Thanks for the response. In terms of a seal, I was planning on allowing my ducks to gley it. I have found a heavy clay layer 1-3ft beneath the surface in the area when digging before. I have not dug deeper than 5ft or found the bottom of the clay. I would ideally like to keep a small number fish in this low point pond, with two higher smaller ponds connected to a swale-french drain system, where I keep muscovies. I only have a 1/2
acre but it feels bigger and live in an area with prolific rainfall (100" this year already) that happens almost entirely during the winter (less than 1"/month in the summer). I also could use to create some hot spots for subtropical plants, as this is an extremely temperate climate (30-90f are the low-high most years) that makes getting brix up on any
fruit the main challenge.
Would you predict digging and cutting 5ft outside the dripline around 1/4 of the circumference would be greatly harmful to the tree?