It's taken 6 years but the last cultivated part our farm is in the works.

The final area is now planted with saplings of: mulberries, elderberries, plums, crabapples, chestnuts, pin oaks, lespedeza, pecans, hazelnuts, oats, barley, clover, buckwheat, and a slew of pollinator plants. Next spring we'll introduce a small herd of pigs, sheep & move our chicken tractor for some intensive grazing rotation, on this section.

Today we're over 100 degrees which seemed like the perfect time to test a little flood irrigating.  The runoff catchment pond is about 10' above the end of the hose. Not only did it fill the swales around each plant (yup, we swaled each planting since we're about to enter drought season in VA) but the runoff from this watering technique filled up the lower big swales where there is massive tree sapling plantings.  I'm a FAN!!

I love the individually swaled trees. Love love! Am going to try. Looking amazing!