When we live on a farm in Kranskop Natal SA. The house was on a slope, on the side of a mountain. By 3 pm the mountain cast a shadow over the farm house. I did an experiment and it was very successful. Under an ever green tree, I put earthworms, buried corrugated sheets on the slope, the leachate drained in a gutter which was placed across the bottom of the slope under the corrugated sheets. Made a hole in the middle of the gutter. I dug a hole in the bottom part of the slope. Deep enough to put a twenty litre bucket. The Leachate drained into the bucket 🪣 at the bottom I harvested lots of leachate from the worms. I am sure you will have lots of success in harvesting leachate. Awesome progress going on. 🌿💚🌿
BDAs 1. Extend the dam by 1-2m on each side so branches can be anchored by nearby trees, it should add some strength to the structure. 2. A lesser-known fact about BEAVERS is that they dig channels upstream of the dam to help create a flood plane. 3. That big dead tree-I agree with Steve-I would not chop it down into pieces, but lay it across the river bed against some trees to support/anchor it and create another BDA.
love the idea of catching the worm tea. Yes, raise the sides and top! Collection bucket at the bottom. looking forward to the experiment. I imagine the shade worms will far outperform the full sun worms.✔ 3:40 The duck coop is desperate for a cleaning. 6:55 The only place that can use more branches is woven between the existing brush, the Y posts and the laced wire. Fill that space as tight and as high as possible and move on to another project.
still think you should pack some mud into the branches to speed up the debris capturing process rather than waiting for the river to do it, but each new iteration of you dam is looking more likely to work than the last, so that's good progress.
Tie the bolted together tires to the trees AND to the metal poles/stakes towards the center of the river bed. You put those polls in pretty deep and this will distribute the stresses beyond just into the trees.
Out planting my newest Food Forest, makes it so hard to hear what u r saying. But sure it’s good. All I know from studying your climate you need to get your water systems correct. Spending the time now will pay big dividends.👍
There is a channel Leaf of Life that show the methods they use in dry Arib countries to grow crops, how they collect water, keep buildings cool without fossil fuel as an energy source and how they harvest pigeon manure to use as crop fertilizer. I believe it would be worth your time especially regarding desert water catchment.
Save the grass when you have them dig the swale deeper and replant it either on the mound, or after you dig, replant in the same space or near by. Just a thought about the tires, if you have a second layer, and they are filled and tied in to trees, while it will percolate water, it may also make for a crossing point if someone needs to cross the rushing water when it does come through.
Looks like it will work at catching debris and slowing down the water. That is the whole point, having the water stay longer and have a chance to sink into the land. I can hardly wait for the rain.
Fill the tires Just soil you dig Out in Front of the Dam building a Bowl. You might also dig a Bowl after the Dam - best in two Meters distance and get wheelbarrow and fill the tires. Every Bowl will fill with Water and be a litle Pond for a while.
Definitely lift and bury the edges of the plastic so it’s not damaged from foot traffic and dig a pit to catch the juice. The worm farmer near me has large rows he uses a compost turner behind a tractor to make a nice friable soil, he doesn’t do juice so no plastic sheeting just straight onto the ground.
If you start digging there, don't forget to replant the hassocks somewhere else. (Maybe around the water hole.) It would be a vaste of green not to 'recycle' it! Regards!
Have you ever considered laying pigs? Sepp Holzer is very well known in Europe. He talks a lot about this in his books because pigs eat a lot of pests. They also loosen the soil so that rain can be better absorbed by the soil.
So much happening on the farm. Amazing to see a lot more green showing up. I've been thinking about your BAD... you know that large dead branch you showed a few videos ago, beside the river? How about cutting that down or use some larger logs lying around, put some in front and on top of the branches in the dam? Not too many but a few will help to hold the water and sediment down. You've probably already thought about this. Sent a very small something to your coffee account, hopefully towards buying the guys something for Christmas. Sending love and support from Perth, Australia 🐨💕
❤ hey Danou, I thought I’d better inform you about my tire wall idea, when I first wrote about it I didn’t convey my idea properly or how to go about it so I’ll try and explain better, the layout is 4 wide 4 high but you make it in a prism shape, 4 on the bottom then 3 on the next layer then 2 then 1, you don’t bolt through the treads at all, the layers are bolted through the side wall where there is no steel belting, even if you make it 2 high 2 wide for now you can always build on to it later.
@@thefoodforestnamibia yeah cool, lol I could imagine the guys trying to drill through the treads and had a chuckle to myself, glad you got it figured out
Guinea fowl eats what chickens should be eating primarily. They will, of course eat seeds and leaves and probably a tree trunk if there's nothing else 😅, but bugs, worms, ants and such small creatures are the ideal food for chickens.
Sorry Danou, the tires are in the wrong place. They are supposed to be two separate structures about 30 meters apart. No point putting all your resources in one spot because it works against the three S's. Remember; 1. Slow the water. 2. Spread out the water. 3. Soak the water into the ground. No reason to drill and bolt. That is crazy overkill with labor and materials Use synthetic rope or wire and lash them together as you illustrated with the yellow lines. They are not building a rocket ship for heaven's' sake. Take a look at how Suerte del Molino built his BDA's - in simple steps. And they are perfect. 6:10 This is what you want from your new tire dams. This tire will never be moved by flood waters. 1. Find a narrow spot in the channel. 2. Iash them together into a chain of tires and tie the Iashing to trees or Y posts on both sides of the channel. 3. Pack mud solid into the space between the tire waIIs 4. FiII haIf the tire with packed mud and finish filIng with tightly packed rocks so the mud des not wash away. 5. Wait for the rain. 6. Plant a good clump of grass in the tire and another upstream of the tire as soon as the rain stops. You have enough tires now to do 2 single row dams in narrow parts of the channel. Make 3 structures pus the stone dam and you have touched 120 yards of the river. I think the fellows don't understand the basic concept of multiple structures about 30m apart. Someone is trying to impress you and missing the mark completely. Please reel them in. 4:50 Don't disrupt the grasses that are starting to take hold and spread in this area. They are one of your most valuable resources. No reason to dig out the old dam. Cut down the dead tree and anchor it across the river bed with Y posts and synthetic rope for a fifth BDA. There are so many higher/quicker payback things to do. Spend their time and your money carefully, my friend.
All points are good advice. One note though: Rocks can indeed be very good tools. In a sandy dessert, rocks can however be very difficult to come by. And you may have noticed, that there are virtually no rocks to be seen, in any of these videos. Not even where they have dug up a lot of the dirt.
In tonight's video. Regarding the structures, I am very scared that it wil break so I just want the first one to last. I agree i should add manny manny more. I was surprised when I went to look at the neighbors land. But more about that in tonight's video
@@MrAlvinDude In previous videos, Danou has demonstrated that rocks can be found - but it is a task. I hoped to suggest a method that would maximize the use of a clay/sand mud mix with some rocks on top to minimize the scour effect of water over topping the tires. once a good grass cump is established, the rocks can be repurposed. 👍
Rocks - did you spot a comment from me a few videos ago about whether you can get them from the tip (where you bought the bricks) - maybe worth a trip/ - but you say you dont' have a pick-up truck at the moment?
I lend my pickup to someone and they got in an accident. It was to old for insurance and the repairs kept on piling up after we got it back. We currently only have our small red car and the use of a pickup from family. I prefer not to load rocks on that one for now. It looks like we will have a pickup again in January if all goes according to plan.
I see the sun rises early in Namibia. It's still dark here in Johannesburg. Regarding the dam, can't you borrow a front-end loader from one of the farmers to dig you dam.
I had this idea. Also never farmed in my life In one post you showed that the rain doesn't soak in the ground more than a few inches. What if you got a piece of plastic pipe, like fifteen inches long. Drilled holes all round it and sunk it in the ground leaving a few inches above ground. Fill it with water and the water will filter to the dirt deeper. I think you would put it in those half circle places you made with the dirt, don't know the name you call them. Just my two cents. Cheers
Here in Johannesburg we have water restrictions & can only water our gardens between 21h00 & 04h00. I just finished watering my garden when I saw your vlog & it said "live" so I thought you were filming outside mow. Last I saw Vaal dam was 29% & the government has lots of water so they can let run out in the streets
@@mydraftable6526 Hmmm.... Here is another method to help water to get into the soil. Once this whole top soil layer starts functioning, that is: once any roots (and any mycelium) are there, then the top soil will stay moist for a longer time. And anything that stays moist, will greatly add water absorption ability to the entire surface of the ground. This is one of the reasons to spread sticks, of-cut grass, or straws of hay, or anything else, onto the ground. To assist the start, of creating a living mulch layer as the top soil. And to assist the existence of dampness in the top soil. Once you have a living top soil layer, it is like having thousands of small straws, that is helping the water to penetrate the ground. So, while a number of short reverse well pipes, can be a good idea, then anything that covers the ground will add a thousand of very short reverse well pipes. And because of the sheer number advantage, it will actually allow more water to get into the ground. --- You can actually do an experiment on you kitchen counter. Try to absorb water using a dry cloth, and then try to absorb water with a damp cloth. (Where the damp cloth, is like a cloth that has been soaked water, and the wrung. It is not really wet, it is just damp). The damp cloth will absorb any amount of water on the counter top, many, many times faster, and thus much better, than a dry cloth. Similarly with soil. If there is just a very little amount of dampness in the top soil, then it will very greatly increase how fast, and how much, the water will penetrate into the ground. And if roots (and mycelium) grows in the top soil, then the top soil will even stay damp (and even wet, an inch down) for much, much longer. --- An other way to increase the speed and amount of water that will get stored in the aquafer, would be to simply drip irrigate as much surface as possible, shortly before any rain event. As any existing dampness, will also greatly increase the speed of how well, and how much the soil can absorb water in a very short time. --- So, while the short reverse well pipes, is indeed one way to add water to the aquafer, then any kind of living (or damp) top soil, will actually do the same. And a living top soil will further help a good amount of the water to stay close to the surface, where short roots can get the benefit of the water. And with more things growing in the top soil, the more damp the top soil will remain, for longer. It sort of creates a positive feedback loop. And this is why it is enough to do the earth work, like the half moons, and the swells and such. And why any cover added to the half moons, will help with establishing a living top soil, and thus both have more ability to both drain any rain wile helping that soaked in water to stay closer to the top soil, rather than only being added to the deeper aquafer. --- I hope these examples makes sense, and gives examples of why the permaculture people do as they do.
![Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9miVG2xT5jY/mqdefault.jpg)
Its so nice to see, how your field gets more and more green, so many days after the rains was falling... beautiful...
When we live on a farm in Kranskop Natal SA. The house was on a slope, on the side of a mountain. By 3 pm the mountain cast a shadow over the farm house.
I did an experiment and it was very successful. Under an ever green tree, I put earthworms,
buried corrugated sheets on the slope, the leachate drained in a gutter which was placed across the bottom of the slope under the corrugated sheets. Made a hole in the middle of the gutter.
I dug a hole in the bottom part of the slope. Deep enough to put a twenty litre bucket.
The Leachate drained into the bucket 🪣 at the bottom
I harvested lots of leachate from the worms.
I am sure you will have lots of success in harvesting leachate.
Awesome progress going on.
🌿💚🌿
Looking great, keep it up.
Suggestion 1 - anchor each tyre with a iron pole.
Suggestion 2 - fill up the tyred with soil
Have a great day also
I hope that forecast is right and you get some good rainfall, it’s amazing to see the land respond
BDAs
1. Extend the dam by 1-2m on each side so branches can be anchored by nearby trees, it should add some strength to the structure.
2. A lesser-known fact about BEAVERS is that they dig channels upstream of the dam to help create a flood plane.
3. That big dead tree-I agree with Steve-I would not chop it down into pieces, but lay it across the river bed against some trees to support/anchor it and create another BDA.
I can't wait to see when the river has water in it
Mee too!
love the idea of catching the worm tea. Yes, raise the sides and top! Collection bucket at the bottom.
looking forward to the experiment. I imagine the shade worms will far outperform the full sun worms.✔
3:40 The duck coop is desperate for a cleaning.
6:55 The only place that can use more branches is woven between the existing brush, the Y posts and the laced wire. Fill that space as tight and as high as possible and move on to another project.
Yeah, for harvesting liquid, you can use Bokashi buckets!
agree with you Danou ,better to havew the tyres behind
still think you should pack some mud into the branches to speed up the debris capturing process rather than waiting for the river to do it, but each new iteration of you dam is looking more likely to work than the last, so that's good progress.
Tie the bolted together tires to the trees AND to the metal poles/stakes towards the center of the river bed. You put those polls in pretty deep and this will distribute the stresses beyond just into the trees.
I like the worm farm idea next to that massive anit hill✌️
Out planting my newest Food Forest, makes it so hard to hear what u r saying. But sure it’s good. All I know from studying your climate you need to get your water systems correct. Spending the time now will pay big dividends.👍
awesome 😍 happy damming! 💚
Hopefully with the branches and fence catching the force of the water, the tyres will not float away as they have in the past. Looks good.
There is a channel Leaf of Life that show the methods they use in dry Arib countries to grow crops, how they collect water, keep buildings cool without fossil fuel as an energy source and how they harvest pigeon manure to use as crop fertilizer. I believe it would be worth your time especially regarding desert water catchment.
Save the grass when you have them dig the swale deeper and replant it either on the mound, or after you dig, replant in the same space or near by.
Just a thought about the tires, if you have a second layer, and they are filled and tied in to trees, while it will percolate water, it may also make for a crossing point if someone needs to cross the rushing water when it does come through.
In tonight's video 😁
Looks like it will work at catching debris and slowing down the water. That is the whole point, having the water stay longer and have a chance to sink into the land. I can hardly wait for the rain.
Hey looking great
Fill the tires Just soil you dig Out in Front of the Dam building a Bowl. You might also dig a Bowl after the Dam - best in two Meters distance and get wheelbarrow and fill the tires. Every Bowl will fill with Water and be a litle Pond for a while.
Definitely lift and bury the edges of the plastic so it’s not damaged from foot traffic and dig a pit to catch the juice.
The worm farmer near me has large rows he uses a compost turner behind a tractor to make a nice friable soil, he doesn’t do juice so no plastic sheeting just straight onto the ground.
Our plastic is mostly to stop termites from eating everything
If you want to make the water spread out over the banks don't have a low point in the middle. Just keep building up the branches.
making some great progress,would be lovely IF by the will of God you had some rain,great video SUPPORT THIS CHANEL SHARE THIS CHANEL❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
If you start digging there, don't forget to replant the hassocks somewhere else. (Maybe around the water hole.) It would be a vaste of green not to 'recycle' it!
Regards!
👍
Have you ever considered laying pigs? Sepp Holzer is very well known in Europe. He talks a lot about this in his books because pigs eat a lot of pests. They also loosen the soil so that rain can be better absorbed by the soil.
So much happening on the farm. Amazing to see a lot more green showing up.
I've been thinking about your BAD... you know that large dead branch you showed a few videos ago, beside the river? How about cutting that down or use some larger logs lying around, put some in front and on top of the branches in the dam? Not too many but a few will help to hold the water and sediment down. You've probably already thought about this.
Sent a very small something to your coffee account, hopefully towards buying the guys something for Christmas. Sending love and support from Perth, Australia 🐨💕
Wil use it for them! Thank you! And thank you for the good tip
❤ hey Danou, I thought I’d better inform you about my tire wall idea, when I first wrote about it I didn’t convey my idea properly or how to go about it so I’ll try and explain better, the layout is 4 wide 4 high but you make it in a prism shape, 4 on the bottom then 3 on the next layer then 2 then 1, you don’t bolt through the treads at all, the layers are bolted through the side wall where there is no steel belting, even if you make it 2 high 2 wide for now you can always build on to it later.
@@BESHYSBEES that was also my original idea. But I want to built that one away from the branches all on itss own.
@@thefoodforestnamibia yeah cool, lol I could imagine the guys trying to drill through the treads and had a chuckle to myself, glad you got it figured out
Red hot poker for hole in the tyres.
2.8k!
Guinea fowl eats what chickens should be eating primarily.
They will, of course eat seeds and leaves and probably a tree trunk if there's nothing else 😅, but bugs, worms, ants and such small creatures are the ideal food for chickens.
Agree 100%
could you not hire digger for a day,and dig as many ponds deepish as you can,and line them with that black plastic,I know it would cost money?❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Sorry Danou, the tires are in the wrong place. They are supposed to be two separate structures about 30 meters apart. No point putting all your resources in one spot because it works against the three S's.
Remember;
1. Slow the water.
2. Spread out the water.
3. Soak the water into the ground.
No reason to drill and bolt. That is crazy overkill with labor and materials Use synthetic rope or wire and lash them together as you illustrated with the yellow lines. They are not building a rocket ship for heaven's' sake. Take a look at how Suerte del Molino built his BDA's - in simple steps. And they are perfect.
6:10 This is what you want from your new tire dams. This tire will never be moved by flood waters. 1. Find a narrow spot in the channel. 2. Iash them together into a chain of tires and tie the Iashing to trees or Y posts on both sides of the channel. 3. Pack mud solid into the space between the tire waIIs 4. FiII haIf the tire with packed mud and finish filIng with tightly packed rocks so the mud des not wash away. 5. Wait for the rain. 6. Plant a good clump of grass in the tire and another upstream of the tire as soon as the rain stops.
You have enough tires now to do 2 single row dams in narrow parts of the channel. Make 3 structures pus the stone dam and you have touched 120 yards of the river.
I think the fellows don't understand the basic concept of multiple structures about 30m apart. Someone is trying to impress you and missing the mark completely. Please reel them in.
4:50 Don't disrupt the grasses that are starting to take hold and spread in this area. They are one of your most valuable resources. No reason to dig out the old dam. Cut down the dead tree and anchor it across the river bed with Y posts and synthetic rope for a fifth BDA.
There are so many higher/quicker payback things to do. Spend their time and your money carefully, my friend.
All points are good advice.
One note though: Rocks can indeed be very good tools.
In a sandy dessert, rocks can however be very difficult to come by.
And you may have noticed, that there are virtually no rocks to be seen, in any of these videos. Not even where they have dug up a lot of the dirt.
In tonight's video. Regarding the structures, I am very scared that it wil break so I just want the first one to last. I agree i should add manny manny more. I was surprised when I went to look at the neighbors land. But more about that in tonight's video
@@MrAlvinDude In previous videos, Danou has demonstrated that rocks can be found - but it is a task. I hoped to suggest a method that would maximize the use of a clay/sand mud mix with some rocks on top to minimize the scour effect of water over topping the tires. once a good grass cump is established, the rocks can be repurposed. 👍
Why don't plant trees in tires of the Dam?
Let me Guess you picking Lukas to dig haha
is it possible that you can explain more details how your wurmfarm works like, how you take care of it? thank you very much.
what about HAVING Turkeys:)
Rocks - did you spot a comment from me a few videos ago about whether you can get them from the tip (where you bought the bricks) - maybe worth a trip/ - but you say you dont' have a pick-up truck at the moment?
I lend my pickup to someone and they got in an accident. It was to old for insurance and the repairs kept on piling up after we got it back.
We currently only have our small red car and the use of a pickup from family. I prefer not to load rocks on that one for now. It looks like we will have a pickup again in January if all goes according to plan.
@@thefoodforestnamibia Oh, that's a shame. Here's hoping you can get another in the New Year.
you Still Not put heavy logs on the thorns
I see the sun rises early in Namibia.
It's still dark here in Johannesburg.
Regarding the dam, can't you borrow a front-end loader from one of the farmers to dig you dam.
Hahaha it is Tuesday's video. Just took forever to upload. Also dark here still.
All cost vs progress. If we did a big project or manny manny small projects it would be cost effective to get one in.
I had this idea. Also never farmed in my life
In one post you showed that the rain doesn't soak in the ground more than a few inches. What if you got a piece of plastic pipe, like fifteen inches long. Drilled holes all round it and sunk it in the ground leaving a few inches above ground. Fill it with water and the water will filter to the dirt deeper. I think you would put it in those half circle places you made with the dirt, don't know the name you call them. Just my two cents. Cheers
Here in Johannesburg we have water restrictions & can only water our gardens between 21h00 & 04h00.
I just finished watering my garden when I saw your vlog & it said "live" so I thought you were filming outside mow.
Last I saw Vaal dam was 29% & the government has lots of water so they can let run out in the streets
@@mydraftable6526 Hmmm.... Here is another method to help water to get into the soil.
Once this whole top soil layer starts functioning, that is: once any roots (and any mycelium) are there, then the top soil will stay moist for a longer time. And anything that stays moist, will greatly add water absorption ability to the entire surface of the ground.
This is one of the reasons to spread sticks, of-cut grass, or straws of hay, or anything else, onto the ground. To assist the start, of creating a living mulch layer as the top soil. And to assist the existence of dampness in the top soil.
Once you have a living top soil layer, it is like having thousands of small straws, that is helping the water to penetrate the ground.
So, while a number of short reverse well pipes, can be a good idea, then anything that covers the ground will add a thousand of very short reverse well pipes. And because of the sheer number advantage, it will actually allow more water to get into the ground.
---
You can actually do an experiment on you kitchen counter.
Try to absorb water using a dry cloth, and then try to absorb water with a damp cloth. (Where the damp cloth, is like a cloth that has been soaked water, and the wrung. It is not really wet, it is just damp).
The damp cloth will absorb any amount of water on the counter top, many, many times faster, and thus much better, than a dry cloth.
Similarly with soil. If there is just a very little amount of dampness in the top soil, then it will very greatly increase how fast, and how much, the water will penetrate into the ground.
And if roots (and mycelium) grows in the top soil, then the top soil will even stay damp (and even wet, an inch down) for much, much longer.
---
An other way to increase the speed and amount of water that will get stored in the aquafer, would be to simply drip irrigate as much surface as possible, shortly before any rain event.
As any existing dampness, will also greatly increase the speed of how well, and how much the soil can absorb water in a very short time.
---
So, while the short reverse well pipes, is indeed one way to add water to the aquafer, then any kind of living (or damp) top soil, will actually do the same.
And a living top soil will further help a good amount of the water to stay close to the surface, where short roots can get the benefit of the water.
And with more things growing in the top soil, the more damp the top soil will remain, for longer.
It sort of creates a positive feedback loop.
And this is why it is enough to do the earth work, like the half moons, and the swells and such.
And why any cover added to the half moons, will help with establishing a living top soil, and thus both have more ability to both drain any rain wile helping that soaked in water to stay closer to the top soil, rather than only being added to the deeper aquafer.
---
I hope these examples makes sense, and gives examples of why the permaculture people do as they do.