Water: slow it, sink it, spread it, use it 

Mulching with wood chip is a much better idea than cardboard. I've been experimenting with the latter but its pretty rubbish for letting water through to the earth below. And yes woodchip seems much kinder and healthier for the soil world.

Even when it soaks in, it's still continuing to flow downhill. I'm thinking the major function of soaking it in here so near where it exits your property is to introduce a plume that will serve to slow water from higher on your property as it tries to move downhill, even underground. Looks like a couple of gabions strategically placed would be effective as well. I have similarly forested land, with the pit and mound combination that comes with trees uprooting and falling and naturally creates scores of capture and soakage sites. In our situation, most of our site is the bottom of a catchment area and the water table will occasionally, seasonally rise above ground level. We have the inverse challenge of most sites, excess water creating anaerobic conditions for portions of the year.

Be aware of your heat footprint, especially at the top of the hill. Place your hand on a piece of deadwood that has been in direct sunlight for hours. Try it with the mulch. Try the same with a bucket or anything artificial. Try it in the evening after a sunny day. Spreading out the debris spreads out the heat. Spreading the debris at higher elevation can change the environmental lapse rate, and if you're not careful it can form a temperature inversion, which will inhibit convection. When convection is inhibited the ground heats up, because the heat isn't moving. During summer the combination of longer days and shorter nights results in a positive energy balance and warmer surface temperatures. Warmer surface temperature entails less dew and frost, because the ground is less likely to reach the dew point. Lack of dew and frost makes it more complicated. Evaporation and melting require a tremendous amount of latent heat from the environment. Melting of frost and evaporation of dew cool the air and the ground. Lower temperatures lead to more precipitation. Humid air is less dense than dry air, giving lower pressure, which also leads to more precipitation. I'm on 43 acres in piñon-juniper forest, at 6,000 feet elevation, near Snowflake, Arizona. Since the beginning of the year, the weather station in my yard has recorded 3,201 minutes of precipitation, and that doesn't include snow from several snowstorms. We've had a lot of frost this winter, as well. Have you heard about the atmospheric rivers and snow in California? I rehabilitated several square miles in the Millet Swale watershed, despite subversive activity by a neighbor who was tampering with the environment to prevent what I was trying to accomplish. Due to topography of the area, the resulting inversion in the watershed was blocking atmospheric circulation across the Southwest, leading to drought. After years of drought, the Sierra Nevada has had historic snowfall this winter. Even Southern California had an unprecedented blizzard, in the San Bernardino mountains. California is preparing for another round of atmospheric rivers. I ended the Southwest Drought.

Nice to see someone working permaculture principles in New England! I’ve been wondering how to work in this area with a very different ecosystem than deserts have. One suggestion, throw tons of plantain and dandelion, amaranth and lambs quarters seeds around for your food as well as for soil enrichment.

new subscriber here.. i'm using my phone to watch your videos..i really like your videos..just 1 issue..kinda low on the audio volume.. 😬

We have run off so much water for land we had forgotten how important or water is to us. How can we slow down the runoff?

I’m going to be terracing on my sloped property to make garden beds. Should I make the terraced beds on the contours or run them parallel to the contour just above it to minimize soil and water loss?

I agree with this title.

Where do you get all the wood chips ?

Sounds like you’re expecting legal action...