Tyler Ludens

I have extreme pond envy!  For breeding you'll need to make sure whatever habitat the fish need to breed is in place.  Some fish need an area of sand to lay eggs, so when you build the pond you can add some sand areas to shallow areas before you fill it.  Also put a few hollow logs in there so the fry have places to hide, and of course you will include plenty of water plants.  Some fish are so eager to breed they will do it anywhere.  We had Bluegill trying to breed in our seasonal creek.  They had washed down from the neighbor's pond during a flood and were only in our creek for a few weeks, but some were making nests in the sandy bottom.

"The Perfect Permaculture Fish Pond" https://vimeo.com/179831863

The best resource I have found for information about managing rainwater in dry climates is Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond Volume 2 by Brad Lancaster.  There's also a fair amount of info on his website: https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

r ranson wrote:They also like licking ashes I put out in the garden.  

Ash is a source of minerals.  Humans can eat it too (from safe plants).

In climates warm enough to grow it, Agave might be something to try for making a nutritious syrup.  I'm growing many Agave (probably americana but I'm not certain) and plan to try producing syrup from them eventually.

I can send you Chinese Water Chestnut and Louisiana Iris.  I would love some Blackberries in exchange.

wayne fajkus wrote:Do THIS (bury it?) and the shrinkage is less?

Move to the desert, where organic matter tends to mummify rather than compost.  Then you can keep it "forever."  It won't grow anything in that state, of course.....

Creating and nurturing wildlife habitat is the primary activity and purpose of our 20 acres.  In Texas there's even agricultural property tax status for wildlife management, which has cut our taxes in half (or more).  We "officially" manage for Songbirds (birding is a big deal in Texas) and unofficially we manage for Reptiles and Amphibians, and everyone else.  Every year I plant more native seeds, and we have reintroduced a number of plants which had been grazed out of our property over the years.

I'm also very interested in edible native plants, so I include some of those in all my food gardens.

Some wildlife management activities we're doing on our place:

Planting pollinator habitats

Planting food plants for birds

Creating artificial water sources for critters

Making brush piles

I don't think the idea is to keep it from flooding.  I think the idea is to try to prevent the flooding from causing damage to structures and gardens.

I'm not sure why it wouldn't work with a small number of animals as long as they are kept close together and moved at the proper time.  This will mean a clever fencing and shelter design that can move along with the animals. People do this with electric net fencing and mobile shelters.  

Here's an example of electric net and mobile shelter using goats in a different context:  https://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/08/reforesting-goats/

Here's that video:  https://vimeo.com/168769028

I wanted it to have a lot more detail about the structures they built to deflect and slow the floodwater.  It looks like they are very strong constructions of wood and/or wire and stone.

If you plan to plant seedlings anyway, would you consider growing your own seedlings?

Sources for unusual tree seeds I have used are:

https://sheffields.com/

https://www.tradewindsfruit.com/

https://plantsofthesouthwest.com/

Planting seeds versus seedlings has the advantage of not disturbing the taproot which is so important for desert trees.