Our Off-Grid Water ~ Restoring the Traditional Waterways
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- We are Mauro and Harriet and in February 2021 we bought an abandoned smallholding in Castellón, Spain.
We are totally off-grid and as such have no mains water connection. However, we do have a water source and in this video I want to show you how it works. Over the last couple of months we've been working at getting our traditional waterways restored (well, functioning, at least), experimenting with flood irrigation and making sure we have water management "sorted" in time for the growing season.
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Somos Mauro y Harriet, y en febrero de 2021 compramos una finca abandonada en Castellón, España.
Nuestra finca es totalmente fuera de la red y como tal no tenemos suministro municipal de agua. Pero, sí que tenemos una fuente de auga y en este video os quiero mostrarla. Llevamos unos meses trabajando en la restauración de las acequias y aljibes tradicionales (haciéndolos servibles, al menos), experimentando con el riego por manta, y asegurándonos de que tengamos el tema del agua "solucionado" antes de primavera.
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Music in this video:
For Better Things by Headlund / Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
Remnants by Gavin Luke / Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
Live for the Moment by Gavin Luke / Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
TE FELICITO HARRIET ERES UNA MUJER QUE VAIES MUCHO
Harriet and Mauro! Watter is life! and the ancient new that!
Harriet - I really enjoy your videos because you are working so diligently and smartly to improve your land. Your videos are more educational than so many others who have similar goals. Please keep producing these and sharing with us. We really appreciate it.
Hi Marcia, that is very kind of you! Comments like this really encourage me to keep going with the videos :)
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead maybe you might consider the watertable Harriet. Until there is a base loading of water in the soil the water will keep just soaking away - but with time you'll find the soil becomes less arid as there is more water retained in the soil (viz the WATERTABLE) for land that has been starved of water for years there is only so much the land can do, but as the watertable improves you'll see the land behaves much better.
None of this will makes sense until you live through the process. Good luck.
Harriet I grew up with a cistern as our water supply. I love that you have these water holdings. Plus you don't have to get inside and clean it out every 6 months! Keep up the great work! 👍
Good morning to you too. I 💙 your videos.
This water system is so beautiful!
You should lay the 4" black pipe that you have all along the channel and put hose connections with valves every 10 feet, that you can use to connect a hose or drip irrigation hoses to. Then connect the 4" black pipe to the stone poll valve. This way you can fill the 4" black pipe full of water without waste a drop, and use hoses and the drip hose pipes to water the individual plants and trees. This way you can have a large garden that's easier to water.
Thanks Harriet Great video and so wonderful to see how you are restoring those wonderful waterways and how the aljibe work. A very happy and productive 2023 to you both
Harriet when you have the vegetable bed ready, first put the straw on it and then chicken wire to prevent the straw from blowing away and then plant the plants! You don't have to water the plants very often because the straw stops the heat, I think once a week because the soil seemed pretty moist to me when I watched this video carefully! You are a handy woman you tackle everything and you don't see that often, only with people who really go for it, congratulations on your Spanish off grid home, wonderful to be able to live so freely!! Good luck greetings Ben Ruziack.
Hi Sarko, thank you! Will have to try with some chicken wire. With some stakes to keep it in place along the edges... I think it could work!
Hi Harriet, have a look into Bunyip Pumps. They are an Australian invention, require no fossil fuels and might be a solution to pump some water around in a more controlled manner for irrigation. Loving watching your videos! It is my dream to start a farmstead. Very inspiring to see a woman getting all the hard jobs done 💪
Hi Claire, thank you! The bunyip is a a kind of ram pump isn't it? I need to look into that, thanks for the reminder hehe. Take care!
Dont despair Harriet - doing great !!
They are doing inspiring work! I mean I wish I were younger and braver - that’s the sort of life to make for yourself. So very pleased for this young couple: hard working, humble and wise.
Aw, thank you!
Patience and perseverance.
Hello! You should make the waterways while the water start flowing. At the past people was conscious about the water so they open every door and put a person in each one. So they can do it quickly, save the water and guide the water flow to the trees or even in to a whole terrace divided in hallways.
In canary islands we still have this waterways or channels all around the islands, and also is still working. I learn watching my family in La Gomera, how fast they do it make it seems so important moment to them.
Sorry about my english if you speak spanish, and think this information is useful for you, it will be better to explain in spanish to me.
Thank you!
Great to see this…..I lived in Portugal 20 years ago and we had similar irrigation systems on the land there too. I fell in love with the simplicity of moving a rock and changing the direction of the water. I’m always trying to recreate those systems here, all these later, in Scotland.
Ah wow! I hope I can get it restored so that at least part of the garden can be irrigated this way - as I'm learning, it's a delicate art of gradients and angles!
oh thats so cool! im from Portugal! where did you use to live if you dont mind me asking? im still really young (just turned 18) so i wont be having land of my own to work on for quite a while, but i do what i can on my apartment's small balcony. i do really hope i can achieve something similar to what Harriet has tho, a life like that is definitely a dream. my grandpa is originally from an "aldeia" up north and now has a little field in the city, and ever since i was a little kid id go with him to help him on the garden and then id help my grandpa prepare all the veggies we'd grow! i miss those times so much, i definitely got my passion for gardening and farms from my grandpa. he's old now and has back problems, so he cant really garden anymore and i can tell it makes him a little sad, i wish there was something i could do for him❤️
Your videos are getting better and better. I love that you share your mishaps, and not only your successes. All in all you're doing a very fine job!
Awesome video. Thanks for the share
The way u so easily work with numbers and dimensions makes me think you dealt with numbers in your job.
Hola con tod todo esa agua regar el campo y verás que preciosa se. Pone todo,y también todo s los árboles,poniendo la turbina,un saludo desde Miami,te admiro por lo luchadora que eres
Have found some of the village elders to pick their brains on your setup, the aqueduct style irrigation you have is a few hundred yrs old and they have the knowledge of how it was meant to be used. As always, best of luck and thank you share bringing us all along on your adventures.
Thanks Barbara! Yes, the local people are very helpful and encouraging about us restoring the acequias! They always tell us about how lovely the previous owner used to have all the water, the local kids used to come and swim in the deposit, etc haha. Now I have some more specific questions to ask them, for sure!
You seem very natural and comfortable in front of the camera, and your explanation of how the system works was easy to understand. I’m fascinated to see how your experimentation progresses. Where I live, there’s two feet of snow on the ground right now so gardening is several months away! Love from New York ❤️🌺🍊
Thanks, that's very kind of you! We are having frosty nights here too at the moment, so most of our growing is also pending warmer weather!
Hello Harriet, nice job you are doing! You are missing a wonderful tool; animals eating the grasses and fertilizing the soils. Go talk to the man that keeps those sheep we saw on your bike ride and make an agreement with him to come to your terrace once on a while as vegetation asks for it. Definitley one time on spring. Many animals but only a day or two. Maybe in autumn another day or two. Allan Savory method to revert deserts is the way to go; use animals as tools and hang your motoguadaña on a wall. Best regards
Hola Fernando! Oh yes, you are right, we have an even closer shepherd neighbour actually, we have an agreement with him to use his manure, but he won't come down with the goats because he says they'll destroy everything haha! Maybe we can borrow one or two though if we get some moveable fencing... thanks for the book recommendation, always searching for good reads.
Hola Harriet
Interesante vídeo! Yo también tuve que lidiar al principio con el tema del agua. En mi caso, al estar en pleno campo, tampoco tenía agua corriente. Tenía una acequia de riego a pocos metros de mi casa. Y con un depósito de 80.000 litros junto a la casa, tenía que llenarlo cada cierto tiempo para todos los usos que se requieren en una casa. Tenía que pedir permiso a Comunidad de regantes cada vez que tenía que llenar el depósito. También con un sistema de canales y compuertas, podía incluso regar a manta el olivar. Así estuve un montón de años y finalmente, como se generalizó alrededor de la casa el riego por aspersión, pude instalar el agua "corriente". Mucho más cómodo pero seguía sin ser potable. Con el tiempo, compré un filtro Berkey y hasta hoy. Por cierto, instalar un riego por goteo para los árboles frutales es muy sencillo y barato. Y colocado justo al pie del tronco riega exactamente donde lo necesita.
Estás haciendo un magnífico trabajo. Saludos!
Hola Virtudes, gracias por compartir tu experiencia y situación, me fascina saber como estas cosas funcionan en distintos lugares y como la gente maneja el agua. Tengo mucho que aprender! Un abrazo!
In Australia we dig our channels on contour (swales) and plant on berms. This keeps the water at the base of the berm and soaking in there, very similar to what you are doing, though I think you are planting on an incline as opposed to contour. When it rains it collects in the swales. I think it could work where you are too? I love what you are doing and bringing the land back to life.
Thank you! I didn't know this method was used in Australia, that's interesting, good to hear of other examples and maybe I can research more too. Yes our beds are on an incline, I guess we have to be careful with that so the water doesn't all just run straight to the end!
Hello, you have a beautiful piece of land in an unbeatable location, good land to cultivate, lots of sun and crystal clear water to irrigate. Keeping the vegetation at bay a little due to the danger of fires, I would advise you to use a cutting line with the brushcutter, the finishes are much more durable and the weeds can be piled up more easily. I would recommend that you raise the handlebars a little and adjust the belt, it works better and without being hunched over. I follow all your videos, I would love to see a lot of fruit trees such as orange trees, peach trees, plum trees etc.. greetings
Hiya, thanks, and thanks for the tips too! didn't realise you could raise the handlebars! The issue is me and my husband have very different heights haha so we get lazy and don't always re-adjust the straps!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead hello from Texas, USA. I really enjoy your videos, I’m new subscriber. If you’ll also look into tarping your areas that you don’t want weeds especially before planting, Jason @ Cog Hill Farm does this method and has moist, beautiful dirt, and no weeds to work with when he plants his garden from green house starting seedlings. Let nature do some of the hard work for you by composting the weeds under that tarp, especially in your winter months. Listen to Jason, he’s got a better talk on his videos than what I told you. He also uses green fertilizer! Best of garden time to you.
I have 5 acres of land between Valencia and Alicante and I am looking at a permaculture/ food forest/ homestead style mini farm. At present I’m looking at swales and a solar pump system to overcome our irrigation issues. Love your videos so much, keep them coming 🤗
Aw thank you! Ahh, yes it's always about the water!
Harriet, i would generally agree with the comments from Mark Walker below. Use the channels (after some repair) to direct water around by all means, but you could re-use your 40mm redundant pipe and provide drip hoses from that to water plants and beds specifically and indeed directly rather than trying to get water to move through earth channels in a warm country, a lot of the water will be absorbed into the ground where you dont neccessarily want or need it, and some will simply evaporate, so a good part of it could be wasted.
Use the pipe connection and valve at the bottom of the basin above your channels and the gravity of the water in your basin, it'll be ideal and a much better use of this precious resource.
If your dead set on the channels try retro fitting half round drainage pipes in the existing channels with mortar where they are broken or form new channels across the earth to direct the water where you need it without wasting it in "no Grow " zones. i hope that makes sense.
Also, you could test whether you are losing any of the water from the pipe from the spring to your basins, the flow from the spring seems greater than the flow into your basins. In the hotter months the quicker you can re-charge the basins from the spring the more you can put into your raised beds, beds and mulch beds. Replace the damaged or leaky 90cm pipes where you can and perhaps "reline" the existing where its not feasible to replace.
I just found your channel today and i wish you both good luck going forward.
Hi Mark, thanks for your comment, I really appreciate folks taking the time to share their two cents, gives me lots more viewpoints and angles to consider, especially when various people are echoing each other. I am next going to try an experiment with drip irrigation (for the reasons you mention, and various other inconveniences of the channels!), using hopefully just the 40mm pipe we already have and the pressure from the bottom of the deposit, am hoping to avoid needing a pump in the irrigation system at least for this field that we're starting with!
RE: leaky pipes! Yes!! Funny you noticed that. hahaha there are some dodgy area in the pipe for sure. Also one leaky deposit along the route too which doesn't help. I actually just fixed one part yesterday and already a huge improvement in flow.
I love your videos.
Los sistemas de riego son complicados y requieren un monton de mantenimiento.
Good job!
The strawmulch is perfect. I would only put a tiny layer of woodships over it. That could keep it together..
Hola muy agradecida de que te des el tiempo de colocarle la traducción al castellano 🥰 creo que es maravilloso que muestres que no todo sale perfecto y que hay errores que corregir, estaré muy ansiosa para ver cómo resuelves el tema del agua ,saludos desde Chile.
Fenomenal el traductor, gracias y que tengas suerte con las acequias
That water stream you got is really a blessing. You seem to be using the correct permaculture principles...am sure you will get the job done correctly. Every site has its own context and it's own challenges...
You asked about how to ascertain the level of the furrows to ensure water would flow downhill in them? It's easy, using ancient Roman technology. It's called 'winding sticks' [as in the long and winding road...], an ancient surveying tool.
Essentially, you procure three sticks, two of them a foot longer than the other. On one of the longer ones, you affix a board, flat, horizontal on the top of the pole. At the channel end of a furrow location, you then drive this pole into the dirt to one foot, making sure the top of the pole (the board) is level in both directions. You then hammer the second long pole in at the far end of where you want to put the furrow. Bend your eye down and look along the edge of the flat board on Pole 1, and you can see the top of the far pole at the end of the row. If the top of the pole is above this 'eye line' there is a rise towards the far end of the furrow. If the far pole top is below the 'eye line' then there is fall towards the far end. To ensure the bottom of the furrow has as few ups and downs as you can, use a second person to walk along the direct line from Pole 1 to Pole 2, stopping and checking whether the middle pole is higher or lower at each point, say every metre or so. the middle pole being exactly the same as the height from the ground to the 'eye line' at either end, its' easy to see if the bottom of your furrow or trench is rising or falling. It's also a useful method of levelling the bottom of footing trenches, which is what I've used it for in the past. You can improve this methid by making the middle stick a 'surveyors staff' (google for an image of one) which is basically a 4x1 marked for much of its length with horizontal parallel lines exactly measured, like a ruler. Using this staff, you can see at a glance, form the markings, by how much the staff is up or down form the 'eye line' at any given point.
If using this method over a longer distance, and your eyes just can't see well enough, invest in a cheap pair of 7x magnification binoculars, and just use one eyepiece of them as a monocular to magnify the view of the staff from Pole 1. The flat board makes this easier (see what I did there...?).
omg who are you, I feel like you are some kind of guardian spirit which some higher power has sent to answer all my problems 😂 I am saving all your comments in a file which I will refer to, I need this information easy to find! thank you so much!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead haha, alas, not a 'guardian spirit' - don't we all wish we had one of those - just some old guy in Australia who grew up on a commune. We faced all these problems then, or similar, and I've kept a finger on the pulse of 'modern homesteading' as the lifestyle still fascinates me, even though I'm just a suburban gardener these days.
@@markwalker7813 So you have and I’m thankful for your kindness and love for others needs❤
Looks like you have bought a great irrigation system, tried and tested
i see you have rosemary bush,i make a tea by boiling the leaves .same with bay leaves.used cloves with the tea.wish you both all the best from Newzealand regards mike
Que lujo tener agua potable y aljibes en tu terreno 👍
i love this irrigation system. i wish i had a spring
Tengo huerta en casa hace varios años y para que los acolchados no se me volaran con el viento - ya que mayormente los hago con pasto y hojas secas - les coloque por encima alambrado de gallinero sostenidos con unas pequeñas clavas que hice con varilla de 6 mm dobladas en forma de "J", y hasta ahora me ha resultado espectacular.
im new here to your channel Harriet. just loving your kind gentle nature and your patience, Tofu of course and your journey. bless.xx
Was looking at pumps for something else today, and remembered you and your water predicament. Here's a link to a 12V submersible pump, which has a maximum lift of 30m (in Specs it says max 30m well depth, so same thing...). If you were to place something like this in your large deposit, you could easily raise 12L/min to any tank or deposit anywhere on the land. So it would fill an IBC in around 1hr 25mins. So if you have 4hrs full sun per day (global annualised average) you could lift 4000L just with the sun, no need for batteries etc. Add enough solar panels to it to meet the 10 Amp current draw, and Robert's your mother's brother. Well, you still need to find a higher location for a tank... As I can't see the over view of your land, can't really suggest anywhere, but it looked a bit hillier directly above the pipeline from the spring, for example. (HINT: Borrow a drone, we'd all love to see a 'flyover'...]
As I said in a previous, you could shift an IBC to where you think it might 'work' to supply house and irrigation, then bucket fill it in a bucket chain (invite friends over for a BBQ, served after the IBC is full....) and then using your leftover 40mm poly and perhaps a step-down to 20mm then 12mm to feed household taps and hot water heaters, see what sort of pressure you get with the IBC at that location. If inadequate, you need to go higher, either higher on the land, or on a stand. Remember it's around 7m to obtain 'mains pressure' but you may be able to get by with a bit less, especially if you're using drip irrigation and not sprinklers.
But the shower won't work without something approaching mains pressure. As explained, the pressure switch on an instantaneous HWS will 'flutter' if you don't have good pressure. But if you simply cannot under any circumstances get 'close to' mains pressure, then maybe a tank/reservoir HWS would suffice. Then whatever pressure you have at the shower head is what you have...
www.scintex.com.au/collections/electric-12v-pumps/products/submersible-well-bore-pump
I'm saving this comment. Pure gold.
This is wonderful information and I’m sure she appreciates it.
Hiya amazing work well, done i suggest you look in to swales to slow down the flooding but what ever you do my wife and i can’t wait to see the next bideo already
The water only needs one place out into the field...What is vital is for you to create the rows the top is for the plants and the lower part is for the water to flow...You have to channel the water throughout the grooves or trickles...When you sow you need to dig straight rows parallel next to where the plants are...The water will naturally flow easily throughout the rows...I used to see my mother do it...
Hola Harriet! Estoy viendo vuestros videos cada día ..de manera desordenada! Y no se si has conseguido dar con la tecla al problema que planteas en este video..yo también tengo riego por inundación cada 9 días tenemos la "tanda" y me ha dado muchos quebraderos de cabeza este sistema...al final creo que lo mejor va a ser riego por goteo o marcar surcos hacía los de frutales y el resto del terreno me gustaría que fuera más de hierbas de terreno seco como es nuestro clima...plantar retamas...esparto..romero ..tomillo..Siento que la inundación me erosiona más el suelo a pesar de no arar. Y siento que es muy antinatural tanta agua...lo que pensamos hacer con el cultivo de verduras y hortalizas será en camas de cultivo y regar a mano...pero claro es para consumo familiar. Me gusta mucho vuestros videos y me dan mucha inspiración! Gracias por compartir
Hi guys Love it fir I too am looking to do something simalar in Spain. I wanted to suggest that you put the first door in. Right in front of the Valve. Ore half door. This will allow the water level in a trough to rise thus extending the length and supplying the other openings. Then you play with the amount of water flowing from the valve. Thuss a slow constant stream/trickle to your vegies...One!!
Hi Manuel, thanks for your comment! A few other people mentioned the same about the door. I think originally there was one, but it must have been broken/lost over the years. Thank you!
Ty for your response I have been thinking of doing the saim for years and was amazed at how well you seem to be set up ...One!!
Hi. Love your videos. You said in a previus video, you wondered why there was so many moscitos, its Because of the Running water, they lay eegs in it.
Great work, thank you! The production is getting better and better and the content is so thoughtful and interesting. You are doing a great job and the fly screens are excellent too by the way. It’s great to see a woman just getting into this and making it happen - a wonderful role model! Best wishes to you both.
Thank you Jamie, that's very kind of you!
Nice
gracias x esos videos creo que el tema de los canales es que tiene que ser asi una sola puerta abierta cuando la zona esta regada cierras y abres otra puerta un abrazo y gracias por los subtitulos
Just watching this a little late and thought I’d let you know you can get eco friendly irrigation pipe which you place in the ground and it seeps out to water anything you want to water, which saves the problem of high water pressure flooding your garden or moving your mulch.
Goeie avond , ik heb jullie vandaag ontdekt en geniet van jullie werkjes . Om het water te gebruiken voor de tuin zou ik werken zoals de Chinezen . Zij leggen terrasjes aan zodat het water mooi verdeeld wordt . Een heel werkje maar zeker de moeite waard . En eerst het hooft kanaal herstellen zodat het water onderweg niet verloren gaan . Hiervoor bestaat mortel die dient om kelders dicht te maken . Dank je wel om je filmpjes te tonen . Groetjes
Muchas gracias x la traducción ánimo 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Keep going it will settle as the ground gets used to the water it will take months just keep clearing channels and shut of first ones that should give you a better flow for farthest away
You could try putting another water trap further down 😁
Thank you!
Hello Harriet: creo que estáis haciendo un buen trabajo en vuestra finca. Cuando vi que utilizabas el método del permacultivo, recordé que yo hace tiempo también me dediqué a hacer Compost en mi casa, utilizando Lombriz roja Californiana. Seguramente en vuestra tierra podáis encontrar lombrices en los lugares húmedos. Creo que es un buen método para conseguir un buen abono y de muy buena calidad para utilizar en vuestra huerta, árboles, etc. Es un método sencillo y que da muy buenos resultados. Si te interesa en TH-cam encontrarás bastante información acerca de la Lombricultura para hacer Compost. No necesita nada de inversión y los resultados son muy buenos. Espero que te sirva mi consejo. Ánimo y adelante con vuestro proyecto. Buena suerte 👍
Hola Roberto, muchas gracias! Ya tenemos un pequeño vermicompostero (creo que se llama así?) pero sin duda es algo que quiero expander y hacer mucho más. 💚
Hello Harriet, there is a way to pump water with the force of the water itself.( No extra energy needed, no batteries or electricity) Its called a Ram pump or in swedish Vädurspump. You look in the TH-cam. I can't send you any pictures here but with a vädurs pump you can easily pump water with that 4cm in diameter black pem hose. Even possible upwards! I hope you understand what i mean. 😀 Regards Rickard from Sweden 🇸🇪
Ram pumps only work with significant fall, which they do not have here, alas.
@@markwalker7813 So they don't have a small fall at the source of the water? Not even a one meter fall? Well then it could be a little tricky transporting the water thoose 250 meters.... 😥
No, sadly not! 0 fall at all from the trough
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead well, now you att least have fixed that 110mm in diameter tube... hopefully it'll work fine. Take care! Rickard 🇸🇪
The channel with gates in could be repaired or you could use the black pipe and make some holes in it and run it along where you need the water. You could link into the tap you already have and make sections up each with its own tap so you control where and when you want to water.Or you could get a fitting for the tap to take a hose and water when needed
that's such a good idea! I've been trying to think of uses for that wretched black pipe and I can't believe I didn't think of something like this! That could be perfect if it turns out repairing the canal walls is too much work!!
Hola Harriet! Espero que veas el comentario! E observado que delante de la boca de agua de entrada al campo no pones una "presa" para parar el agua. La acequia tiene que tener en algun lugar, en las paredes, 2 guias para poder hacer tu "represa". Espero haberme explicado y si te vale en comentario, estupendo!! Ánimo y mucho power!
Hola Jose, sí, te entiendo y ahora que lo pienso sí que puedo ver los restos de esas "presas", pero están muy rotas. Casi no las puedo ver. Eso tiene sentido. Gracais.
Thanks to you both for this video.
como puedes ver las ACEQUIAS se hacen siguiendo las curvas de nivel, para q el agua fluya suavemente sin erosionar, y se puede llevar por largas distancias
Nice! A lot of work again! I have never seen such a irrigation system, beautiful to see you explain and restore!
Thanks for posting and sharing. Very nice to see the whole irrigation set up. I hope you’re able to get it re-established. Best wishes with your whole project.
You're so right, the water flowing through your land is such a precious and beautiful resource, the very stuff of life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could apprentice to a traditional farmer in your vicinity? What a community-building opportunity that would be!
Oh wow yes, that would be amazing!!
Lead the water around the outside of your garden …or vegpatch, not through it….or install a solar pump into basin and dirt water onto veg beds
How will the water get to the plants if it goes round the outside?
You might try to attach fittings to the big valve and lay that black pipe in the acequias with a T at every gate. Same principle without having to repair/maintain the old system. You have a small scale version of the system they use for flood irrigation in deserts like Arizona.
I agree, the original channel is beautiful architecture, leave it, use your piping to channel the water for now and add the drip lines and or off and on connectors the pipe in the trenches. This way controlling the water, where it goes or how long your rows are, can get the water further away from your water source for distant beds. It should always work to your advantage if you get your drop to distance correct. I wouldn’t try watering ever channel at the same time either, do one each day on a schedule. I would also try to find a way to cover those channels for your safety walking in your garden, maybe old roofing tiles you might could get free, they would need to remain removable so you could make adjustments to your piping as needed.Enough of my thinking, you’ll get it done to your liking.
Hola yo creo que el mejor sistema de riego que podríais adaptar facilmente a la salida de la llave de el algibe son las cintas exudantes .,con un filtro para impurezas , se venden por Internet , yo compre hace años de la marca poritex de malla Roja que no necesita presión, con la presión de la salida de la llave del algibe tienes suficiente, ahora se venden con la marca visareg y no son muy caras sobre 0,50 el metro de cinta, espero haberte ayudado
Eso es muy interesante, gracias Francisco, lo miraré. No había escuchado de esos tubos. 🙌
You've probably done it y now but have you thought of swales?. Another good regenerative programme you can adapt is at least 3 compost bins at 3 foot square. With this rich organic compost you can then make compost tea. Love this journey by the way and only just found you...
Awesome job, check with your neighbors to see how the flow is working throughout your environment for a total ecosystem check and plan from there, so you can maintain the right pests and plants, natural filtering in your soil can be maintained...
Good morning I have a question can you reuse the black pipe roll it up and let it fill up with water Close the tap and let the sun heat it up for your free hot water from the sun ☀️
ohh possibly. I am trying to find a re-use for it. It's not very flexible though so it's very hard to work with but I could try!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead I suggest do a little test cut your 6 foot peace of pipe Put a cork in the end fill it up with waterPut a cork in the other end so it doesn’t leak leave it in the sun for about 5to6 hours and Check the water to see how hot the water is It might need more time👍✌️🤙
Hey big fan of your channel. Doing awesome work! I noticed that you are doing flood irrigation. In my opinion it is very counterproductive because while you are mulching the soil, flood irrigation is so powerful that it will erode your soil(although slow and unnoticeable), you will loose your soil that you are building with mulching. Instead i would recommend to make rain water harvesting structures on your land. Find the highest point in your land and notice the flow of water on your land, notice the slope and gradient and build swales and bunds(furrows) perpendicular to the flow of the water and grow on this mounds(bunds). You can also use a network of pipes that connect to your water storing structures, and with the help of gravity, irrigate your land in form of channels. If you do go with flood irrigation then i would suggest high mounds about 50 cm high surrounding your land that way you don't loose your soil that you do build through mulching. Hope it helps 😁
Hi, thanks for the comment! That's n good point about the irrigation washing away top soil, hadn't thought of that downside. I mean, I was planning to do flood irrigation via channels (not as like a whole sheet of water over the whole field) so maybe that's better but yeah definitely something I'll take into account! And the mounds around the whole field are also a good idea. Thank you!
I love how you grow your vegetables along the water canal! Please adjust the volume of music with your speaking! Music is louder so we have to adjust often by reducing the volume while music is going on!
You might want to check into swales. Basically instead of one long channel straight down hill, you dig the channel like a snake back and forth as you go down the hillside. This slows down the water and more can soak into the ground. There are several TH-cam channels about them. So after a year do you feel in better shade than going to the gym?
Had you thought of cementing in pipes with taps on the end of the stone gates on your flood irrigation channel? Like at the bottom of you water storage. Then cementing up the gaps to the top of the channel. This should allow the whole channel to flood. Then open up one or two taps at a time to flood irrigate.
I'm doing something similar now with polyethylene piping (since I already had a lot spare). I have taps at intervals which I open for irrigation. It was easier to do it this way than fixing all the canals.
Hola Harriet! Enhorabuena por el canal, compartes información muy interesante y sabes hacer de todo! Yo tengo que regar "a manta" mi huerto y terreno , utilizo no dig y mulch , ya que estoy en Mallorca y el verano abrasa. La combinación no es perfecta, hay que limpiar los canales ya q cae mulch...pero de momento no he encontrado un método mejor que no me de tanto trabajo....así que me encantará ver si se te ocurre algo !! Un abrazo y ánimo!
Hola Marina, muchas gracias, jajaja no sé hacer de todo, ni mucho menos, pero me encanta intentar 😂 Es muy motivador saber que alguien más está haciendo no-dig con riego a manta, tal vez no estoy loca!
Fascinating to watch as you relearn & reuse old flood irrigation methods. The spring & infrastructure are amazing resources. I applaud your diligence. Would crocus (saffron variety) grow in your area? Thanks for sharing with us. 👍👍
Hi! Thank you! Yes I believe saffron does grow here, at least I hope it does because actually it was one of the types of bulbs I planted haha
hola. lo primero para que funcione lo del agua, es que tienes que comprobar la inclinación del terreno a favor del punto mas lejano. luego se hacen unos caballones a un metro a cada lado de los arboles, así podrás dominar el riego
Citrus trees need a deep watering. Make more of a basin and then fill it. Once a week and twice a week in the really hot summer. If you have access to pine needles they stay in place for mulch.
Frost in Castellón? Are we talking south east Spain right?
Very nice to have all that water everywhere and what a very beautiful plot you two have!
more east than south! Yeah, surprised us too. By the coast there is never frost, but we're 30km inland and also in a dip.... it's super localized, there are people just a few km away who tell us they never get frost!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead good to know! We're moving there soon too, although a little more south probably! Very nice to follow you two!
ANIMOOO!!!
Very educational video. Your garden looks great. I think once the plants get established the roots will hold unto most of the mulch and keep it more compact and intact. Also as decomposition occurs the mulch will not blow away so much. Maybe you can repair the wall channel using some cement and fine crushed sand stone to make it more equal so the water can fill up and then run over in the holes and into the channels you created. I have a little knowledge of this from my country, We do this to help us grow more food and decrease the watering time when we grow food in our lands far away from our home.
Thank you, yes I think you're right about the decomposition, I am already seeing that after some rain that the straw has reduced in volume and is staying in place a lot more. I also laid some branches over it in some area and I think this helps. I will persevere with the mulching method!
I was reading the other day that Israel (and South Africa I think) were pioneers in irrigation methods and brought drip irrigation to the rest of the world 🙃 I bet you have loads of knowledge on this!
también te puede ir bien de momento un motocultor a gasolina, no será muy caro pues hay de muchos precios
The channel leading from the basin at the base of the 45KL deposit, with the large plastic valve leading into it you said did not have enough depth in it for water to overflow out the smaller 'gates' into the field. Perhaps you could try damming the channel just past the 'gate' you want to open and see if the water level builds. You might need to raise the height of the wall around the basin, but int he short term as an experiment its worth trying. You may find you can only water one furrow in the field at a time.
I think you're right on both these points, some comments from Spanish folks are also mentioning opening one gate at a time, and that there should be gates going across the canals too, so you can keep water just in the area where you're about to open the door.
As there is a decent amount of water pressure you could just fit a hose to the tap, a drip irrigation pipe is another option.
Unfortunately there's not as much pressure as you'd think :( 1.5 meters of head - only 0.14 bars
But trust me I tried both those things anyway 😂
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead I thought that you probably would have tried them, but I left the comment just in case you had not and the lack of water pressure is surprising.
I travelled through Spain back in the early 1980's, the link below shows some views of the old rock where I reside. I enjoy watching your videos and you have achieved a lot in a short time.
th-cam.com/video/B2wvZqknVNQ/w-d-xo.html
Boa tarde, VocÊ pode, além de manter a cobertura permanente da terra, utilizar a irrigação por gotejameno. Ela é direcionada para o que vocÊ quer e economiza muita água, que aliás vocÊ tem em abundância. Além disso o custo é único na instalação, pois vocÇe pode mudar o posicionamento das mangueiras para onde quiser, quando quiser .
You might want to stop using the straw and use geotextile, it works well to stop weed and keeps seeds and plants safe, and you can run pipes along rows of plants.
You can invest in those and these ways will move you into larger volume fast.
I know someone who does it in a 30 acre farm and do 50% vegetable farming for their own farm market store.
While I appreciate and admire your desire to avoid miles of plastic pipting and to use flood irrigation wherever possible, this might either not be possible or be very wasteful of water. *Which it undeniably is*.
Drip irrigation, via black poly pipe with small 1/8" holes drilled in *precisely* where you want the water to drip, is MUCH more water conscious. BUT (theres' always a but) these should not be used for vegetable gardens or regualrly cultivated areas. Good for fruit and olive trees, as you can stake them to mark where they are and so avoid chopping them into pieces with the strimmer.
Another useful technique to practice, and again, it's as old as Methuselah, is the simple siphon.
If the water won't flow readily out of the channel into your furrows, but the furrows are still lower than bottom of the channel, a 4" length of 30mm rubber garden hose can easily be used for this. Fill the channel as suggested by damming, then lower the hose into the water pregressively ensuring none of the hose then comes out of the water. Once both ends are under water and the short length of pipe is filled with water, block bot ends. either by ramming corks into them or stuffing with rags. Weigh the channel end of the hose down with a large stone, then lift the other end over the wall and down into the furrow, then **quickly** remove both plugs, the lower end first. Water will flow. Magic.
Se hacen canaleta a la par de cada cultivo.Asi lo hacía mi madre.quiero decir a la par del banca.uno cruzado por el ancho del cultivo.Que lleva el agua hacia los bancales
Really nice old water system. I guess u dont really need mulch in winter time. Cons: its suporting slugs. Pro: suppresses weeds. In summer I would remove the mulch from the water channels than irrigate and than put the mulch again in the channels.
You should regularly check for bacteria contamination in your water, especially with chickens living on your land. It could potentially be very dangerous.
would love update on watering and produce
That's a good idea. I'll do a Spring update video in a few weeks!
No hace falta quitar toda la trampilla levantándola un poco y bloquear con una piedra sale menos agua y se riega más despacio y el tiempo que quieras
Now, one of the issues with flooding furrows is that many vegetables don't have very deep root systems, so if you 'mound up' a hill next to the furrow, you might be making it harder for the plants, especially when juvenile, to actually reach the water. Unless the bottom of the furrow stays permanetly flooded, thereby providing some hydrostatic pressure to push the water 'uphill', it might be very hard for young plants to actually reach the water. And as you've found, much invariably settles into the furrows and needs to be raked out on a daily basis as the slow and weak flow you have will not be enough to push the mulch out of the way, meaning parts of the furrow may not get watered or not get enough.
Personally, I think a better method is to use an 'el cheapo' version of the hi-tech irrigation approach commercial farmers use. They use rigid aluminium pipes that clip-lock together to make long runs, and then attach sprinklers to them. But they have big pumps and very strong water pressure to drive their sprinkers, which you don't have.
Instead of the rigid aluminium, use (fairly stiff) 40mm black poly pipe, drilled every 4" or 8", and place the lengths of pipe along the rows, where you will plant the seeds or seedlings. Essentially, place the pipe and THEN plant the seeds or seedlings. Use 1' long sticks to anchor either side of the pipe (poly naturally wants to bend back into its 'rolled up' shape, so this is essential to get the pipe 'straight'. Then, using the siphon method described below, feed water into the channel end of the pipe. Adaptors, clamps or just a bit of rag wrapped around the end and jammed into the end of the pipe will probably be ok. Experiment. Keep it simple to start with.
Beauty of this system is that, come harvest, ploughing or renewal time, you can simply remove the lengths of poly pipe and stack them in a corner of the field. Poly pipe is cheap, but long lived, even in full sun. Unlike the unprotected uPVC pipes in your main spring-to-deposit supply line, which should be either covered or painted to protect them. PVC pipe becomes very brittle after just a few years exposure to the sun.
Yes the thing about the mounds was also confusing me, because in traditional veg plots around here which are flood irrigated that's how they have it, but we were also wondering how the smaller plants actually reach the water with their roots, it seems too "far away" to me. So that was also partly what we were trying to figure out! How do the locals make it work?! haha. Very interested in the poly pipe idea as you know we have 300m of spare 40mm polyethylene pipe now hahah, and am trying to think of uses for it. But I never saw irrigation pipe so wide, normally it is like 10mm and has these tiny little button caps which only emit a small trickle of water. It didn't occur to me that a wider pipe with holes drilled in it could work. I would think all the water would just come out of the first hole and not reach the final ones. But you think it's worth a try??
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead You have the pipe so worth a try. Normal rural irrigation pipes are 75 or 100mm in diameter. Those 1/2" poly things are for domestic flower beds AND for gardens with mains pressure. Drill 1/8" holes in side of pipe and plug far end. Should fill before overflowing. I was imagining a rigid 'soaker hose', a flexible plastic 40mm hose used to water lawns that has loads of holes all over but is designed again for mains pressure. Essentiall.the poly with holes is like adding a portable channel which has a roof. The drip holes are then like the gates in the channel, except you choose where the 'gates' go and drill them yourself. If you drill first without laying the pipe down and pegging it in position the holes will be hit and miss. Lay it, peg it straight, then mark where the drip holes meed to be to vome out halfway up the side of the pipe (use a white marker to mark the holes) then drill the holes. Should work!
When you would remove the exotic (or any) fish from the water you would get much more natural life in there to enjoy..
Chickens are great for pest control, particularly when allowing the daily free range feeding on property.
Your water supply management and development is a unique system and requires little bit of mathematical calculations to get maximum benefit, particularly in driest seasons.
An overview summary from data shared in the video. 1) having large volume storage capacity, 2) my calculations from fill time and volume of large tank or reservoir, the gallons per minute i.e. flow rate is very low ruff estimated with your single measuring is 0.78631 gallons per minute "gpm" you work with metric system I'am U.S. citizens and default to gpm US. Lol lolol
Resulting gpm rate may be enough water if utilizing 24 hrs water schedule,
60,000. Liters ÷ 3.785 = 15,847.86053 gallons total for 14 days duration
15,847.86053 gal ÷ 14 days =
1132.28911 gallons per day "gpd"
1132.28911 gpd ÷ 24 hour per day =
47.17871 gallons per hour "gph"
47.17871gph ÷ 60 minutes per hour =
0.78631 gallons per minute "gpm"
0.786311882745 very low rate for fire suppression, i.e. wild/brush fire fighting flow rate
However with portable pump for fire suppression the volume in the reservoirs can benefit structure protection on your property.
The irrigation flow rate from tank/reservoir drain value can exceed the water source flow rate, however then waiting 14 days for flood irrigation volumes to be obtained in storages unit.
Drip Systems irrigation being 24 hours a day at slower rate or same as water source flow rate retains fire suppression volumes as well efficiently irrigating your Market Garden and fruit trees.
Drip irrigation systems materials are reasonable prices and easily installed by DIY home owners.
However calculating the flow rates by manufacturers is possibly based upon higher water system pressures than your tank bottom drain value outlet pressures can achieve.
A thought provoking synopsis, giving a kick start or stimulus to your further R&D of sustainable multipurpose uses of available water supply for you property needs. Simply research for detailed flow rates of seasonal fluctuation, formulate a seasonally adjustable resources supply verses demands schedule. Will likely result in providing substantial water with water savings systems efficient delivery of currently available water volumes to matching agricultural demand.
Hmm thank you, yes the maths is correct based on what I said in the video although I may have been a bit off, due to filling different deposits at the same time (not all started from empty) and some have leaks. I have some more work to get a more precise flow rate. But I understand from your message (and am leaning towards anyway) that water is not THAT abundant, and drip irrigation can help save a lot. I wasn't sure about your comments about fire suppression though. Never heard that phrase, what exactly did you mean by that?
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead Fire Suppression or Fire Protection, Fire Defence, Fire Fighting resources, water to knock down (stop) wild fires, brush fire, Structure fires house, barns, workshops etcetera, my apologies I shared a variety of terms having similar meaning to your question, hopefully you consider those ideas on fire fighting water volumes and planning out defense plan due to limited amount of water available different methods of defense can have greater potential of saving your property improvements.
Exciting watching young couples working towards self sustaining, self reliant, Off- Grid Recycle Repurpose Reuse lifestyle
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead There is a reasonably simple way to measure the "Flow rate" of water in a open ditch, running water in a creek, rivers, irritation canals.
Google search measuring flow rate of a stream, channel or other terms mentioned. Might be easier than reading my explanation. idk,
Need 1” drop every 8 ft for good water drainage
Rather then watering cans, try using a sphion from the big water reservoir with a garden hose. Most flood irrigation systems the water flows slowly for 24 hrs. Your trees need a good soak to get the roots wet. Remove the stone gate and replace with a wooden gate that the PVC pipe attaches to. This will get the water to the tree base. Less water waste in the hot dry summer.
Okay this is gonna sound like a stupid question but is there a way I can make a syphon work without sucking?? I haven't got the lung power to suck down a 25m hosepipe!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead Yes. Because you have a large pool, put the whole hose into the pool. Make sure you feed it in so all the air pockets are out. You can do this by just feeding the hose slowly into the pool one end at a time. Then cover the end you will use as the outlet. Quickly pull it out of the pool and over the edge, still covering the end. Once its below the height of the pool, remove your hand covering the end. It should start to flow.
🌟💐🍀👍
Do you guys eat meat? If so you could keep fish in there if like me you are on a plant based diet could you consider growing water chestnuts etc? If you opt for fish you will need plants anyway to provide predator cover, also floating aquaponics with fish that are not harvested could add nutrients to the water as well. Just ideas…
Oooh water chesnuts, that's an interesting idea! We actually do want to put fish in the water deposits, mainly to combat mosquitoes in the summer. I didn't talk much about that - video was already too long haha - but a really good point!
@@LittleSpanishFarmsteadthe fish will eat all insect eggs and lava so you’ll not have to worm your animals as much.
Why not use the black piping you took out and install it at the tap of the water reservoir and use it as irrigation pipe in that field for your crops and trees. You'll just need to buy the drip feeders and install them into the pipe at the correct places.
Yesss I am just now wondering about that. I thought it was too thick for irrigation pipe (as usually irrigation pipe is like 120mm or something) but maybe it's possible!!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead Well if you put that pump on that black pipe it will work, it’s going somewhere with that much water pressure and I would only do one channel at a time. You’ve got plenty of pipe it seems. Ladybug, you’re gonna do this! Much love to all ❤
Perhaps you should get a drone so to get different perspectives on thing for your self and TH-cam ;) also videos are a little long for me, but to each there own. Set up some swells to direct and store the water on the land if needed no?
Haha I think Mauro would love to play with a drone. Might also finally be able to map out all our trees, too, if we had one!
You have the 4 inch black irrigation pipe spare ? may be make use of that on the project
We do! Lots of it lol. Have a few uses in mind!
Does your pipes freeze up over the winter ?
I think you need more water flow and your channels for the water to flow out The old timers know what They was doing when it came to water management another solution is you can put a water hose connection on that valve that you turn on to use a water hose you have a lot of water pressure it will work give it a try or another solution is put in IBC tanks then fill them up and put a water hose connection on the valve and use it that way That will give you extra water holding tanksTry to figure out something you have the free water👍✌️🤙
Thanks John, mmm yes IBCs are gonna be necessary as we still have some areas we can't reach even with the channels. It's true about the pressure from the deposit. We should be able to use that to our advantage. Crazy how much life on the farm revolves around water management here - in the UK we were always trying to get rid of unwanted water haha!
@@LittleSpanishFarmstead when you got time check out Jim Kovaleski’s Grass Fed greenhouse in Maine He does a no dig Garden he covers the ground with old grass in his garden