Swale Plantings
Since Fall has finally arrived and we are having our swales dug, we have been planning what to plant in them. This is a very important step since a swale that is planted is more stable and doesn't erode as a bare earth swale would. If you have to do a bare earth swale for example if you live in the desert, then the bottom can be ripped to ensure water absorption and the top can be tamped down with rocks. If you can get mulch and debris on the bottom of the swale that would be better.
Anyway back to ours. There are so many great plants that can be used in this situation. Unfortunately, most of them are not readily available in my area. So after some research I have narrowed my plant selection to the following:
Ground Cover:
Mini-Clover Grass Mix (Inoculated)
Low Growing Clover Mix (Inoculated)
Soil Builder Mix (legume mix)
Herb Layer:
Good Bug Blend (mix of herbs that are good insectary plants and have deep roots and/or dynamic accumulators)
Shrub Layer:
Elaeagnus sp.
Cytisus scoparius
Cercis occidentalis
Tree Layer:
Albizzia (Silk Mimosa)
Black Locust
Honey Locust
Willow
Fruit Trees
Nut Trees
All these selections except the fruit and nut trees and the willows are nitrogen fixers, which means they have bacteria in their roots that have a symbiotic relationship with the plant. In exchange for sugar these root nodules give the plant atmospheric nitrogen in an usable form. As time progresses in this system the trees which are nitrogen fixers are chopped at 5-6 feet and their branches dropped to become mulch on/in the swale. They are not meant to be the final trees or climax trees. Those are the fruit and nut bearing trees. I may leave some of the black locusts in the end to mature because they make great, extremely hard timber. The ground cover mixes and good bug blend came from Peaceful Valley nursery which is linked on my side tab. Getting the quantity I need and actually planting will be the next challenge. I ordered 1000 sq/ft coverage but I think I will double that and order another 1000sq/ft.
On the north swale the tree selection will be a little different. Not so heavy on the nut and fruit trees because it is in a different zone. Also I will incorporate Osage Orange, maybe some Causarina (which I am having a tough time getting to germinate from seed) Silk Oaks (also having a tough time with the seed) and maybe some Hopseed and Olives. We really don't want anything on this swale that would be flammable. That excluded Eucalyptus, and Pine which are both fast growing, tough evergreen trees. I must say the search for tough, drought tolerant evergreen trees and shrubs has been very difficult. Oleanders are very popular here but they are poisonous to people and animals. I have read that in small dosages they are immune enhancing but I haven't gotten a chance to look into that. I definitely think Olive is an under-utilized immunity plant. But I digress.
The North Swale acts as both a way to slow down and store water as well as a wind break. More like a wind ramp. We are trying to get the harsh northern winds to fly over the house without coming down hard on the other side. So these plants need to be able to take more tough conditions than our South Swale. The soil is also not as good on the north. When they dug our pond and leveled out our building pad we were careful to have then save the top soil (such as it is) and then spread it back out again on the south.
One quick note. In my posts sometimes I get lazy and don't use the latin name of a plant. If you ever want to buy a plant however it is very important to use that scientific name. Even when I was talking with people who I thought would know what I meant by "autumn olive" they didn't. They thought I was talking about olive. So I had to go back and give the latin name and try again. Waste of time. I should have known better. Even people in the nursery trade can get confused. Use the latin.
Anyway back to ours. There are so many great plants that can be used in this situation. Unfortunately, most of them are not readily available in my area. So after some research I have narrowed my plant selection to the following:
Ground Cover:
Mini-Clover Grass Mix (Inoculated)
Low Growing Clover Mix (Inoculated)
Soil Builder Mix (legume mix)
Herb Layer:
Good Bug Blend (mix of herbs that are good insectary plants and have deep roots and/or dynamic accumulators)
Shrub Layer:
Elaeagnus sp.
Cytisus scoparius
Cercis occidentalis
Tree Layer:
Albizzia (Silk Mimosa)
Black Locust
Honey Locust
Willow
Fruit Trees
Nut Trees
All these selections except the fruit and nut trees and the willows are nitrogen fixers, which means they have bacteria in their roots that have a symbiotic relationship with the plant. In exchange for sugar these root nodules give the plant atmospheric nitrogen in an usable form. As time progresses in this system the trees which are nitrogen fixers are chopped at 5-6 feet and their branches dropped to become mulch on/in the swale. They are not meant to be the final trees or climax trees. Those are the fruit and nut bearing trees. I may leave some of the black locusts in the end to mature because they make great, extremely hard timber. The ground cover mixes and good bug blend came from Peaceful Valley nursery which is linked on my side tab. Getting the quantity I need and actually planting will be the next challenge. I ordered 1000 sq/ft coverage but I think I will double that and order another 1000sq/ft.
On the north swale the tree selection will be a little different. Not so heavy on the nut and fruit trees because it is in a different zone. Also I will incorporate Osage Orange, maybe some Causarina (which I am having a tough time getting to germinate from seed) Silk Oaks (also having a tough time with the seed) and maybe some Hopseed and Olives. We really don't want anything on this swale that would be flammable. That excluded Eucalyptus, and Pine which are both fast growing, tough evergreen trees. I must say the search for tough, drought tolerant evergreen trees and shrubs has been very difficult. Oleanders are very popular here but they are poisonous to people and animals. I have read that in small dosages they are immune enhancing but I haven't gotten a chance to look into that. I definitely think Olive is an under-utilized immunity plant. But I digress.
The North Swale acts as both a way to slow down and store water as well as a wind break. More like a wind ramp. We are trying to get the harsh northern winds to fly over the house without coming down hard on the other side. So these plants need to be able to take more tough conditions than our South Swale. The soil is also not as good on the north. When they dug our pond and leveled out our building pad we were careful to have then save the top soil (such as it is) and then spread it back out again on the south.
One quick note. In my posts sometimes I get lazy and don't use the latin name of a plant. If you ever want to buy a plant however it is very important to use that scientific name. Even when I was talking with people who I thought would know what I meant by "autumn olive" they didn't. They thought I was talking about olive. So I had to go back and give the latin name and try again. Waste of time. I should have known better. Even people in the nursery trade can get confused. Use the latin.
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