Water on the Homestead: Our options & some key considerations

Water is life and no more so than in the Klein Karoo in South Africa! We need to seriously prioritise water storage so that we can set up our homestead from scratch and get our fruit trees in the ground, our pasture established and our vegetable garden on the go. In this video I discuss 2 options I am contemplating and I need YOUR help in deciding what is going to be the more feasible water storage solution for our homestead.
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When it comes to water storage on the homestead there are 2 options I am exploring. In essence they are above and below ground options.
Option 1 is buying, or building, a reservoir of sorts where I can pump water in and collect rain water. Buying these water reservoirs is incredibly expensive, so I might need to explore the option of building my own water storage reservoir from the ground up...
Option 2 is going the natural route and creating a reservoir in the ground. I am thinking of possible extending the existing water channel at one point to create a water collection point. This is a much cheaper option but is going to require significant effort in digging 1.5m+ deep with a 9m+ radius. Hiring heavy machinery is not feasible as that would cost more that buying an above ground reservoir.
The choices are really tough not only because of the financial implications, but because water storage is so crucial in the overall success of our homestead. I would love to hear your thoughts, experiences and suggestions with regards to water storage on the homestead, so please leave me a comment below.
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[@tamakoa-homestead]

What are your water storage solutions and what would you suggest I do in my situation of choosing between above ground or below ground? I would love to hear from you 🌻 If you would like to support Tamakoa Homestead's journey then please consider buying us a coffee 👉buymeacoffee.com/tamakoahomestead

[@josephineng2507]

V informative. Thank you. I’ve no experience to offer. I personally prefer an earth dam which I assume is digging down but of course I don’t have the knowledge or experience to offer.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Thank you so very much and thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment with your thoughts. I also really like the idea of an in-ground reservoir. I'm not scared of hard work but geez that is going to be back breaking work without heavy machinery. Let's see how this all plays out 😁🌻🌻🌻

[@michaeleverton4882]

🙏🏻 Wishing your family well and a prosperous homestead life style, 🙏🏻 I imagine an overflow dam on the stream would be suitable for water requirements, ... Suggestions, - Put some Suitable fish species in your dam and river system, the dam will need a deep enough area for them too. Not carp as they will stir up the bottom sediment and make the water cloudy. And no barbel - catfish. Plant some trees and brush close to sides of dam, for shade on the water form the hot afternoon sun. Plant water lillies in shallow areas, to attract insects and shade for fish. Plant arum lilies at edge of water areas. Get some of those coastal plants that rank on the ground, - sandy soil, - they have thick fleshy leaf stems and have pink and white flowers. They grow well in better soil, - ground. The related angling potential is there on what you can do. Keep cool and safe, 🙏🏻

[@tamakoa-homestead]

I absolutely love this, thank you so very much 🙏🏼 I think what you describe will add so much to the land and surrounding area as well as biodiversity! Do you think tilapia would be an option? I know they are a very nutritious fish that could give a really great addition food source?

[@michaeleverton4882]

@@tamakoa-homestead , - Can try talapia, blue bream - kurper, but the cold winter water may be too much for them that far south, (?) Ask other farmers around there that have dams, they may be fish in them, (?)

[@michaeleverton4882]

There is a coastal bush that grows in sandy areas before the sand dunes etc. It has grey stems, the tiny leaves grow from higher up on the plant, it has tiny off white colour flowers that give off a particular scent. They shud grow better in inland soil/ground. There are certain herb plants that snakes, rats etc don't like, can look them up. Plant them around your house etc later on,!

[@louiseswart1315]

Over time you can make swales and berms, with a series of mini-ponds in the swales with overflows in the berm on line the the stream follows today.This way you can slow down and spread the flow of the stream on your land, while not cutting it off from your downstream neighbors. On your size land the indentation and ridge of a swale and berm needs to be very slight for this purpose.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Ah, you beat me to a topic I will be covering in the next 2 to 3 weeks 😀 I have spent a huge amount of time researching all the different planting and growing options that I almost feel dizzy! So, long story short, after considering food forest, Syntropic Farming, swales, berms, and so much , I have decided to follow our fellow African's far up north where they are using half moon berms. From what I has seen this is going to give me the best possible reward in my smaller space. Swales put me off because of the huge footprint they have and with my diagonal and altering slope it's going to take up a huge amount of space. The half moons will only be 2m in width and each tree will have its own half moon. I can then plant the berm with flowers, grains and other things whilst growing crops or cover crops inside the basin. It is a highly effective flooding method to infrequently soak the ground around the tree and with alternating half moons as one overflows it runs into the one below. I really believe this is an incredibly underutilised method in agriculture which I am really excited to explore, test and share with you and the world 🌻

[@louiseswart1315]

Good! The half-moon swales will do the same for you in the rainy season.

[@danielmakhubu5931]

An overflow dam will look good .. I think it will add to the overall scenery of the homestead. Just to make it extra enjoyable to stay at

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me and I think you raise a really, really good point which is also the enjoyment aspect. I think I'm going to take your advice and go with a smaller, more functional pond and then possibly an above ground DIY reservoir. Thanks again for your great input 🌻🌻🌻

[@amadej-ki2ro]

If I were you, I would first hire an excavator and do the earthworks, maybe the terraces and the ponds, directing the water.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Great suggestion, thank you 💚 we are quite remote and on a mountain slopes so I'll have to see how we can get one up there, but I do think this is probably the best option 🌻

[@amadej-ki2ro]

@@tamakoa-homestead 203 / 5.000 I wanted to say that you do the ground work first, but not a little here and a little there. I would suggest inverted terraces, so that the water remains on the ground, the excess water would be channeled into the pond. or several ponds.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Yeah, you are spot on with that! I am probably going to get a first water reservoir up and out first tiny house so we have somewhere to live and then focus on the earthworks because that is a mammoth task but we need to make sure we have a place to stay and water by then. Love your suggestions and contributions, thanks so much 🙏