How to begin our Food Forest?! To swale or not to swale

Hey all, I'm about to start planting a food forest on a small slope, which is steeper in about the middle of the decline.
It runs off to a paddock which gets a bit soggy when its really wet, (at the moment is literally the wettest it has been in the past few years) then the river is below.
Soil is loamy up top then goes silty at the bottom. Lots of kikuyu.

We have a dozen trees to start, was thinking of 3 swales starting from the top working down the slope.
But I wonder if it's too steep for a swale in the middle part, and maybe to just do one bigger/longer swale near the bottom of the slope to catch the water and protect the flatter ground below.

We are in NZ, mid north island, not far inland from the coast. Zone 10. We get a decent rainfall but hot summers, can be dry. A few light frosts each year.

Really appreciate any thoughts on this!
Bex

Your land is not too steep for swales.
If the swales are going to be fed by water coming down the slope, design them so that as each fills it overflows to the next etc.
Plant any trees on the downhill side of the swale, not next to it.

As John says,

the slope is tailor made for swales and where it goes soggy just try to make the swale working also as a drainage trench leading to the river or make a nice lake attached to the river which would creating superb conditions for self cleaning and healthy fish..

Welcome!

Looks like you get good rainfall.  I know swales are popular in our circle, but I think they are a bit intensive for an area that gets good rainfall and already “wants” to be a forest.  They make perfect sense for a low rainfall environment where every drop counts.  With good ground cover, we can soak up 10-12 cm of rain, depending on the time frame, before we have significant run off.  Smaller structures around individual trees may be appropriate for establishment.

I do think See Hes brings up a good point, though if you are trying to fill a pond, directing the water may be useful.  I also really like small leaky structures make from brush or rocks in drainage areas to slow the flow and capture sediment.

Hey guys thanks very much for the replies! much appreciated

This is a really great resource that I got as a goodie from a past Kickstarter: Water harvesting and soil building webinar

Highly recommend. Will definitely help you with planning out some swales. This seems like a prime spot for swales, based off what I learned.