This Drastically Improved Our Rainwater Harvesting & Storage

[@TheWanderingFinnegan]

As someone who's toted water for years, I completely understand the joy of a couple hundred gallons of water appearing.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Makes us super grateful! Every little bit counts in the Desert!✌🏾

[@PeacefulGardenLife]

The sound of rain ☔️ warms my heart and gives me peace. Blessings from Australia 🇦🇺 🙏🌧️🫶

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you so much! The sounds, smells, and feel of the rain and storms is definitely peaceful! Glad it could have that effect on you from so far away! ✌🏾

[@ehopem4877]

So interesting seeing how your strategies are working and developing. It's such an inspiring project 🙌🏼✨️

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Really appreciate it! Nothing is completely finished but for what everything is so far, it's doing pretty good. Well see when the harder rains come!✌🏾

[@garryhancock3394]

for you personally it must give you a great deal of satisfaction to see your efforts paying off.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Very satisfying! But also more insight of how the water interacts with our land!😁✌🏾

[@susanlatimer1673]

It's so encouraging to see what you've done is WORKING ! Thank you for sharing.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Really appreciate it! It's super exciting to finally start seeing how everything is reacting with the rain!✌🏾

[@ValdemarSchudde]

Love the channel! Best wishes from Sweden 🇸🇪

[@Pam501]

and UK!

[@Chordially]

and quebec, Canada

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

😁✌🏾

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

😅😁✌🏾

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you very much! Hello way over there!😅✌🏾

[@TIsunshineOffGrid]

I just love watching your channel🌿🍃💧💧.I have so many Ahhh I can/should do this moments!! Our properties are so similar. I've learn so much from you guys. Thank you!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you so much! So glad that we've been really helpful for you in that way. Hopefully plenty more for you to learn from. Thanks for being apart of the journey!✌🏾

[@adityasonakia]

Glad to see so much water collection 👍

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Me too! Just wait till next video!😉😅✌🏾

[@insAneTunA]

What a beautiful sight. It is great to see all that water getting collected. I am looking forward to see if plants and grasses are going to germinate and how it looks in a few weeks from now. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

It's super exciting and very beautiful! I'll be happy to see things start sprouting as well!✌🏾

[@michaeltalaganis6518]

Clear your junipers to have a nice clear south facing spot to set up your solar panels. Then put gutters around them to fill a barrel setup. Keep up the great work, love the videos and all the effort you two are making towards progressing the project. Grow on brother!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

I'll definitely be making a set up to capture the water off the panels! We have a good spot where the panels are currently... we actually have more power than we could use right now. But I have a plan for the design and all the finesse on everything. I really appreciate your thoughts though and being apart of the journey!✌🏾

[@carolwright7503]

Fascinating about the wind and the straw being where it going...positive goodness

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

It definitely turned towards the best given the circumstances!✌🏾

[@BootLegBandit]

Collect Water off the top of your tents roofs. It's clean and safe for drinking. That's how I collect my rain water for my Canna plants.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We're doing That as well... gathering all the water we can right now. Once we get more rain catchment established we'll be set! Appreciate that suggestion. ✌🏾

[@willbass2869]

Excellent overview. I really liked the rock lined hole 👍

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Nice thanks! I actually did a video covering what those were and how we are using them on our permaculture Desert Homestead!✌🏾 kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIHVk2qfe5mKpM0

[@willbass2869]

@@GrowTreeOrganics beat you to it!😊 I went looking for your Zuni bowl video. Just finished watching it. Also watched a Bill Zeedyke(sp?) video on building Zuni bowl @ grouse habitat restoration project. Your DOING good things, not just talking Thanks.....and keep on keepin' on!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Nice!😅 glad you were able to find out more and listen to Bill Zeedyke. He definitely has good ideas and concepts. But thank you very much! We'll keep Growin on!😅✌🏾

[@dansmediareview]

Keep up the good work! I always watch your content and it motivated me to take the leap and to make a channel of my own, looking forward to seeing the growth of the seeds you planted in the coming weeks!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

That's awesome! Glad to hear you made the leap! I'm there with ya! Can't wait to see everything grow!✌🏾

[@bigfootsboggybottomlodge4954]

I love walking in the rain like that. 👍

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Totally agree! A little challenging for filming, but it's nice to document this!✌🏾

[@bigfootsboggybottomlodge4954]

@@GrowTreeOrganics ✌

[@dds3159]

How's it growing guys look like the monsoons are finally back .. at least for the week ahead .. today were going to start building a rain catch 2 coffee cans at each corner of the 80 ft mobile home led to 1/2 in PVC. Leading to the tank. Thanks again guys for the update Darren and Susan off grid seligman AZ

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Nice that's awesome! Capture that rainwater!✌🏾

[@carriebishop8838]

Very encouraging. The water dams are working great.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Just wait... we haven't seen anything yet!😅✌🏾

[@aroukspondaik4455]

Great video with the rain.I hope to see more and more :)

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

I have a hunch this party is just getting started!...😉✌🏾😅

[@TJTreasuresearth]

🎶Slow it down, bring it around, let it settle in the ground 🎶 💚💚💚

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

😂✌🏾exactly!

[@farmerjhemp]

Amazing earthworks 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉! Monsoons in the desert so magical!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

I'm enjoying the cool down it creates!😅✌🏾

[@inthegarden6556]

Awesome. I love to hear the sound of a thunderstorm

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Glad you could enjoy it as much as myself!😅✌🏾

[@rm6857]

Came here to check the water. Good work as always.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thanks for coming. Much appreciated!✌🏾

[@raincoast9010]

Rain! How exciting!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Very!😁✌🏾

[@Adnancorner]

you need gel like land cover plants. couple of ground cover like - Singapore daisy, goatsfoot (Ipomoea pes-caprae), sea purslane - Sesuvium portulacastrum (which mine sodium, potassium ions and chlorides from the sandy soil all these plants I mentioned grow from cuttings and you just water them in one place on the ground and they will spread on large area without much effort for you to water them all of it, as they grow they shed leaves which collect on sandy soil creating mulch naturally. no need for straw. I am in Dubai we are saline sand here and these ground covers thrive in heat.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Yea, those are good suggestions! I'm gonna look into those for sure. I'm creating my list of plants ill be needing for here, so thanks for looking out!✌🏾

[@taylorspino]

More of this please

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

More to come!😅💦✌🏾

[@NicoleSmithGardening]

Look at all those pockets at work! 🙌

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Right!? Super cool to see that!

[@ethanhood204]

love it!!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you!✌🏾

[@GudasWorld_2]

Pluck the juniper. They are pointless & drink a crazy amount of water. I cleared my property & its all grass now. Turn them into biochar & spread it where you want grass.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We're definitely managing the juniper forest we have to create more diversity and more of a food forest! Thanks for your thoughts✌🏾

[@OfftoShambala]

Juniper is not pointless. It has healing properties… it serves as a nurse for other plants, it is an acidifier… good for alkaline soils and blueberries… also wind break … you may have attracted cheat grass and now that’s not good… it’s responsible for widespread fires … and prevents other plant diversity… please educate yourself better… and it’s a misnomer that tree roots hog water… they actually give more than they take

[@nephilimPB]

Disagree. The juniper is providing wind block, berries, organic matter and shade. They also reduce erosion through extensive rooting and rainfall interception. In my area they feed squirrels, turkey, bear, coyotes, and many small mammals. Thin them to 30 ft trunk spacing so grass can grow between them, and use them for mulch and firewood.

[@PeggyEscobar-v8j]

@@GrowTreeOrganicswhy the negativity toward the Juniper? Are they not native? If they are native don’t they serve a purpose in the environment? Why is grass better? I’m not from this desert area so these are honest questions

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@PeggyEscobar-v8j people have passed on their opinions from the ranching days claiming the juniper is invasive and sucks all the water up so other plants can't grow and those same people at the same time promote to cut the trees so grass grows. It's an unsubstantiated claim by many with zero evidence, while I'm filming actual evidence of how wrong that claim is, but people still chime in with their opinions. Grass isn't better especially looking at the soil microbes. Trees bring fungi, grass only brings bacteria, you need both for a healthy forest system. The trees are native we have trees here over 400 years old and they grow all along the rockies up into Canada. ✌🏾

[@OldStoneWell]

Nice to see all these water catchments working fine. Sounds like a very good start. It would be interesting to monitor the water table. Do you know any low-tech means to do this?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

A very good start to things! Not that I can think of, other than basically digging a deep well and monitoring the water movement with that? Let me know if you find anything!✌🏾

[@OldStoneWell]

@@GrowTreeOrganics I’m going to do some research. Do your close neighbors have a well? If so, how deep is the water level?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Heck yea! Wells are a rarity here. The Ash Fork We'll is 1200 feet deep. You could get a well, but super expensive! There are community wells however!✌🏾

[@OldStoneWell]

@@GrowTreeOrganics At this depth they probably pump fossil water that regenerates very little or not at all. When a company has to drill for days, I understand that it’s expensive and Community wells are a good approach.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@OldStoneWell very ancient water we're all drinking! And it's not sustainable or regenerative! ✌🏾

[@b_uppy]

Was watching another greening the desert project and the guy was putting straw atop heavier mulch, then walking on the mulch. At least the straw is close to soil in your instance. If you are losing water due to ittraveling down the road, you can use "roll outs" to keep the water higher in the landscape. Roll outs are angled speedbumps that divert water to harvesting areas instead of letting it escape.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

The other half of the video I was showing the what I call and learned were rolling dips, but they're what you're talking about. We're not 100% finished with anything so the water is showing me the spots that need slowing and such. You can plan a lot better when you actually see what the water does on the property, rather than assuming or through observation.✌🏾

[@b_uppy]

@@GrowTreeOrganics It's a multi prong approach that works to figuring out what works...

[@b_uppy]

​@@GrowTreeOrganics Rewatched the video, found the rolling dips. Glad to see you employed them.

[@Bobo_trades]

@@GrowTreeOrganics so true - we have a major water flow issue around my house and nothing i enjoy more is walking in the rain and actually seeing the flow of water - wildly satisfying! keep up the good work - if you need a helper for a week or two please reach out. grunt labor, not that savvy with construction or landscaping but i take direction well!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@Bobo_trades really appreciate it! And thanks for offering your help! You can email me so we can stay in touch as well! ✌🏾

[@Nerdy_prepper]

Nice!!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

✌🏾

[@lanehoggatt2416]

are those pond liners? or are they specifically made for water catchment? enjoy seeing your progress, thanks

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Appreciate you following the journey! Those are in fact pond liners. 45mill rubber EPDM liners. UV resistant, tear and puncture resistant. Expensive stuff, but lasts a long time!✌🏾

[@tracelee7332]

Please also prepare for a hard winter 🙏

[@a_fellow_homesteader]

We come from insanely harsh winters in Montana. Down to -70s and 6ft of snow. We are definitely not worried about winters here. They are tropical to us ✌🏾💜

[@conorpp1]

MIT researchers in the last 6 months have discovered that light by itself is very effective at causing evaporation. Most gardeners and farmers already knew about the value of covering the ground in mulch much like you using your straw. But the significance of this discovery reinforces the importance of ground cover whether it be from plants or mulch. Even without heat, the ground will dry out solely because of light. Perhaps even more effort should be put into additional forms of mulch and wood chips cover especially in more arid areas.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Definitely! We'll continue mulching, earthworks, and a lot of other tools to help soak and Store the water and help re vegitate the landscape! Straw was proven to be more effective at holding water in the soil and preventing less evaporation as well. ✌🏾

[@railmeat]

It is great to see what you are doing. It seems to be working. How long have you been at that site? Your videos seem to end rather abruptly. A smoother ending would be nice.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

The ending is my signature!😅 Thank you for your support though! We've been here almost 1 year now!✌🏾

[@OfftoShambala]

Slip n slide weather!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Totally! Maybe I'll try sliding on the tarp on the ground for the next intro!😅✌🏾

[@Jellybizzy]

Hell yeah. Turn the whole property into a 1 inch pond 😂

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Arizona won't look so dry with that!😅✌🏾

[@linesteppr]

Definitely need to make time to dig a cistern. It will stop a bunch of water from evaporating and save it for the dry months. "Frugal Off-grid" dug one by hand, lined it with vinyl (?), and covered it up with tree limbs and vinyl iirc. Check out his videos.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Oh we're not done with everything by far. We've got plenty more cisterns to dig, basins, swales, and ponds to place. Trees to plant! This party is just getting started!

[@jadesandland5540]

The rocks nice but you need a culvert to do it right those rocks will eventually fill up with dirt a burried tube under road would be much better in your situation out there

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

That's actually the point! But that's not dirt we're collecting, that's soil, nutrient dense stuff just right for what we're doing here! We do have a culvert at the entrance of our property combined with Zuni bowls. ✌🏾

[@lovegoodmusic2477]

👍💯

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

💦✌🏾

[@nj1101]

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

[@beingsneaky]

Hmm i say Thin out your juniper. i have seen in other videos of AZ off grid water harvesting they take up a lot of water. don't have to get rid of them all. thin and space em out.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We'll be Doing exactly that, thinning the monoculture to make room for the diversity. But we'll be doing it slowly, as we're only 2 people. Slow succession just like nature.... but definitely a bit faster than nature usually does! Thanks✌🏾

[@justinbrown9491]

I have a rock crusher. Please look into them. You won’t regret it. Small rig. Order from china 5k after fees.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

I was looking! Just gotta save up for that, but we have a lot of gravel already here. We just have to scoop it up!✌🏾

[@centpushups]

We need a solar powered robo vac like bot to just dig holes and plant seeds.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Exactly, program AI with Permaculture too!✌🏾

[@jimdotcom1972]

was that a light or heavy shower for your area of the world?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Very light compared to other times and places around us! We'll get the heavy showers here soon!😉✌🏾

[@kezzatries]

Interesting, what's your annual rain fall? We have 300mm avg, last 6 years been less than 220mm

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Our average is about 14 inches or 355.6mm! It's also be dry the last few years here from what I've heard from the locals. Instead of monsoon season they're calling it "nonsoon"!😅✌🏾

[@kezzatries]

@@GrowTreeOrganics thanks for the feedback, look forward to your postings.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

No problem!✌🏾😁

[@lynsgabellone1332]

Excited for you!!!!💦💦. Love ur videos & creativity.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you Very Much!✌🏾

[@SurvivalXBushcraft541CORE]

Hey dumb questions for you. Did az require you to get a solar permit? And are they harassing you over living in a tent? I am heading down to my property here soon to get started before the winter. My kids and I (adult children- really tight family) are going to use large tents to stay in while we build.

[@SurvivalXBushcraft541CORE]

Oh and as I learn more, Arizona at one time, especially near you was a pine forest. But with poor land management, junipers took over and they consume a lot of water, thus making a desert. Use the juniper for projects and reduce the number of them. Then Plant food forests. That is what I am going to do.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Exactly, I had come to the same conclusion based on what I was seeing and observing here! We can bring back nature's memory of what it used to be like!.... I'll say as a side note, it's your private property you can do or not do what you want with it! You might find an answer in the 14th amendment..😉✌🏾

[@outrascoisasla]

Clearly the basins are where the road is, It's not effective and you will suffer! It is much more effective if you leave your road clean and make paths for water in the surrounding areas. When you direct the water path where you want it, filling the basins will make your land fertile and fill your water table. remember directing the path of the water to where you want it is key!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

There's a ryme and reason for our placement of earthworks. You'll have to watch the previous videos to get the tour of how everything works and how we're going things. ✌🏾

[@susandoerr3896]

LEAD foundation and half moon bunds, on utube.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Lots of labels for the same thing!😅✌🏾

[@cleric7788]

Can you trim a bit. The whiskers touching the teeth bother me.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Oh I need more whisker coverage then, got it!😅✌🏾