Homestead Rescue on Discovery channel

[canesisters]

This is - very likely - one of those things that start out as "Wow! What a great idea. I really need to do this." and turns into 'Not in this lifetime!".
Do any of yall watch Homestead Rescue? This weekend I saw one where they put a large water tank on a 10' high platform. the idea was to fill the tank once in a while - then use gravity to distribute water to the animals, garden, home (I assume) etc.

Well... I have been planning to move my cow's water trough (bathub) from it's current spot next to the gate - which just adds muddy insult to muddy injury - to the corner where the paddock, garden and chicken coop all meet. My idea was to put down fabric & gravel in BOTH the corner of the paddock and chicken pen to raise the containers up several inches and to control the mud. I figured that I could somehow attach a hose to the drain on the bathtub so that when I clean it, it could drain into the garden. And I planned to try and put some sort of cover over both containers to help them stay a little cooler in the summer. I was thinking shade cloth.. but then I saw that program and I thought - "What if I put a container up there? As long as I filled it before our 3-4x a year weather emergencies, I wouldn't ever have to worry about watering them during a power outage. "

Issues they didn't address on the program that have me concerned:

Freezing - My winters are getting colder. Used to be we'd get a scattering of freezing weather once or twice a year. Now we can expect to hit freezing about half the nights and for at least one block of 5+ days each winter. Having 100 gallons of water stored is useless during an ice-induced power outage if it's frozen.

Long-term sturdiness - they just stood four logs up and put a deck on it. I'm not willing to trust my cow, my fences, or myself to the risk of that much weight falling - so a REALLY good building plan would be needed.

Cleanliness - During the summer - wouldn't it get just as algae-ed as the trough? I'm not tooo concerned about the chickens - they PREFER to drink from the nasty muddy water next to their dish. And the garden would probably benefit from all the things growing in the water. But I'm picky what goes into my dairy cow because I'm pretty picky about what comes out.

So - what do yall think of this raised water storage idea??? Feasible?? How have you solved these (and other) problems?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Does not seem like a sensible plan to me.

How is this 10' high cistern filled? From a hose? If so, why on earth bother to have it up so high where it can't be reached for maintenance.

If it's filled by rain water, where is the rain water catchement system? And what is the quality of the rain water? (this is dependent on the roof system that collects the rain water. Asphalt shingles are a NO GO.) Again, no need for it to be 10' high UNLESS it's required for adequate gravity flow to reach all areas that need to be watered. Put it only as high as needed, on a STURDY support system.

Mosquito and other insect invasion, as well as other manner of filth. Was it covered? In such a way that it won't be a breeding ground for mosquitoes? Mosquitoes, in addition to their blood sucking ways are vectors for all manner of disease which can be passed to humans and livestock as well.

Algae and bacterial issues? Again, covered? What plans in place to ensure that it does not become an anaerobic bacteria pit?

Better plan: rain water catchment system in place with filtration to remove chemical, biological contamination. Place it in an easy to maintain location, and cover to keep mosquitoes out. Plenty of DIY plans available for filtration systems can be found on line using sand, barley straw, charcoal.

 

[Beekissed]

Watched it once and couldn't stop laughing over the staged "solutions" and funny over dramatized "reality" situations. They just happened to find all sorts of newer looking building material on the next, abandoned piece of property that they felt free to borrow...even had a new, huge hay wagon just sitting there, abandoned by someone. Apparently, that someone wouldn't mind the people showing people how to "homestead" by taking all their stuff and using it to build these folks a tiny house on the hay wagon. It was just wonderful how they foraged for those materials, which just happen to be everything they ever needed to build a better home. Wish we could ALL have obliging neighbors like that who stock their properties with all the right stuff and don't mind if we take it.

The one man showed the city woman how to shoot a gun once so she could hunt for her own food~she shot it once or twice and that pretty much insured she would be able to live off the land from there on~ and the woman showed her how to build a chicken coop to keep her chickens in, which was hilarious as well.

I'm sorry, it was all so faked and ridiculous that I couldn't make myself watch another episode.

 

[canesisters]

Does not seem like a sensible plan to me.

How is this 10' high cistern filled? From a hose? If so, why on earth bother to have it up so high where it can't be reached for maintenance.

If it's filled by rain water, where is the rain water catchement system? And what is the quality of the rain water? (this is dependent on the roof system that collects the rain water. Asphalt shingles are a NO GO.) Again, no need for it to be 10' high UNLESS it's required for adequate gravity flow to reach all areas that need to be watered. Put it only as high as needed, on a STURDY support system.

Mosquito and other insect invasion, as well as other manner of filth. Was it covered? In such a way that it won't be a breeding ground for mosquitoes? Mosquitoes, in addition to their blood sucking ways are vectors for all manner of disease which can be passed to humans and livestock as well.

Algae and bacterial issues? Again, covered? What plans in place to ensure that it does not become an anaerobic bacteria pit?

Better plan: rain water catchment system in place with filtration to remove chemical, biological contamination. Place it in an easy to maintain location, and cover to keep mosquitoes out. Plenty of DIY plans available for filtration systems can be found on line using sand, barley straw, charcoal.

I think it was 10' high because of how far it had to go. The reason for a tank - if I remember right - was something about the pump working for short periods but not able to run for hours??? So they were going to fill the tank and then have available water from that. I think.
It was a big, domed, black tank - so covered and sealed. But still - unless the water was ultra-purified before going in, would stuff still grow? And - in a black tank - how would you know until a big glob of algeasnot came out?

This is quickly moving into that 'Not in THIS Lifetime' category...

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Yes, bacteria will grow even in a sealed tank. Some folks get bacteria growing in their plumbing systems.

 

[canesisters]

Watched it once and couldn't stop laughing over the staged "solutions" and funny over dramatized "reality" situations. They just happened to find all sorts of newer looking building material on the next, abandoned piece of property that they felt free to borrow...even had a new, huge hay wagon just sitting there, abandoned by someone. Apparently, that someone wouldn't mind the people showing people how to "homestead" by taking all their stuff and using it to build these folks a tiny house on the hay wagon. It was just wonderful how they foraged for those materials, which just happen to be everything they ever needed to build a better home. Wish we could ALL have obliging neighbors like that who stock their properties with all the right stuff and don't mind if we take it.

The one man showed the city woman how to shoot a gun once so she could hunt for her own food~she shot it once or twice and that pretty much insured she would be able to live off the land from there on~ and the woman showed her how to build a chicken coop to keep her chickens in, which was hilarious as well.

I'm sorry, it was all so faked and ridiculous that I couldn't make myself watch another episode.

Yeah - some of the 'drama' would've made my eyes roll if it happened on my farm.
"Really? What the heck did you have your hand in there for anyway? Go wrap it up and get back out here, we've got work to do."
Just that one idea sort of caught my imagination.
You're right about the chicken coops. She builds every single one out of chicken wire. The first thing I was ever taught about chicken coops is that chicken wire is for keeping chickens in - but won't keep ANYTHING out.


Soooo - baack to square one with the water trough re-do.
The only building that has a gutter is in such a place that putting any sort of collection system under it would block access to the paddock.
Has anyone put gutters on a fence???? The chicken yard posts are 6' high. The 2 sides that would meet at that corner (coop/paddock/garden) are about 50' long.
Maaaaaybeeee a few barrels set up just a bit higher than the trough would be a better idea...

 

[Lazy Gardener]

You could use gutter to collect water just about anywhere. You don't need a roof to attach it to. If I did not have a handy roof to collect water with, I think I'd use some plywood, and a tarp or some plastic that is at least 4 mil. Place the plywood at a gentle slope so that the water will then fall into the gutter to go into your collection system. You could use your yard, if you have a gentle slope. Same idea. Lay out a tarp or plastic, let the water flow to your collection system. You might even use a submersible pond pump to then pump the water up into your collection barrels.

One concern with laying the plastic directly on your lawn: it will kill the grass b/c of the heat that will collect under it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

One concern with laying the plastic directly on your lawn: it will kill the grass b/c of the heat that will collect under it.

And, voila! A new place to garden, lol.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Actually, if you lay the plastic, and seal it at all 4 edges, this is how one "solarizes" the soil to kill insects, weeds and seeds, and disease organisms in the soil.

 

[canesisters]

You could use gutter to collect water just about anywhere. You don't need a roof to attach it to. If I did not have a handy roof to collect water with, I think I'd use some plywood, and a tarp or some plastic that is at least 4 mil. Place the plywood at a gentle slope so that the water will then fall into the gutter to go into your collection system. You could use your yard, if you have a gentle slope. Same idea. Lay out a tarp or plastic, let the water flow to your collection system. You might even use a submersible pond pump to then pump the water up into your collection barrels.

One concern with laying the plastic directly on your lawn: it will kill the grass b/c of the heat that will collect under it.

Well DUH -

- gutters on a fence don't have anything for the water to flow OFF OF and into the gutter...
I've really got to think BEFORE I type But.. slanting a small roof over the 2 waterers might work.