Hey guys, I've got a few acres of my mom's that I was planning on turning into a forest. It's in missouri, average annual rainfall about 30", minimum temps about 15-20degrees on average, maximum about 100. The front yard borders a roadway for about 80'. The property faces north and has a southward-facing slope running down from the road; it's not a very steep slope but it's there. So, I was planning on running some swales down the slope parallel to the roadway. The soil is mostly clay I think, I haven't dug into it too much yet but I am guessing the clay will go pretty deep.
So I have a few questions:
First off, there's a ditch right by the roadway that's about a foot and a half deep. I don't expect you guys to comment on city regulations regarding this stuff, but would you recommend incorporating the ditch somehow, maybe digging out the bottom of the ditch a little bit and turning it into the initial swale in the succession down the slope? It just seems a waste to have all that water run down the ditch when it could be improving the water table on the surrounding property.
Also, I'm planning on digging the swales about a foot wide and a foot deep, lining the bottoms with rotting woods and some other organic matter to get things started.
Should I wait a year or two for the soil to establish before I plant trees?
I'm sure I have many more questions but those are the ones that spring to mind right now, any help would be greatly appreciated.
