Rainwater swale for fruit trees - Desert Permaculture

Update to my rainwater fruit tree project where I use some permaculture techniques to water my fruit trees. Hopefully you might be able to incorporate something similar on your own home, homestead or urban farm! Thanks for watching:)
#rainwaterharvesting
#permaculture
#swale
#desertgardening
#permacultureswale
#homesteadonomics
#desertpermaculture
I own 100% of the visual content in this video. Music is from the KZbin Free Audio library.

[@dramatriangle]

I love this! It reminds me of the times I carved wells and stream beds and burms into the sand at the beach. But much more useful, and on a real-life scale!

[@bramvanoverbeeke8881]

This is really amazing. Can you post an update? How did it hold up over time?

[@jeanlanz2344]

Great design made with a lot of thought, love, and care. Thank you and God bless

[@tiozao8620]

You, sir, are one awesome water harvester! And since water harvesting is my favorite permaculture topic, I am now subbing to your channel. Respect and cheers from Brazil :D

[@charleyandsarah]

That's a wonderful system, Joe.

[@homesteadonomics]

Slowvannah Farms Thank you Sarah:)

[@B30pt87]

I am delighted! I wish I could have seen what's in the rainwater diversion box though. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to watch more of your videos. Seriously though, you made a fine system. I'm glad I got to see it in action.

[@josephmccaffrey6851]

Really great project. And very inspiring! Thanks for going to the effort to put this video together for us.

[@homesteadonomics]

+Joseph McCaffrey Thanks Joseph! Should have a video up soon on this years rainwater gardening project where I grow corn and squash with run off water from my dirt driveway:) It'll be up in a day or so... just finishing putting it together now:) Joe

[@user-dq2ym1nn9k]

still one of my favourite videos on youtube. thanks!

[@darbinorvar]

Quite the impressive rain water system you've got there. The closest I've come was, we had to run a 100 feet French drain around the shop to pump water out of that area. But digging trenches and working with water is always fun.

[@homesteadonomics]

Darbin Orvar Thanks Linn! I wish we had the abundance of water that you guys have up there:) Joe

[@homesteadonomics]

Darbin Orvar Hey Linn, just a thought, but I was thinking about your french drain that you installed and was thinking maybe you could make a cool video project out of that area. Maybe some perennial plants in some cool 'darbin orvar' custom planters near the downspouts or a beautiful Ipe grate on your drain (if it is the style of French drain that has a grate within the rock). Or heck, maybe a mini water pond for Darwin to play in after a rain...lol... it'd be cute footage! Joe

[@mellamoesroy]

Hi Love it 😉 It is fun digging trenches or swales isn't it 😉 especially watching them develop. I love it!!! My project is in southern Spain and nowhere near as development as this one, where is this project ? Thanks Roy 😉

[@rikiray3370]

Yep. That works so well. Im sure its even still working even better all this time later

[@ecopatty]

Wow! Amazing project 👌🏻you are very smart 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Thank you🤗

[@sundancer442]

Great set-up ! I live (and garden) on the edge of a desert and build mini swales all the time. On top of my 'dry river beds' I add a couple of inches of larger gravel and it does help to 'slow the flow' a little, during those big desert rains. God bless, Simon.

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks Simon! Great advice and I think I'll have to incorporate some gravel to help aid in slowing the water down a bit:) thanks! joe

[@crpth1]

Well just trowing my 2 cents. ;-) A silt trap and a relatively shallow soaking pit, before the water box. Would probably be your best bet to charge the soil with water. The best place for it to be. Considering that most will evaporate soon in that type of region. Can be added relatively easy and will not interfere with the good work you already done. ;-) Cheers

[@josephmascarenhas918]

Thanks Joe....Another great update............

[@homesteadonomics]

joseph mascarenhas thanks Joseph!

[@dudleybarker2273]

a really cool steel man *and* a permaculturist - respect, brother.

[@randallmontgomery4147]

Well thought out Joe. I really enjoyed the video and it gives me a few ideas on how to incorporate the permaculture methodology with a small orchard my wife and I are planning next year. I plan on collecting the runoff from our barn then distributing it in a similar manner as your own. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@homesteadonomics]

+Randall Montgomery Thanks Randall... let me know how your project goes... I'd love to see what you come up with! A barn should provide tons a great water to use for your trees:) Joe

[@TemplarX2]

Brilliant. As Mr Pirri would say you are planting water on your land.

[@Magnussen92]

"Chicken"! I love puns! :D Really cool system! I like how the water goes to so many things, not just to one single tree. I was a little surprised how much water ended up pouring in those pipes with so little rain. I guess it's a really effective system!

[@homesteadonomics]

Bjørnar Magnussen Thanks Bjornar! It's a work in progress, I gotta build up the berms a bit as they were just about at capacity... but so far it's been working great and in our area it's so crucial that I make use of every bit of rainfall that I get:) Thanks for the comment and for watching Bjornar! Joe

[@Bcoops06]

I don’t get the pun

[@gschaaf713]

this is really interesting stuff. you are really adding value to your land and the environment. good job!

[@GFD472]

Nice! One of the best things about your channel Joe is the way you create solid working systems then clearly explain how the whole process works. I love seeing a well thought out and dialed in system working as designed!

[@homesteadonomics]

GFD472 Thanks GFD! I appreciate it... but I think you might be giving me more credit than I deserve:) But so far so good on this one. I do have plans to add more swales and rain harvesting systems.... but I've got to get some equipment first, as this one was hand dug and took a long time.... lol!

[@alisonshanahan9529]

I really like those concrete blocks with the channels for water flow. I haven't seen them before, I am in Australia.

[@DanielGarcia-yb3lj]

me neither, i'm unsure of what he called them, "water weers"? Super Amazing :D

[@DanielGarcia-yb3lj]

ok, its spelt "water weirs" Good Luck on your projects

[@TedAlexander24]

Very interesting Joe. I would imagine that you are out playing in every rain that you get.

[@homesteadonomics]

Ted Alexander haha.. absolutely! The desert makes you enjoy every rain and those rare gloomy/cloudy days!

[@CrankyBubushka]

What a beautiful place!! Love the chicken photobomb and the end lol.

[@Monkeybunch100]

What an amazing accomplishment!!! Thanks for sharing with those of us aspiring to such awesome projects!!!

[@pollyblackburn28]

wow beautiful system. thanks for sharing.

[@homesteadonomics]

+polly blackburn Thanks PB!

[@claudelefebvre3076]

that is an ingenious system you got there !

[@homesteadonomics]

thanks so much Claude:) Joe

[@ladyeclectic]

It's amazing how clear the water is when it's going through the weirs! Probably with more vegetation and/or straw and mulch it could be clearer, but at least you know you're not getting erosion with this system even as-is!

[@homesteadonomics]

Yes, it's been an awesome project to build and really pretty darn simple! In the desert it's always cool to see how we can catch a little bit more of that rain water:) thanks for watching! joe

[@mirshk4366]

Very informative to develop basics

[@Retroweld]

That is well planned out. Nice work. Great thunder at the end. Douglas

[@homesteadonomics]

RetroWeld Thanks Douglas! btw, just watched your side table video.... aawweeesssoommmee! Joe

[@Retroweld]

Thanks Joe!

[@cokeman250]

That's what I call taking full advantage of Mother Nature great job God bless buddy

[@homesteadonomics]

cokeman250 Thanks Cokeman! We gotta take full advantage of it when we get it! Now I'm gonna go watch a video about how to make authentic homemade country baked beans.. you wouldn't know a good recipe would you;) Joe

[@plokiju88]

Ha! Lol, the chicken pun was brilliant!

[@TractorsNStuff]

Great system! Quite a bit of water in the desert. Imagine how we could all have systems like that where it really rains!

[@homesteadonomics]

Nic Ames Thanks Nic! You're absolutely right... if I can do something out here in the desert with just a few fruit trees... then people in areas with more consistent rain could do some really amazing stuff with much less dependence on well/city/etc water or other water sources:) I have some other areas that I'm working on similar rainwater diversion in too... in about 3 weeks or so I should be doing an update on my rainwater corn/squash project where i grow the corn/squash off of nothing but our monsoon rains! thanks for watching! Joe

[@orione3873]

Very cool system. Well designed, thanks for posting!

[@homesteadonomics]

+Orion Roger Thanks Orion!

[@andrewbellavance7629]

Beautiful system...always a work in progress!!

[@3Godfree]

Great setup Joe...thank you for sharing.

[@homesteadonomics]

Sam K Thanks for watching Sam!

[@jessedylanwilliams]

very nice

[@sharonrobledo136]

Just love watching your projects. We can’t wait till we are on our own land. We should be done paying it off by March 2019. Then our real work begins, we’re excited and are peaking in on your channel for ideas. Great job on this project!!!

[@royceivanailaomc1853]

Amazing!

[@blackberryhideout5793]

Cool video update to show how it all works together!

[@homesteadonomics]

Blackberry Hideout thanks Jessica! btw... I'm gonna need some help with honey collection, prickly pear picking, and a host of other things in the next few days... you wouldn't happen to know anybody thats gonna be in the area would you;)

[@blackberryhideout5793]

+homesteadonomics Why, yes, yes I do know someone who will be in the area that will be more than happy to do your bidding (provided you have more protective equipment for honey harvesting)!! Start making your to-do list, brother!

[@homesteadonomics]

I've got big plans! Assuming jury duty doesn't foul things up that is:)

[@Claythargic]

If you put a 90 degree L bend on the swale side of your pipe you can control the flow of water to your trees better, Don't seal or glue it down just friction fit it over the end of the pipe. as the swale fills you can turn the L from level with the ground all the way to straight up, this will allow you to keep water in the swale instead of dumping it all through the system. Basically you want to fill your trees up with water then stop the flow and fill the upper swale and let that water sink into the ground above the fruit trees instead of below them. I hope that made sense, I love the set up.

[@homesteadonomics]

Yep, thats a great idea... I think I saw it from a Geoff Lawton video I saw a while back. I am planning on just that for a future swale/pond project:) Joe

[@Claythargic]

That is probably where I picked it up myself. :)

[@terifarrar7317]

Beautiful

[@radicaljoe4574]

Simple but effective. I'm sure Geoff Lawton, Paul Wheaton and the like would give you a thumbs up. Liked the music, too. Thanks. Be safe.

[@homesteadonomics]

radicaljoe Thanks Joe! I hope they would approve too:) Even if not, it's still working for my purposes:) Thanks for watching as always and great to hear from you Joe! Joe

[@tovaritchboy]

Now that is AMAZING to see it in action, been scanning your site and just saw this, IS so so good and the multch helping to absorb and slow down. LOVE seeing things when they are working the way you wanted them too! Congrats, DEF massive success!!!

[@homesteadonomics]

thanks so much Greg!

[@danmantor4954]

WoW amazing! Good job man!

[@marcoweissheimer2627]

Awesome!!! Greetings fromm Germany!

[@highdeserthollow4447]

Cool design, I like how it all works together.

[@homesteadonomics]

High Desert Hollow Much appreciated HDH!

[@luizmaranhao4824]

Your video is great! I love it! And all the comments here are very beneficial. It gives me great ideas to make it more enjoyable for the trees. I learned that I need to pee on my trees also... Lol

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks Luiz! Glad you liked it and got some good ideas! Would love to hear what you come up with:) Joe

[@katewizer2736]

You would get"a kick" out of a poem my dad wrote for the bathroom: "If you are more than 3 feet tall, sit-down to pee! Don't splat the wall. If you MUST stand up to pee, go outside and find a TREE! (I have 5 brothers).

[@gaetanproductions]

great job !

[@Canadiansasquatchbrewery]

Great video as always! That's a great system you have there for watering. Cheers!

[@homesteadonomics]

Canadian Sasquatch Thanks CSB!

[@rxmonkey5946]

Cool setup!

[@homesteadonomics]

Allen Ash Thanks Allen... it's a work in progress but it helps me keep these fruit trees watered in our dry climate:) Joe

[@mirzasherazbaig5388]

great system

[@gregh1579]

That sure is pretty country. Reminds me of home in Texas without the mountains in the background.

[@jupiter0jupiter]

Awesome Joe! This is a really cool system you've set up

[@homesteadonomics]

HerringBone Thanks HB!

[@houtjeboom]

Great idea..... !!!

[@homesteadonomics]

houtjeboom Thanks HB:)

[@blackswanprepping8827]

This is great. Really cool what can be achieved in semi-arid places! thumbs up! Shared this on my Fb as well.

[@homesteadonomics]

Dutchhorse Thanks DH! I appreciate the share and all the videos you put up as well:) Joe

[@cokers4life]

Thanks for sharing! I will be setting up a garden out on four acres near Tucson. This really helps to give me some ideas.

[@homesteadonomics]

Lacy C That sounds awesome Lacy! I'd love to see what you guys come up with if you want to share... always interested in what fellow desert dwellers are doing in there gardens! I'm in the mountains west of Sahuarita so we are a bit cooler than Tucson but overall pretty much the same gardening environment as a whole:) Joe

[@williamwalter8554]

homesteadonomics Looks like a green desertification movement is being started. Great video. Any plans to extend garden past that hickory tree?

[@williamwalter8554]

William Walter Doh mesquite tree.

[@EastTexasHomestead]

Great system! It's awesome to see it all come together.

[@homesteadonomics]

+East Texas Homestead Thanks ETH! I'll bet you could make one heck of a system like this in E TX!

[@EastTexasHomestead]

no doubt! we've got big ideas and aspirations for our property. at the moment we just have one small swale in until we move out there and can do more.

[@AQUABANA]

Very nice

[@timwoodger9551]

That a beautiful thing dude:)

[@homesteadonomics]

+Tim Woodger Thanks Tim! Joe

[@gschaaf713]

this is an awesome little setup. maybe you should put a little pond or something at the end of it all? or a container to store it?

[@patriciaribaric3409]

That was amazing!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@homesteadonomics]

+Patricia Ribaric Thanks Patricia! Glad you liked it.. hopefully I'll be able to improve upon it and have a great update video during this years monsoon season:) Joe

[@patriciaribaric3409]

homesteadonomics It is a bit crazy this past year. In OH in June it was dark and cold, and in Dec. it was sunny and very warm. We had a fly outside our kitchen window on Christmas day with windows open over night. That is crazy for close to lake Erie.

[@MrSALDad]

Nice job Joe

[@homesteadonomics]

Danny Fox Thanks Danny... we try to collect every drop we can:)

[@AdrienneSmith87]

Wonderful job, friend! I can't wait to have my own piece of property to transform. I live in Dry Central Oregon where we get around 10" of rain per year, and I am excited to implement all the permaculture things I've been learning in my PDC. :D I definitely have subscribed and hope to watch your lovely work grow! I do think, however, that the "Let's see how this works out." mentality is the best way to learn! Good luck!

[@homesteadonomics]

+Adrienne Smith Thanks so much Adrienne! Very cool you are taking a PDC too! I want to take one some day but just haven't as of yet.... anyways, thanks for subbing as I'll definitely have some more permaculture-y stuff coming out during the summer monsoon season!!!! I'm wanting to put in some large scale swales as well as improve/upgrade my rainwater garden project too :D Joe

[@yackfzay6224]

Smart design.

[@homesteadonomics]

yack f zay Thanks YFZ!

[@gelfling3250]

Great effort in what you're doing here. I found this inspirational and look forward to doing something like this in the future for my partner and I. Thanks for the video.

[@homesteadonomics]

+Gelfling 3 Thanks so much Gelfling! It's so cool to see what you can do with some simple berms and runoff water... hoping to keep improving these systems around my property and I'm glad you might be getting some ideas for your own property too:) Joe

[@DmnSpawn1]

Been doing the same thing to my yard, lots of hard work but so satisfying to see your results! Well done and Keep it up! +Like

[@homesteadonomics]

+DmnSpawn1 Thanks so much! it's really cool to see what you can create with just a shovel and a level! thanks for watching:) Joe

[@weRbananas]

You should plant a cover crop like clover or something around the trees to prevent the sediment from being washed downstream. AWESOME video by the way.

[@homesteadonomics]

+weRbananas Great tip and thanks for watching WRB's :) Joe

[@jasoncox7910]

works great

[@euphony745]

Very impressive

[@homesteadonomics]

+euphony745 Thanks Euphony:)

[@upcycleengineer7825]

you make good videos bro, keep it up!

[@homesteadonomics]

UpCycle Engineer Thanks UC Eng! Very much appreciated!

[@seanie6512]

I love it I want this

[@lobotomie66]

at the end of the water flow you should build a collecting pool

[@BruceAUlrich]

Making really good use of available water...I know it can be all or none there in AZ.

[@homesteadonomics]

Bruce A. Ulrich yep, it's a precious resource for sure...especially for us desert dwellers! But I will say, it's been living in the desert that has changed my outlook on 'gloomy/rainy days'... I used to dread them in other parts of the country but here, everybody gets excited... like Christmas morning!!! Thanks for watching Bruce:) Joe

[@BruceAUlrich]

homesteadonomics Interesting the different perspectives. In Mississippi in the winter, I just cringe when it rains. It is so wet here in the winter, any little bit of rain just stands...the ground cannot soak any more in.

[@homesteadonomics]

Bruce A. Ulrich hahaha... yes, indeed! If I could trade you half of your rain and half of my 'dry' then we'd both be in heaven! I remember at our place in Louisiana my Dad built our pond by just digging a hole and boom... pond! haha... I guess it wasn't quite that easy, but dang near that easy:) Just got to figure out what works with that extra moisture. I know some trees are such heavy drawers of water that they can help dry out a perennial muddy spot in a yard. Anyways, thanks for the comment Bruce! Joe

[@BruceAUlrich]

homesteadonomics Very true. We planted an American sycamore tree in a low spot in the back yard last year. I can't wait to see that thing get big. They're very pretty trees. We have also planted some river birch trees...they like the wet. Lots of sweet gum trees around too.

[@weetreebonsai]

Looks good and works great! Now trim the suckers off those trees ;-)

[@homesteadonomics]

weetreebonsai hahaha... yes, those suckers... I was thinking about letting them grow a bit so that I can do some grafts on to them since they are from the root stock... but I think I got to get them rooted first:)

[@andresamplonius315]

Perhaps you would find Vetiver grass useful in your property. Plant it along your swales, as hedges and for mulching

[@powerup9035]

this is so nice, but the amount of work that was put into this is impressive

[@he7is7at7hand]

Smart!

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks!

[@allanegleston13]

subbed.

[@nancystone2152]

I hope that the root flare on the trees is not below the soil. the project looks great.

[@homesteadonomics]

Nancy Stone Thanks Nancy... the root flare is above the soil but below the mulch:)

[@insideoutretail5292]

Have you considered heavy use of mulch to keep soil moist and cool longer?

[@henrypuyi5485]

Another great project! Were those monsoonal rains? Have you had more precip this year than in previous years? Keep up the good work. Bear Down!

[@homesteadonomics]

Henry Pu Yi Hey Henry, the monsoon is certainly here... I can't say it's more precip than in the past... but it's not over yet and it did start a bit earlier than normal... so I'm hoping we have a few more weeks of good rains like this one! Joe

[@EarthshipChile]

Think you need more rain water collectors

[@homesteadonomics]

Earthship Chile haha... yep! Got them in the future plans:) thanks for watching EC! Joe

[@dmmflys]

Awesome didn't even know then made such a thing as those concrete flow regulators. I have a huge project I'm planning to install Swales on my lake house properly with food producing trees and plants and I'm going to add those into my system for sure. Where would I find them?

[@homesteadonomics]

I made them with concrete and wooden forms. search my channel videos tab and there is a video on how I made them :) Joe

[@dustinbossmusic]

You should just dig a french drain in on the side of the fence where your drain is. Instead of water only coming through the drain it would come through a massive pipe with many areas for drainage. Just an idea..

[@kevinmurphy2439]

Hi great video, Do you have videos of how you made the water diversion box and weirs? Please keep posting, your stuff is great. -Kevin in NJ

[@homesteadonomics]

***** Hey Kevin... yes I have vids on both:) If you go to my channel page and click on videos all the vids are in chronological order.. but here are the links instead:) water diversion box kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5OxlqKujMmkjNE water weirs kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6XGZHdnp56fjtE Joe

[@kevinmurphy2439]

homesteadonomics Thanks I found the rain water diversion box yesterday after I asked the question but the link to the weir is much appreciated. Great videos, please keep them coming. I think I am going to make a pair of weirs this weekend !

[@waltlars3687]

did you add straw to tree rings? to shade the ground and Mulch ? have you tought about throwing down some scratch grains in the tree ring area and let the chickens scratch it up and poop in there straw,poop and water makes compost

[@homesteadonomics]

Yes I let them in there from time to time.. but usually they end up in one of the beds excavating a pepper...lol

[@my2cents0]

Looks like you have an unlimited supply of rocks, every rock I have I've had to beg, borrow and steal. But I do have water, I live a block from Lake Michigan. And no I can't see Russia from my house. 😃

[@homesteadonomics]

my2cents0 I'll trade my rock abundance for your water abundance;) I'd love to live close to that 'freshwater ocean' you guys like to call a lake!!! lol And I can't see Russia either... but I can see Mexico (better food;) Joe

[@my2cents0]

+homesteadonomics haha ........The lake is getting warm, about 63 degrees right now.😬

[@crumbdav]

Have you considered Hugulkultur? Burying wood in the ground to absorb water?

[@TheCommono]

The drain to your diversion box: did you think about making it higher in the berm, so that the water stays longer in the swale (who would have to probably bigger)?

[@anafale9395]

Great video and great ideas! I was considering something like it for the rain water and also for the water wastes of the house (laundry, dishes, baths,...). I'm in south of Portugal and we do have long summers and little rain in the winter. I do have a couple of questions (maybe a bit silly...): do you feel that the first tree gets more water then the last? Would it be better to put the trees that need more water first and the ones that require less water last? Thanks!

[@homesteadonomics]

Hi Ana, That's a good thought and is probably the way to go on spacing of trees. I didn't think too much of that when I planted the trees...lol I just planted them making sure each was 'down slope' of the other. Anyways, great to hear from Portugal :) JOe

[@anafale9395]

Thanks for answering, Joe! :) I'm still working on this project . I figured that if every time I used the water at home only the first two would receive water since is very little flow, so I guess the trick is to collect the water during a whole day and water the trees in the evening or every other day, since I can't store grey water for long. Then I would have more flow. Work-in-progress and all that! ;)

[@crpth1]

Ana Falé - Just wrote something similar further up. In the South of Portugal (Alentejo/Algarve) it´s a very good strategy to consider soaking pit(s). Using the overflow for the explained purpose like in this video. Aquifers in the region will also thank you. ;-) A filter system for your grey water might also be worth considering. Neither are very troublesome or difficult to implement. BTW Don´t forget the roof water harvesting... Cheers, from a Portuguese in Norway. :-)

[@leedza]

Looks cool. Loads of water from a short rain. My only question is does the fast moving water affect the retention of top soil in the tree planting beds.

[@homesteadonomics]

+nun So far it doesn't seem to have an effect on the tree well topsoil. I have a ton of mulch down and that may be the key. But overall it's been awesome for us and I'm looking forward to adding more to it for next year! Thanks for watching Nun and i hope that answered your question! Joe

[@zachman310]

Where does the excess water go? I was thinking that since you've got such a dry, arid climate, that saving that water (or slowing it down) may be helpful if you aren't already using it once it leaves your fruit trees. Could you come up with a system that stores the water in that swale above the trees? Maybe have it trickle down into fruit trees once the swale is full? Idk how but maybe you could have that diversion pipe be semi-buoyant so that it always stays 1/2" below the water level which would allow the water to move more slowly through the system. Just some thoughts. I really like the content in the video and the quality of video itself is great as well! You've got a subscriber and fellow TSP permie.

[@homesteadonomics]

Zach Hurley Those are some great thoughts for sure... you've been listening to ol' uncle Jack haven't you! The water eventually runs into another swale below the garden where the chickens were and collects under a mesquite tree. I plan to put some more fruit trees down there to take advantage of the overflow... but I have limited water in which to irrigate with for the dry spells... so it's always a balancing act to see what I can reasonably care for:) But I am planning on a large swale system on the backside of the property to be able to install a low head dam and have a mini pond of sorts... for the irrigation of some pomegranates and figs. But I gotta get approval from the CEO (wife;) before I do that one! Anyways, thanks for subbing and glad to have a fellow TSP'r along for the ride! I hope I can keep improving on the vids and hopefully providing good info:) Joe

[@helidodge]

Joe! Awesome system. When did you get the rain? Looks Like El Nino is being good to you. Hope you keep getting it. I'm a little envious. We haven't had any rain here n North Texas for nearly 2 months straight. BTW I like the new/different music. Keep us updated.

[@homesteadonomics]

helidodge thanks HD! It's our monsoon season so it's generally wetter here in july/aug/sept... but I feel for you having no rain in 2 months. Are you up near the panhandle? I have a buddy who lives in Decatur but I guess that's not really that far north considering amarillo/lubbock are more north than that. Joe

[@helidodge]

homesteadonomics I actually live about 40 miles S of Jack Soirki in Cleburne, and about 60 miles S of your buddy in Decatur. I don't know why they call it North Texas and the panhandle is usually considered part of West Texas. Weird I know, I guess it has to do with the odd shape of the state...

[@helidodge]

Spirko not "Soirki" stupid spellchecker

[@homesteadonomics]

helidodge Ah! That's beautiful country there.. you must be close to the Dr. Pepper birthplace? And I'd love to get out to one of Jack's workshops sometime! And yes, sometimes geography can get weird... like when people refer to ohio as 'midwest'..lol! Joe

[@krisbrubakertrader7197]

Joe, Could you help me understand why you chose to put your fruit trees in the swales instead of the berm? I thought fruit trees don't like "wet feet". Geoff Lawton in his "Greening the Desert Project" in Jordan has the trees in the berms, with drip irrigation during the drier times. He talks about putting tree and other plants in the swale in desert environments, but I never seen it done. How successful and productive has your system been? And what have you learned from making the choices you did? I live in the desert southwest in zone 8 (Southern Utah) We only average 8+" of rain a year compared to your 12+. I'm still in the planning phase of my garden design and would love some input. Thanks.

[@prasanthikilaru56]

Nice work ! How much rain is collected in a year?just personal experience versus data that Arizona has minimum rain fall state.Thankyyou.

[@homesteadonomics]

Hi Prasanthi... we ge approx. 12-14" of rain in a year. The amount that is collected depends on catchment space. Swales and earthworks is hard to say.... as I'm not able to measure it. Off of my roof I can collect 10000 gal during our monsoons. But it ultimately depends on how much we get. Hope that helps:)

[@AmerijamAcres]

I don't want to sound overly negative but the water is pretty dirty. That is an indicator of soil being carried away with the run off. Wouldn't it be better to have much wider spillways in order to slow down the water more and stop that erosion? Maybe instead of using those concrete pads as funnels it would be better to use gabions to build mini check damns at each of those points to trap and slow the water better. Even build several Swales to catch the water. It just looks like you have created multiple funnels directing the water to flow faster rather than slowing and sinking the water. Just putting check damns in place of those concrete funnels might be enough to reduce much of the erosion happening in this system. Maybe multiple check damns in place of the rivers in place between the trees of more Swales tired together.

[@homesteadonomics]

+Amerijam Acres Yes, it's certainly not perfect, but it accomplishes the goal that I originally set out. I am always looking to improve upon my projects and I appreciate your tips:) I do understand about check dams and slowing the movement of water via swales. However, my primary purpose in this system is to get a little water to each tree in a diverting fashion with each rain.... as well as use the water wiers to control the movement of water during the times that I water with grey water as well. The rain on video was a pretty good event and thus has more water flowing through the system than normal. If you look at the end, the water is much cleaner as the water is more slow flowing after the hard rain finished. anyways, thanks for watching:) Joe

[@AmerijamAcres]

+homesteadonomics don't get me wrong! That's a nice set up. Just thought there could be some improvements for maximum benefit to the system. The more water you can safely trap the better.

[@homesteadonomics]

Hi AA, don't worry... I didn't take it the wrong way:) I agree with your points totally. I'm still learning in this whole thing and I do truly appreciate any inputs that you and others have:) Most of my projects, especially the permaculture ones, are based mostly on a basic knowledge and a "lets see if this works" kind of mentality. I'm hoping to make improvements and tweaks to all of them at some point. I hope you didn't think I was mad or something...lol... quite the opposite:) I like any input and feedback that I get and it usually helps me to get a better understanding of the whole project in the end. Anyways, thanks for watching and commenting AA:) Joe

[@AmerijamAcres]

+homesteadonomics actually that was more a commentary on me than anything else. I have a bad habit of sounding critical when I'm trying to help. Love the set up.looking forward to more.

[@pseudobeanmachine9770]

+Amerijam Acres I too thought it looked like this water is travelling through your land too quickly. Perhaps deepening and more heavily mulching those first berms into swales would increase water soakage into the whole area of your garden for deep hydration? also rather than using pipes and those gates to direct water at surface level you can dig trenches and fill with hardcore. This will have the same effect at a slower pace and get the water down low where it can soak in. I'm far far away from being any sort of expert though, just my two pence! Seems like you don't get rain all that often but when it falls it really falls, in that situation you want it to get as deep into your land as possible so your benefiting months after the rains stop. Deeep mulch and minimal surface run off are your friends here from what I gather watching geoff's videos!

[@cjpaisano]

Love your system - slowly building my system up here in N AZ on the Navajo Nation. My question is, what is in your wooden box? Is it simply a box with intake that fills up to slow the flow that then flows out to regulates the water? Great job!

[@homesteadonomics]

+christophe p Hey Christophe, I actually have a video on that box. It gives a good look at the inside and how I built and arranged it. It's titled Rainwater Diversion Box if you click in the videos tab on my channel page:) Joe

[@cjpaisano]

One more question...those headers - the ones that regulates the water flow with a board made of concrete - home made or did you get from somewhere? Thanks so much!

[@homesteadonomics]

Yep, they are homemade and i have a video on them as well. Just look in my videos for DIY water weir or water gate:)

[@brianpvr183]

Creative idea but keeping water around the crown encourages root rot and discourages root grown. The trees may fall over because of the weak root structure

[@torontosorewristhex]

inspiring!.. what area are you in? i could imagine what wonders you could engineer in central america

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks! I'm in Southern Arizona:)

[@ec100]

Have you tried hydroponics? And would it be better in a desert climate indoors since there might be less evaporation?

[@randyrought7368]

I think I saw peach and you mentioned plum.. what types of fruit trees do you have? Any thoughts of collecting the water running off for other non-potable uses? Maybe a retention pond or similar? What I was thinking was you could save additional water for a larger garden or an expansion of a small orchard of fruit trees (couple dozen). Would there be enough water to do that in your environment? Just curious...

[@homesteadonomics]

Randy Rought Hey Randy... I have 2 plums, 2 peaches and 1 apple (currently, more in the future:). I do collect water in a small pond for my rainwater gardening project. Should have an update in 2-3 weeks if the rabbits don't decimate it by then. It's a little place at the end of the driveway that collects water in a small pond and I grow native corn and squash during our monsoon season. I have a couple videos of it from 2013 and 2014... should be titled 'rainwater gardening project' or something like that:) Joe