond. They love it! If you check out Mother's web page they have an article on natural swimming pools and how to construct the filtering planting... in case you haven't already seen it. I haven't finished my hoop house yet but my neighbor is trying to talk me into doing the water reservoir/black barrel system to heat it over winter. Kind of like your pond idea. But the barrels are lazier and that sounds good to me! LOL
Really enjoy your channel the two of you and your friends are doing a great job in producing your foods as much as possible in a way that fits your way of viewing the earth and your impact on it .
Another addition to renting a local machine you are helping several others in your area by purchase power of your money .
I am familiar with your area a beautiful section of NY.
We are farther northeast a bit by Lake Ontario on our family farm since 1843 . We have some “ mucks” also I grew up farming many soils but your bare feet on a hot day in 8” of loose peat soil is heaven . Minus the deer flies lol
:)
Yes! What a beautiful creation. You are amazing Sean.
Wow, thank you! It's evolving quickly at this site now. I'm excited to share when the high tunnel is up, with a passive solar pond inside it and low tunnels, I think we can do year round food production at this spot!
Wow! Congratulations! I did not see that coming, but I think it was very well done. I am looking forward to seeing it develop over the next few years.
Thanks. Yeah, we had access to the machine for the weekend and jumped at it :)
Yeah!!! Sean, this is so awesome! I’m very excited about this project 😁 great job!
Great video!
Very ambitious project. Look forward to seeing the progression!
Kudos. It's looking nice. 👍🙏🌞
sweet! so much fun ahead.
Oh yes! I’ve been waiting for this video! Already got a thumbs up lol.
Amazing transformation!
Love the vid and ur ideas. Looking forward to finished design. Machines do have a place in big work some times. Cheers
Wow, that’s a lotta work my friend, nice job! On your topsoil pad where the high tunnel is gonna go, did I see a stump nestled among the straw or was that something else? If it’s a stump, I encourage you to plant a huckleberry or two directly in the top of the stump. They love rotten stumps and they are extremely drought tolerate once their roots get established. Just a friendly suggestion from Johnny Huckleberry. 🍇 thanks again for sharing your work, it’s very inspiring. Can’t wait to see the new solar pump setup for the pond on your property.
I don't think there was a stump there, probably a rock pile...
I'm curious to hear more of your thoughts on your experience of digging homes using hand tools, hand operated motor tools, and large earthmoving equipment
You are going to see a lot of erosion on those sides with how vertical they are, I dug a pond once with higher vertical sides, and even compacting it with the digger there still was quite a bit of erosion into the pond. With the sides that vertical and not compacted by the digger you are really going to see some erosion in there, just don't plant anything or start investing a lot of time in beds near the edge.
I hear you, I have to look into supporting that before they fill in / fall in.
@@edibleacres I'll second the erosion issue. We dug a similar sized pond with one steep side that looked like it was doing ok until we had several heavy rain events and then it sloughed off into the pond. Which not only wrecked the edge but reduced the ponds maximum depth.
We may pump it out and re-dig it. It's still decent but not exactly as I imagined now.
Looks like a similar size to a pond I had dug a few years ago, it was in a low swampy area so it filled from below too. By the second year it started to get too much stuff growing in the water and we didnt want to swim in it anymore, pumping the water out so it could flow through a filter bed and then back in might have helped. Also I didnt manage to establish wetland plants around the edge like I wanted to because too much grass and other awkward weeds kept growing too fast there.
Good note here. We plan to add plants very soon to this setup so the filtering can hopefully start ASAP
Wow! Love this.
Awesome Job!
You have made so much headway with this project! I think using that machine was a great idea because to dig something like that would be a backbreaker and it would take a long long time when a machine like that could do it so quickly. Is there a way to filter a pond like this by placing different types of maybe gravel or different things in the bottom because I would love to have something like this for my dogs to swim in. I know you're doing it to help with the irrigation which is amazing. Thank you for another great video!
That's really cool how that cold blue water is coming up from the bottom. Do you guys have a well system? If not, you could probably make one pretty easily at a shallow depth. Your water table appears to be really high.
We have a well here that is pretty reliable. I'd be interested to see what the quality of the water can be from this pond.
When I use a big diesel machine to dig ponds I usually stop by the local station that carries biodiesel and I top off the tank with that but I'm sure you know that's really not a good solution either.
Bio-diesel can clog fuel filters, tends to act as a solvent compared to 'typical' diesel fuels. Best fit is to designate type of fuel a machine will run & tweak systems accordingly. Bit like legacy gas powered engines in these times of ethanol, older plastic parts can be attacked & fail using ethanol 'doped' fuel. Learning this the broken chainsaw/lawnmower way.
biodiesel is kind of junk imo, if you don't use the machine constantly. I once used it for some machines, and when I came back from a two week break, everything was overgrown with weird plants and mushrooms
Dont mind the diesel. Too much of anything will be bad in the long run. You could have done it without it anyways! 😆
Now your just ahead a year in helping out all of our ecosystems!
Perhaps there is local lake with pier or bulkhead building services nearby? That may be the only way to retain that topography at that end of the pond. Those vertical walls will collapse without shoring. Unless you have 8-10" locust posts to make a break water? Wave action will be minimal & it would preserve the current contours.
bol
I need to reinforce that back end, I'll look into options for that.
on that slope path have you considered adding contour trenches i think they also call them swells to help making areas where the water can sit and pernitrate the ground water level instead of just all flowing slowly?
We'll be planning to set swales into as many of the gardens as possible on this site.
Regarding use of the diesel powered excavator: I have no hesitation about using a machine like that to do a piece of ecologically beneficial work that will potentially last hundreds of years, where the work can be done for twenty gallons of diesel over a couple of days. To hand dig something like that is not a worthwhile project, imo. It simply takes too much time that needs to be spent on projects with a more current productivity timeline. You can't both do all of your nursery work AND hand dig that scale pond. I may be a bit biased, since the design for our twenty acre site involves two ponds, one a shallow reflecting pond that I've already started digging by hand - but that should be close to an acre in size when complete and I just haven't got enough time to do that and everything else if I do it by hand :) The second pond is a much more substantial project, probably well under an acre in surface area, but going to maximum depths of at least ten feet. On our site, our belief is that these ponds will be highly beneficial to the ecosystem as a whole, provide us with substantial yields and more than justify the costs in terms of use of fossil fuel.
I hear you on this. As an example, the pond I worked on last summer at our 6 acre site is 16 miles away and I spent at least 20-30 trips this last summer working just on that pond. Took about 1-2 gallons of gas to drive there and back (I collected compost and did other things with the trip, but still, not 0 gas!)... I'm happy to have done that work by hand and now have ideas of much more substantial ponds in the landscape there that would be done with machiines :)
Beautiful work. I've been criticised for using machinery for building ponds. In my view, it's just sensible to use a small amount of fossil fuel energy to create self perpetuating, productive systems. If we weren't using it, it would just be used to truck bottled water around the world. There's an important distinction between using a few gallons of diesel to establish a system, and the routine use of hundreds of gallons in the maintenance of a system.
But they are same in more ways than they are different. They both contribute to the net sum carbon
@@coleweede1953 in my context, water is pumped from a lake using electricity, for the whole area. My compacted clay berm pond at the top of the site, built with a digger, replaces 90% of my water needs from off site. That's a much bigger energy saving than the few litres of diesel that went into its construction, it's a net carbon saving. And that figure improves every year. The question of whether to use machinery to do it is irrelevant. The berm of my pond was built with compacted layers of clay. Without a heavy machine it would not have been possible to build it at all. No matter how long I pounded it with hand tools, it would not have consolidated to the point of being able to hold water. Even if that were possible, I'd never have got it finished before winter. The winter wet would have destroyed an unfinished pond berm.
We all make compromises. Anyone who eats supermarket foods, with its thousands of road miles is making one compromise, for example. Using machinery to build permanent earthworks is another compromise, but one I'm prepared to make. We all live in an industrial society that's dripping with fossil fuel energy. I'm creating closed loop, low input systems that are easily maintained with human scale effort, rather than relying on huge inputs of purchased fertility and animal feeds. In my opinion, using a few gallons of diesel to create them is a very small compromise. Do you not use any fossil fuel transport yourself? Do you ever eat supermarket foods?
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture I do but I'm not so wrapped up in my own actions thinking I'm god. I'm saying you are still developing and using fossil fuels. It's not net sum loss to be using LESS fuel. That's just using less not using none. In the sands of time we will be remembered as the problem because of our inability to divest from our own selfish actions.
@@coleweede1953 so my one off use of fossil fuel is bad, your ongoing use of fossil fuel is ok?
@@coleweede1953 are you the same Cole Weede who's a salesperson for Aquascape? A firm who routinely use heavy machines for vanity projects, that have constant energy inputs?
It's totally worth it to use heavy machinery to terraform the land. If you're renting the machine, the amount of fuel you use isn't that big of a deal. Can do more work in a few days then you could do by hand in a few decades.
The benefits of the work will last at least a few lifetimes.
I hear ya, it makes sense.
Sean I have to see you try trout in there!
Cole Weede yeah mmm. Putt a shallower portion in with peace lilies to keep the water clean.
@@fredfrond6148 yeah lots of marginal plants help act as a mechanical and biological filter
I'm hoping to get some nice fish in there.
Maybe some swales on that big ex-fill slope.
Most definitely. We'll come back to that next spring.
I worry critters might fall into the deep spot. They don't know the pond is there. Are you gonna make a bridge or a fence?
There will be easier ways for animals to get in and get out.
one thing I've wondered as I've watched this project develop - did you and your neighbor form any kind of legal/liability agreement about the work being done, etc? i always grimace when someone asks me that question about my projects and ideas, but with something this elaborate, it might be a good idea
Good question. I wrote up a document that outlines expectations for us both. We haven't gone back to it in a bit, but I reminded him of it, and I think we'll adjust details and then print it out and both sign it so we have some protections and clearer expectations.
Where do you get your cover seed? Especially the daikon?
Local hardware store has 'lure plot' stuff for deer, and some of them are turnips, daikon, etc. 3-4 bucks a pound you can't beat it!
Wow. Things are progressing quite nicely for you. If I may ask....that is a large pond, do you have to fence the area off? Many places have strict guidelines when it comes to these things. Just curious.
Hope you are able to take time for reflection on this day...or any day for that matter. The times they are changing aren't they? Peace and love to you both
I don't believe we need to do that, BUT I plan to put up fencing anyway to protect the area and keep foot traffic focused to certain safer areas.
Do you have any problems with snails and slugs??
Will the turnips overwinter and reseed?
Fingers crossed they will. They did last year.
Are you going to stock it with some fish?
Yes, once we get some more info on that... Waiting to learn more before we introduce fish and plants.
Hi, you gonna get some fish too?
Sure plan on it
Will you put fish in the pond?
Definitely planning to, we need to do more research first.
Did you decide yet how to seal the pond?]
This pond won't need sealing I'm pretty sure. It's the other smaller ponds at the main 6 acre site that may need that, which we'll explore when the time is right.
This is unrelated to the video but I can't stop thinking about the chicken compost system. Anybody think it's possible to still create the system in a chicken run?
We'll do more on the chicken soon!
Do you own or rent? If your renting your landlord deffinately loves you
Complex a bit, but it's in the family...
Excellent progress. This is going to be quite a mouthful, however it's an area I've researched extensively, and though this is not an emotional exercise, cognitive dissonance is probable, while I simply thrive on correction. I'm always alert to people overemphasizing CO2 in discussion of climate change for the following reasons: 1) CO2 has no causal connection to climate; 2) CO2 is a coolant, not a GHG; 3) Atmospheric water is the direct global temperature regulator, with ocean currents also significant; 4) The sun and to a much lesser extent the nearby planets are what drives climate change; 5) CC is cyclical because the sun and indeed the known universe all operate on a clock cycle; 6) Ice ages are triggered by solar micronova which recur on a 10-15,000 year basis, averaging 12,000 years; 7) The next Gleissberg cycle of solar maxima, the next grand solar minimum, and the arrival of the galactic super wave are scheduled for early autumn 2046, which is the most probable occasion to plunge into the next ice age; 8) Ice ages start in the span of hours from the impact of the micronova; 9) Pollution is a completely different question; 10) We do not cause climate change - we survive it. Just not everyone.
This is a plasma universe. The Thunderbolts Project www.thunderbolts.info/wp/ is the place to start if interested.
Put some fish and turtles in it man.
Great job on the pond and I love how you planned the overflow and used all that soil that came out of the hole! I just finished my tiny pond (by comparison). Here a link to the video. So cool that we can all share what we're doing!
ua-cam.com/video/3yqFpgMcwwA/v-deo.html
you know who is complaining about you using a machine? Someone who isn't next to you using a shovel and wheel barrel. I'd use the machine as well.
Nature does what it wants to do and doesn't care about all the engineering you've done. Those banks are too steep and will fall into the pond. If you live in a high clay area it will keep the water silty. Good luck with it but I think you will always be playing around to keep it "alive".
So it falls in, and he adjusts the pathways a few feet to the side, and loses a bit of the mounded bed. No biggie.
we see this on our creek banks, the high walls get water soaked underneath and it climbs up to release the bank when rain water meets ground soaked clay.
But this is a learning experience and I'm interested to see the process they will go through. they may also have some kind of new technique to use to shore things up, exciting project we are witnessing here.
I hear you, good point. I plan to figure out if there is some reinforcing we can do before the water level gets much higher.
@@edibleacres I guess finding a plant that has a strong root system would help to steady the banks. Like "Tall Cedars" said... it's a learning experience that we'll be watching.
If you can spend very little fuel, and do much more productive time saving work,you come out ahead. the fuel is already made and will be used anyway.
No shame in using machine for efficiency, as mentioned you've actually burned less fuel than you may have doing this by hand
As you well know, impact is a tool to be used and though there may be some who use impact in a negative fashion(such as feedlots) there are plenty of opportunities to use impact in a helpful and healthy manner such as regenerative grazing if using the cattle example, or using this machine to impart massive benefit to the land and its inhabitants with this pond project
Machines have feelings too they shouldn’t be used as slaves
Doubt anyone expects you to spend 2 years digging a giant hole by hand.
Ha!
Next Ice age or nuclear war
I have no idea why you don't like fossil fuels. It's better than burning whales again.