My pond/Food Forest

[Scm]

Finally got some pics of my progress.
Keep in mind this is our 3rd summer here.
First summer I spent 90% of my time working on the house and installing the solar

Root cellar/storm shelter, almost done


This section has been mostly planted. Grapes on trellis, elderberry, herbs and flowers.


Outside the hoop house is garlic, onions and corn eventually.


This section is the crop garden. Sunchokes to the left, potatoes planted St paddys day, coming out. I will setup a trellis for tomatoes, cucumbers. Peepers and some other storage crops will go here. I had to build this terrace.


This section is between the solar arrays so Its all short plants. Elderberry, fig, aronia berry, raspberry


Looking back at the section between the solar arrays. Pear tree, and service berry.


black tank in the foreground and the white tank in the background to the left of the barn are part of the irrigation system. Black tank is filled via gutters and I have a float valve with a hose that goes to the white tank. White tank is filled by the pond uphill, or at night from the well


New terrace I finished building today. Great way to use cedar trees. I've probably cut a thousand down since we got here. I prefer Apple trees over cedar trees, cedar rust disease. Probably 4-5-6 fruit trees can go here.


Looking down on that terrace area. The logs will help prevent erosion.

 

[Scm]

The orchard, got a bunch of fruit trees here. I'll also plant vine crops here. Pumpkin, squash, melons, etc...



Not much happening in the hoop house yet.
I will plant most of our brassica in here, and my special "flowers"


Mr Paco Waco, guard dog/bunny killer.
Keeping the garden safe.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Is that the service berry?

Remind me to take a few picks of the 100's of service berries on our property.
It just takes a just a couple of ours to yeild 5 gallon buckets of berries!
We quit picking after 4 buckets.
And they are all aunatural
Your soil looks like it's in need of several hundered tons of manure!

 

[Scm]

Is that the service berry?

Yes. planted a few so far.

Remind me to take a few picks of the 100's of service berries on our property.
It just takes a just a couple of ours to yeild 5 gallon buckets of berries!
We quit picking after 4 buckets.
And they are all aunatural

They must grow totally wild where you are. I don't need 100s, yet. I have never even tried them.

Your soil looks like it's in need of several hundered tons of manure!

Its horrible. In NH we had decent soil and got at least 1000 yards of woodchips a year for free. Here in MO we have to pay for them. Its been a struggle to build soil out of rocks. My neighbor is moving and I've been hauling his compost/woodchip piles. Probably got 100 yards. So, I lose a friend but get some decent growing soil at least.

 

[Russell King]

Try to look at a site called ChipDrop to get arborists to dump their chips on your property.

 

[Scm]

Try to look at a site called ChipDrop to get arborists to dump their chips on your property.

That was how I got so many yards in NH, I'm so rural now they just blow it out into the woods.

 

[Scm]

I made some major changes to my irrigation system. I have to update my map.
I upgraded the water line from the tank from a 3/4" garden hose to an 1 1/2" PVC pipe. Then I ran new 1" lines for most of my irrigation system. The left green hose is going to my other tank to keep it full. I now have plenty of water flow. Open the valve for two hours a day and my whole property is irrigated. All gravity fed. Pretty happy so far.

 

[Scm]

 

[Scm]

My current problem is.


The pond is not holding water. Not enough rain. The red line is the float valve for the white tank. So when the pond drains all the way down, the water in the downhill tube drains to the height of the float valve. When the pond fills again, there is an air pocket that I believe won't allow the water from the pond push the rest of the water left in the line into the tank. If I go above the float vale line on the downhill tube and release air it will run. I'm not sure if i put the downhill tube on top of my paddock fence (4" higher) if it would be enough. A third option would be to put the line level with the float valve about 4 more feet above the paddock fence. Or option 4, install a purge valve where the float valve level is on the hill to purge the air out of the line.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Not sure if your drawing represents reality. From your drawing I believe water should flow, air or no air in the pipe.

A problem would be if the pipe goes down, then up, then down again (and of course up in the end). This could prevent the flow to start.

 

[Scm]

Not sure if your drawing represents reality. From your drawing I believe water should flow, air or no air in the pipe.

A problem would be if the pipe goes down, then up, then down again (and of course up in the end). This could prevent the flow to start.

Drawing is definitely not to scale.
I just took some measurements.
I will get the overall elevations when it gets darker.
Almost half (203') is filled with water

 

[Russell King]

Is there a vent in the top of the white tank? Or on the line where the float line is?

Why doesn’t the line fill with water? It seems that the air should go into the pond (which as a Texan I would call a tank) and not get trapped in that line.

 

[Scm]

Is there a vent in the top of the white tank? Or on the line where the float line is?

Not specifically. But I would assume it was leaky. I'll have to add a vent and see if that helps.

I do know I have 22' of drop from the bottom of the pond to the float valve.

 

[Russell King]

Please elaborate more on this system since what I think it is should not be getting any “air bubble” trapped in a pipe unless there is some raised section of pipe.

What are the black curved lines representing in your drawing?

Is the blue line the water pipe (I assume yes)? Is it buried underground or just lying (laying?) on top of the ground?

At the tank, how does the water enter the pipe? Is it a siphon or is it a drain ( that may be a few feet above the bottom of the pond? Can you post pictures of the inlet structure?

Can you post a picture of the tank and the float pipe where the water enters?

How are you venting out the air currently? Is it under some pressure when you vent it?

 

[Scm]

What are the black curved lines representing in your drawing?

Fencing.

Is the blue line the water pipe (I assume yes)? Is it buried underground or just lying (laying?) on top of the ground?

Yes the water line, it currently lays on the ground mostly along the fence.
This is a pic looking downhill from the base of the pond. Tank is to the right of the barn. I just got 50" of 1" PVC. I'm going to extend the one you see (very bottom of pic) and bury it just below grade so I can drive over it.

At the tank, how does the water enter the pipe? Is it a siphon or is it a drain ( that may be a few feet above the bottom of the pond? Can you post pictures of the inlet structure?

Drain. The hole its in is about 2' deep from the top of the pipe. This is not finished, I did just enough to get by for this year.

Can you post a picture of the tank and the float pipe where the water enters?

I just reconfigured this. I added the tee for the well line (from the right) and a check valve at the bottom to prevent the well water from going to the pond. I have a timer on the well water so if the pond is empty (like now) the well will fill it at night when demand is low (shared well). The 1' line at the bottom is so I can fill the tank with my gas pump from that pond next to it if needed.

How are you venting out the air currently? Is it under some pressure when you vent it?

I've not noticed any pressure in the tank. I did cut a 4" hole the lid previously when I was collection rain water in NH. And "patched" it up.

 

[Russell King]

I don’t see anything glaring that would trap the air bubble.

I think I would change the elbow at the top of the tank to a tee so you could leave that as an open vent. You can then add some elbows and nipples to have the vent pointed downwards. This is assuming that the current elbow is directly connected to the line from the pond.

I suggest that you draw a diagram showing the elevations of the inlet at the pond, the elevation along the pipe and then the elevation of the tank bottom and fill point. That may show some problem that is currently hiding.

I am also confused by the picture of the complete white tank. The hoses at the bottom are crossing each other and there are a couple of black pipes. I can’t follow what the flow in those pipes are or which black pipe comes from the upper pond. Please try to clarify what is going on there, although it may not really matter.

 

[Russell King]

Thinking about this I think @Hugo Habicht pointed out the problem in post #30.

I think you have some type of raised pipe section. I tried to mark up your sketch to show what he described. Hopefully it makes some sense.

I think you have that situation and you are able to vent the air out (somehow) and will have to continue to vent it or find the high spot and level it more accurately.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Thinking about this I think @Hugo Habicht pointed out the problem in post #30.

I think you have some type of raised pipe section. I tried to mark up your sketch to show what he described. Hopefully it makes some sense.

I think you have that situation and you are able to vent the air out (somehow) and will have to continue to vent it or find the high spot and level it more accurately.
View attachment 174531

One bump should not matter. But if you have several, with air pockets in each of them and the accumulated rise is higher than the total height the water flow could be stopped. But I cannot see how each bump could have its own air pocket, this is highly unlikely.

And if (if) the initial pipe from the pond is at a positive downward slope until it reaches float valve level the air should go out into the pond itself. Is this the case?

And what is the elevation of the pond above the top of the tank? Or have I missed that?