06x10 - Arizona Washout

[bunniefuu]

This homestead is truly
at the end of the road.

I think my mom's
definitely in danger.

I can't do this on my own.
I'm pretty worried.

You know,
am I going to give up?

Laurie is here alone a lot,

And this is hours away
from civilization.

Barney: when the monsoons come,
we have a big rush of water

That goes right
under the house.

You're a rancher.
Yes.

The market
just took us out.

It sounds like
a hard time.

We depend on the wind for water.

How much water storage
do you have?

-I got 700 gallons.
-That's not very much water.

If you're going to homestead
in arizona,

You got to be tough because
this desert will outsmart you.

Raise that house.

If I mess up,
run for the border.

We're talking about bringing
a commercial pig farm

Onto this homestead.

Perfect.
It's actually 90% less water

Than traditional gardening.

Will this homestead be
another ghost town?

Oh, my god.

The goal here is to thrive.

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

You know you're in arizona
when you're in a place

Where the state flower

Is a cactus.

Last time I was here,
I tripped

And I fell
right onto a cactus.

Sounds like
a "cact-astrophe".

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: the raneys
are 80 miles

Outside of tucson, arizona

En route to
a ghost town named pearce.

In the 1800s, it was
a burgeoning mining village,

But in the late 1940s,

The mine closed

And most of the townspeople
moved on.

This desert region is besieged
by extreme weather,

Including monsoonal flooding
and a dry, arid climate

That makes
drinkable water scarce.

The raneys have received an sos
from a concerned daughter

Whose parents own homestead

Is on the verge of joining

The ghosts
of the town's past.

Hi, I'm chelsea smallwood.
My name's stan.

My mom began homesteading
with her husband.

I worry
because I don't think

How they're living right now
is sustainable.

Their cabin
is falling apart,

And the water source
is unreliable.

They're in
the flood zone.

And that monsoon season
in arizona

Can be quite traumatic.

This is, like,
really not safe.

They're not asking for help,

But they desperately
need help,

So someone needs to
step in

So that they have
a safe place to live.

-This is the place, huh?
-Welcome to arizona.

Are we at
the right place?

-You sure are.
-Who's who?

-Barney.
-Marty raney.

-Nice meeting you.
-And laurie.

-Laurie?
-Yes.

-Stan.
-Stan.

-Chelsea.
-Chelsea.

Chelsea is the one
that called us.

So it's kind of rare
that we show up on a homestead

And it's not actually
the homesteaders

But the homesteaders' daughter
has requested that we come here

In what she calls
the middle of nowhere.

How many years
have you guys been out here?

Four years now.
Going on four.

Four years.
I grew up in orange county,

Worked on rodeo drive.

Well you're a long ways
from hollywood here, darling.

You're right about that.

I love it.
I mean, I came to arizona

Looking for a cowboy
and a farmer.

You find him?
I found him.

I found
a pig farmer, yeah.

You're a pig farmer?
Yeah, we were pork producers.


We shut down in the early twos.

What do you think
about your mom

Living off-grid
in the middle of nowhere?

They're living
their dream.

I think they keep a lot
of their problems under wraps

Because they don't
want to worry anybody,

But they need help.

Hi, welcome to barney
and laurie's little house.

My mom and barney
got together 15 years ago.

My mom is a wild and free spirit

And barney is a d.i.y. Guy --

He prefers to do things
by himself.

Narrator: four years ago,
laurie and barney unrast

Left their lives in the city

And moved to
a five-acre homestead

In search of a fresh start.

I had always dreamed of living
on a farm, and I got up here

And I could just breathe in
peace, tranquility.

Being off the grid
and self-sufficient,

It had always been something
we dreamed about.

I said, "are you sure
you really want to do this?"

I told her it was going
to be a lot of work.

Narrator:
at first, the couple thrived,

Enjoying a quiet life
on the open range.

Laurie: the turkeys
are a new addition this year.

Barney:
there's turkey's running around,
sheep running around.

It's just a nice place to be.

Narrator:
but the harsh realities
of arizona's elements

Soon threatened
their off-grid dream.

Monsoon season is beautiful,

But it's dangerous.

When the monsoons come,
we have big rush of water

That comes down and goes
right under the house.

It's shift some of the pillars
that hold the cabin up.

It's sagging there,

And in the center
it's braced up with just a jack.

Enough shift will take
some of the pillars out

And the back part of the house
will probably fall off.

It can get absolutely
terrifying.

Narrator:
growing sustainable crops
has been a struggle.

Gardening is a huge challenge.
The ground is rock.

In the winter we get down
to the 17, 18s.

I have never gardened
in freezing temperatures.

I'm really struggling with it.

Narrator:
and the homestead's water system
consists of a small tank

And a 100-year-old
wind-powered pump.

When we know it's not going
to blow for a little bit,

We really
conserve on water.

Laurie:
if the wind ain't blowing,

We have to use
the generator to power...

The pressure pump.
...the pressure pump.

Hauling fuel is

A huge financial drain
on us.

Mounting costs have forced
barney to take a job in town,

Leaving laurie alone
on the homestead.

I can only take so much
of doing this alone.

If we don't get you
back here full-time,

There's no way

We will make it.

Stan: they definitely need
some help even though

They will never come to you
and ask for it.

My pride's probably getting
to me right now, but...

♪♪

Have you had any accidents?
Has there been some close calls?

What's going on
out here?

One of the biggest issues
and then --

The monsoon season.
Monsoons.

The water comes
where the truck is

And through
the barn there

And runs directly underneath
the cabin right there.

-Did you say monsoon?
-Mm-hmm.

It's sagging the floor,

And some of the pillars
have rotted.

Why don't you
show me around

And show me
exactly what's going?

Okay. Sure will.

You want to show me
some of your plants, laurie?

-I would love that.
-Okay.

When you hear barney and laurie
talk about their homestead,

They're passionate.

It's in here.

I can relate. I want to help.

Over here you'll be able
to see the porch is sagging

Where the water's rotted
some of it around the bottom.

Marty:
that's not a good sign.

It's hard to believe out here
in the arizona desert

That there's such a thing
as monsoons.

Narrator: arizona's monsoons
are caused by seasonal shifts

In wind direction.

They last from june
through september,

Causing 32%
to the state's yearly rain,

Along with dust storms,
lightning strikes,

And flash flooding
that's caused 40 deaths

In the last 10 years alone.

It washes
every single thing away,

Including that foundation.

How do you get
drinking water?

Windmill right here.

And it's
a working windmill?

It's a working windmill.

It's down about 90 feet
where the water's coming from.

So every evening,

The winds come out
of the mountains?

Mm-hmm.

And this old girl
is still working

And filling
all your water storage?

Yeah.
How much water storage

Do you have?
I got 700 gallons.

That's not
very much water.

Humans would have
an issue with 700,

Let alone all these animals.

It doesn't take long
to run out.

No, it doesn't.

This arizona homestead
has two big water problems.

On one hand,
there's too much water.

It floods here,

But for the other


These people need
drinking water.

And I can see
that they definitely need

A bigger storage system.

The desert is not
an easy place to thrive.

So you're a rancher,
you're like the real deal.

-Yes.
-Is that something that

You miss?

Yeah, I do miss it.
The market just took us out.

It sounds like
a hard time.

There's still a consumer
market around here

Because there's not that
big availability here no more.

Well you still got the name,
you know how to do it,

And the market's good.
Mm-hmm.

I mean, that's a recipe
for success.

This homestead has
the perfect climate.

It's the perfect place
to raise pigs.

Barney and his family
used to thrive as pig farmers,

And, for whatever reasons,
it failed.

But this guy has the potential
to raise pigs,

Make money,
and stay on the homestead.

How's the gardening
going?

Laurie: I'm finding it
very challenging.

You have a very hard soil
to grow anything in

And it's hot and it's windy.
Oh, the wind.

And you're at elevation.

And wind just sucks out
all that moisture

From your plants --

Moisture
you don't even have.

This requires a lot of work
and a lot of water.

I have to keep a close eye
on my water levels.

If I have a problem,
I don't go

Talk to people
about my problems.

I handle them.

But I see already

A lot of mistakes that I made,

And, honestly, I'm exhausted.

I can't do this
on my own.

He's working 12-hour days
six days a week.

I'm pretty worried.

Am I going to give up?
No.

Laurie is a city girl
that has moved out here.

This is where she wants
to retire and live the dream,

But so far, it's just
kind of been this nightmare.

There's a lot of
animals here, huh?

I mean, are you guys
used to seeing turkeys?

I thought they were peacocks
when we first walked up.

[ Laughter ]
[ turkeys gobbling ]

They're laughing at you.




We got goats.

This place is wild.
-Yes, it's very remote.

What do you think about
your mom being out here

When barney goes off to work?
What is she telling you?

Stan:
one of the biggest thing
that she needs help with

Is how can she take care
of all these animals

When barney's not here.

Laurie is here alone a lot.

Chelsea and stan have
every right to be worried.

It's a major challenge.

I think if we can find a way
to keep barney home

On the homestead full-time,

Him and laurie
will thrive here together.

What I need to do is I need
to meet back with my family,

Talk to my sister
and my dad

And kind of see
where we're all at

And how best we can help
this homestead.

You're never going
to let your kids know

When you're having
a hard time,

But I think that
chelsea and stan know

That laurie is here
alone a lot,

And they're worried.

Barney was a very successful
pig farmer in this valley,

So they have the potential
to make money

On this homestead
raising pigs.

That said, when you're
looking at that windmill

And that thing's not moving,
there's no water.

We can't
bring animals here

Until we produce
enough water.

Also, floods have been
consistently, annually

Undermining some of
the foundation of that cabin.

When you talk to laurie,
she wants to be

A successful gardener
year-round.

I know how hard it is
to grow in this soil,

So I would love
to do hydroponics.

You don't need soil
and you need water,

But not a ton of it.
It actually conserves water.

Copy that.
So it's real simple.

We have our work
cut out for us.

Let's go talk
to the homesteaders.

Alright.

Narrator:
to save the unrast's homestead,

Marty will make
the cabin's foundation level,

Add new support posts,

And build a diversion ditch
to protect it from flooding.

Then, he'll build a water tower

And expand
the windmill's wingspan

To increase its water output.

To provide food year-round,

Misty will build
a hydroponic greenhouse addition

To the side of the cabin.

Matt will build a pig pen
and furrowing barn

To restart barney's
pig farming business,

Allowing him to stay on the
homestead with laurie full-time.

Marty: so water is kind of
at the top of the...

-Pyramid.
-...of the pyramid.

Humans, animals,
gardens, self-sufficiency,

It's a typical
desert scenario.

All that said,
we came a long ways

To help you two thrive
on this homestead,

Maybe even
generate an income,

But can it happen
in seven days?

Tomorrow morning,
the sun's coming up...

-And we're going to be ready.
-...and we're going to work.

-Right.
-When chelsea first contacted us

And said, "listen, my mom's out
in the middle of nowhere

In arizona in the desert
homesteading,

I'm worried she might not
make it another year,"

That got my attention.

Seven days from now,

Will this homestead be another

Ghost town/failed homestead
statistic?

The deck is not in our favor.

Narrator:
in arizona, the raneys

Tackle their first-ever
homestead intervention,

Coming to the aid of chelsea,

Whose mother and stepfather
are struggling to stay afloat.

Their cabin is in
a monsoonal flood zone,

Yet water is scarce.

We depend on the wind
for water.

The unrast family dream
of self-sufficiency

Is turning to dust.

Chelsea:
they're not asking for help,

But they desperately
need help.

Someone needs to step in

So that they have
a safe place to live.

Marty: we have to
start at the bottom.

The foundation's
compromised.

The flooding
has done damage,

And we have to see
if we can raise this building.

Narrator:
to level and stabilize
the cabin's foundation,

Marty will lift the base
three inches,

Use jacks to temporarily
hold it in place,

And install new support posts.

Then, to prevent flash floods
from overtaking the cabin,

He'll dig a 150-foot-long
diversion trench

So floodwaters will
flow safely around it.

How do you lift a cabin
in arizona?

I'll give you one clue.

Exactly. Egypt.

Okay. I'm coming in.

The process is called
the fulcrum.

The egyptians used the fulcrum
when they built the pyramids.

All you need is a stone
and a lever,

And it's unbelievable
what you can lift.

Raise that house!

Get some weight on it.

[ Wood creaking ]

I love it!

It's totally
on the money.

Didn't know I was coming out
here, getting scraped up,

Cut up,
but whatever is needed

To help my mom
get to where she needs to be.

♪♪

Narrator:
across the homestead...

-That's a little bit of lumber.
-Yep.

You can use some of this
for siding.

Narrator: ...misty and laurie
scavenge essential materials

For the hydroponic greenhouse.

I'm super excited to start
the hydroponic garden

Because it doesn't require
any good dirt

And it doesn't require
a ton of water.

-We've got windows over there.
-Oh. Are you kidding me?

Score. We're taking these.
-Not kidding these.

-I'll get them, honey.
-I got one.

Are you sure?

I may be old,
but I'm still strong.

Whoo-hoo!

Sometimes when homesteaders say

"Oh, we have a bunch
of building material",

And you go and look at it,
you just...

"This isn't anything
that I can use".

But this family
has so much stuff.

I don't know
if we can use these

To suspend
the hydroponic beds.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
These iron tables.

This'll make perfect tables.
We'll move this.

We found thousands and thousands

And thousands of dollars
of material --

Pvc pipe, lumber,
siding, windows.

Man, I could just
be here all day.

I have everything.
Everything.

So, I'm going to start there

And try to
piece it all together,

And in the end,
hopefully, I pull it off.

I think all of this
is very usable.

♪♪

Narrator:
across the homestead...

You ready for some
more roommates?

[ Oinks ]
yeah?

We're talking about bringing
a commercial pig farm

Onto this homestead,

Something that barney's done
for decades in the past.

So, we have to build
a farrowing pen.

Narrator: farrowing barns
are an essential part

Of any pig farming business.

They're designed
to create safe contact

Between mother pigs and piglets

By positioning them
in separate neighboring crates.

This design allows piglets
to nurse and move around

Without being
accidentally crushed

By the weight of their mother.

Matt: and so we need to
build something

That allows these pigs
to breed, have piglets,

And continue
that lifecycle unharmed.

This right here
is what I've been thinking

Would be a good size
for a farrowing pen.


A little bit off the ground.

That's fine.
I wanted it

Up off the ground
just a little bit.

Okay, cool.

I would suggest it be


Yep.

That's what we need?

If you're suggesting
anything,

I'm going to
follow that advice.

No, I'd definitely go
with the 3/4".

Cool.

Barney, he raised pigs
for 40-plus years,

And he's got expertise

On how to build these
farrowing pens correctly,

And I'm going to
tap into that resource.

This is exciting,
right?

Ya. I'm loving
every minute of it.

Me too, man. Let's get
this thing built

So we can get
those pigs out here.

That's right.

♪♪

Alright.

Narrator:
back at the cabin,

Marty installs the final


That will stabilize
the structure.

Good!

Good man.

Alright,
good job, buddy.

Now we're going to
drop this in the hole.

Why do you think
it's on there?

Put reinforcement
for the concrete.

That's right.
Very good.

Can you get it
from in there?

See if you can
wrestle it in place.

Bottom over.
Keep coming. Done.

We're going to put
some cement,

Some concrete
around that post.

Here it all is
right in this bag.

Add water
and you have concrete.

Gotcha.
So how would you do it?

Split the bag.

Dump the water in there
and stir.

Very good.
But you're wrong.

Get rid of the shovel.

♪♪

Get rid
of the wheelbarrow.

And just put this stuff
directly in the hole.

Dig the hole.
Break open the bag.

Pour it in dry.
Just add water.

Little bit of water
goes a long ways.

So, I want to try
and kind of get a void in there

So the water can now
seep down inside.

Okay, that looks
really good, guys.

Right now that's going to
get hard starting today.

And guess how long

It's going to
keep getting harder.

Just give me a guess.

Three days.



That's how amazing
concrete is.

So, that's level.

We showed up here.
This whole section was sagging.

This whole section is back up
where it's supposed to be.

It's shimmed, and we've added
a post for posterity.

Generations to come,

No matter what happens
to this building,

It's going to be
stronger, okay?

Next step --

Find out where
this water's coming from

And get it diverted.

Has he got
a scorpion on me?

-There you go.
-Whoa.

You should be
used to this, tsa.

All good to go.

Hey, I'm ticklish,
dude.

Narrator: coming up...

If I mess up,

Run for the border.

[ Chainsaw revving ]

Here we go!

♪♪

♪♪

Marty: okay!

So right there,
I've just dug a 44"-wide trench,


And 50 yards long.

What are you going to do?

You've got to fill it up
with big rocks.

How am I going to do that?

I'm thinking about using
these gates and fences

As a classifier.

You hear the term "grizzly",

And most of the time
it's a bear,

But in the mining world,

It's just a big, steel,
massive grate

That's placed on some kind of
a shaker or a screen

Or, in this case,
an old truck bed.

When it's all put together,

It's called a classifier.

And depending on what size grid
you put on top of your,

In this case, old truck bed,

It will only allow
the size rock that you need

To stay on top
and roll off and be captured.

The rest of the smaller
finds and sand and dirt,

Things you don't want
in a trench or a ditch,

Fall to the wayside.

Okay.

The coolest thing
about all that stone --

It didn't cost them one penny.

♪♪

I heard something
pretty crazy from matt.

And what's that?

That you are in
the solar industry.

I am. I am.
You're my new best friend.

When it comes to the build
that I'm doing,

It requires some power.

So this is good news for me.

I think, like,
if we could

Upgrade
their solar system,

That's what
I really want to do.

Okay.
Is this a possibility

Through you?

Yeah, I think so.

I might be able to
figure something out.

If I could just kind of
put you on that,

Then that would be
amazing.

Yeah.
Also --

I think this is something
I'm actually capable of.

If you don't,
no pressure.

All that I want to do
won't happen.

I mean,
it sounds pretty solid.

Sounds like
something I can do.

Narrator:
while chelsea and stan
source the solar panels,

Misty continues building
the hydroponic greenhouse.

Couple more sheets
up there.

Misty will convert
the cabin's side porch

Into an insulated greenhouse

By enclosing it
with windows and lumber

Sourced from the homestead.

Inside, she'll build
a temperature-controlled

Hydroponic gardening system

Out of a water filter
and pvc pipes

That will allow
growing year round.

Misty:
these are some of the windows
we found, which is pretty cool.

They're made out of aluminum.
Last forever.

The more windows we add,

The more light
we get in the garden.

What I love about this build is

It's a structure
that's kind of been abandoned.

It was their old wood shed.

This is going to be
the perfect amount of light.

Oh, yeah.

Looks pretty cool.

Narrator: in the middle
of the homestead...

Okay, we're good to go?
Good to go.

...matt and barney begin work
on the pig pens' fencing.

Alright,
let's keep going.

Matt: when you build
a pig pen, you have to account

For a 10 foot by 10 foot
square per pig.

This pen can accommodate 20,

And as his business expands,

This pen is going to be
able to handle it.

Gate is good to go.

Pigs are ready
to go in.

That'll be shut.

Boom. Bailing wire.
Good to go.

Narrator: inside the cabin...

I have this idea

To cut a hole
into your house

To allow
a heat exchange.

House heats
the greenhouse,

Greenhouse
heats the house,

And you're getting
kind of a two for one.

What do you think?
I love it.

Do you like that idea?

Is it okay to cut a hole
into your house?

Absolutely.
Should we ask barney?

Nope.

If I mess up,

Run for the border.

[ Chainsaw revving ]

Here we go!

♪♪

♪♪

Here we go. Stand back.

♪♪

[ Laughs ]

[ Screaming ]
hi. What do you think?

Freaking love it.

There's no going back.
Do you like it?

I love it because this bedroom
was so dark.

It was depressing.

Well, so now you have light.
Now you have heat.

And I can
watch the sunrise.

I love it so much.
Is it cool?

I love it.
Aww.

Your door
makes you so happy.

Yes, it does.
Makes me so happy.

It's really cool.

To be able to just go out
my bedroom door

And grow...

Is huge.

Usually, greenhouses
have ventilation in them.

But, what happens when you
open up the ventilation,

All that heat just escapes
and does nothing.

Now it is going
into your house.

You can regulate
the temperature

Of the greenhouse
and your home

And keep both structures

The temperature
you want it to be.

I'm going to frame this up,
slap the door in.

We're done. We're good.
Sound good?

-Sounds great.
-Okay. I'm gonna go grab lumber.

♪♪

Narrator:
at the windmill,

Marty begins upgrading
the unrast's water system.

How many gallons of water

Does one pig
drink a day?

Eight to 10 gallons
a day.

-Let's say 10. This is arizona.
-Well, yeah. Yeah.

How many pigs
are we thinking about

Having here
at some point?



That's 200 gallons a day
for the pigs,

Let alone
for the hydroponic system,

Not to mention
the other animals,

And of course you guys.

What I'm getting at is
we need more water storage.

That water tank
is going to be on a tower.

It's going to gravity feed
everything that needs water.

Let's do it.

Marty:
give me two feet.

So in the 1800s out here
in the wild west,

These homesteaders
dug with hand tools --

Pick, shovel, bar.

When you're working
on a homestead,

You got seven days
to get a lot of work done,

You set those tools aside

And welcome yourself
to the 21st century.

Yellow iron.

We're going to build
a water tower.

We've got four 20-foot-long
telephone poles.

We're going to put them
in the ground vertically.

We're going to brace them.

Few inches.

[ Whistles ]
stop right there.

Alright. Ready to go?
Let her fly.

We're going to place
an 8x8 foot platform on top.

The water tank
will sit on that.

A lot of old chain.
Hope it works.

Whoa!

♪♪

-So one of these tanks is yours.
-Oh, my gosh.

See it?

Narrator:
in the arizona desert...

Here we go!

Narrator:
...the raineys battle

To preserve
the unrast family homestead.

In order to provide
a reliable water source,

Marty must successfully
construct

An 1,100-gallon water tank.

Marty:
go on, cut it loose.

So now we just have to attach
the platform to the posts,

And we're ready for the tank.

Let's get a water tower.

Go for it.

That'll work. [ Whistles ]

♪♪

Alright, there you have it.

Strong, strong telephone poles.


On one-foot centers.


It's ready for some water.

How much? 1,100 Gallons.

Narrator:
outside the greenhouse...

Remember these faithful
little tables

We scored
from the big farm?

...misty and laurie
assemble the pipes

For their hydroponic garden.

What we're doing is
we're taking pvc pipe,

Then these net pots
will sit right inside,

And then there'll be
that continual flow of water

That runs through
these pvc pipes.

Sound good?
Now we're ready to drill holes.

I love this system.

It's just this pvc pipe
snaking together.

Once you add water,
it flows through the pipes

And is this
continual system.

It's actually


Than traditional
gardening.

For arizona in the middle
of the desert, it's amazing.

♪♪

Like so.

With this method
of gardening,

Once it's in place,
it's pretty easy.

Perfect.

And instead of harvesting
once a year,

You can be harvesting four times
a year, five times a year.

So you have a continual supply
of food year-round.

Getting them all smooth and
then you drop in your net pots.

Boom. Boom.

Narrator:
in the middle of the homestead,

Matt puts the finishing touches

On the farrowing barn.

I'm going to take this
concrete spike --

It's already got holes in it --

And all I have to do
is just throw it right here.

Boom, boom, boom.
Get it up close.

Make sure these are
lined up perfectly,

And bam, screw straight in.

The basic principle of
a farrowing pin

Is it just sequesters
and separates

The piglets from the moms.

Once those piglets are born,
they'll be able to feed,

They'll be able to stay away
from the mom.

If she rolls over,
they won't get crushed,

But more importantly,

No predator animal
is getting in there.

This is where the little pigs

Are going to be protected.

The wood chips act
as a little bed, bedding area.

They can stay warm.

Set up a heating lamp
right here.

The closer to the ground,
the better,

Especially when
they're only that tall.

And they're going to be
down here hiding,

Protected from anything
out there that threatens them.

This thing is done.
Ready for pigs.

Alright.
Check it out, man.

-Oh, man. Big ones.
-Hey, guys.

I love pigs.

They look
ready to go.

Wow, we just got five
amazing sows.

We've got yorks and hamps
to breed

That barney can make
some serious money on.

They look like, to me,
they're ready to breed.

Huge game-changer.

Matt:
why does it look like they grew
about 10 more pounds?

Yeah,
they're good size.

The excitement level of barney
has just gone through the roof.

I mean, as soon as he opened
the door on that trailer,

He's totally in his element.

This is what he's bred to do.

Man, this is awesome.
They went right in there.

That was easy.

Well, you just got to know
what you're doing.

[ Both laugh ]

I've dreamt of this day
for about 16 years.

I can focus on the pig business
here on the homestead.

That means a lot to me.

You definitely know
what you're doing.

Narrator: seven days ago,

Barney's pig farming days
were in the past

And laurie had to tend
to the homestead alone

While barney
was away at work.

Now, barney can restart
his business

With a fully functioning
pig farm

That will allow him
to join laurie

On the homestead full time,

All for just 2,500 bucks.

Thank you so much.

I mean,
I'm so happy for you.

Oh, man.
This is something else.

We're going to have to do
everything we can do

To maximize...

[ Whirring ]

...the crux of this homestead,

And the crux
is this classic windmill.

Found this old 10-foot windmill,

And my plan is to extend

The fins on barney's windmill.

I'll probably cut
this much off right here.

Have that piece in my hand.

You can see that
they're all bent.

We have to do
a little body work.

Then we'll attach them,

And we're going to convert
that eight-foot windmill

Into a nine-foot.

♪♪

♪♪

There you go.

I need the wind to start blowing

So that I can put this
windmill hack to the test.

I want to fill
this storage tank,

But I can't do it
until the wind blows.

Narrator:
six days ago, the raneys
arrived in arizona

To save a homestead
dying in the desert.

Raise that house!

Now, the unrast's cabin
is stabilized

And a trench will divert
deadly floodwaters.

And barney's
pig farming business

Is high on the hog once again.

That was easy.

Well you just got to know
what you're doing.

But it all hinges
on marty's windmill hack.

Marty:
I need the wind to start blowing

So that I can put this
windmill hack to the test.

Narrator: now...

Welcome back.

-We made it.
-See any changes?

Yeah, looks like you guys
have been hard at work.

...chelsea and stan
have returned

With solar panels
to provide critical power

To misty's hydroponic garden.

-How you doing?
-Good.

Solar is really the gold
standard for homesteaders.

I'm excited to see
the solar system set up.

This panel is a 310-watt panel.

This homestead is going to have
eight of these on a stand

That is tilted about
like this, 30 degrees.

The sun hits that panel,

And the wiring
from the solar panel

Goes into batteries and,
more importantly, an inverter.

From there, the power
comes in to the breaker

And over
to the hydroponic system.

Gold.

Narrator:
with the solar power secured,

Misty puts the finishing touches

On the hydroponic garden.

Okay, so this is
the exciting part.

Some of these plants
are pretty small.

Ideally, you want
this long root system

That looks like this

So it's long enough
to reach the water.

In the meantime,
she can spray these as needed,

And in a couple of days,
their roots will be this long.

-What do you think?
-It's amazing.

Right now there's 10 gallons
that cycles through this system

Like a pond
with a fountain in it,

And with these lights,

You're manipulating
this whole system

To do whatever
you want it to do.

It doesn't know
what time of year it is in here.

The walls are insulated.
It's heated.

It's a closed system
that grows food year-round.

I'm really excited.

Narrator:
seven days ago, laurie's garden
was planted on hard soil

And suffered from
a critical lack of water.

Now, there's
a temperature-controlled

Hydroponic greenhouse

That will be a year-round
food source

For only $650.

Moment of truth.
Ready?

It's bright.
I need sunglasses.

Okay. So...

Okay, so this
is super amazing.

Because of
these led lights,

These plants won't know
what time of day it is.

They don't know
what time of year it is.

You have
this isolated system

Growing plants
year-round.

I want this.

Marty: misty!

We've got to
test this wind mill.

We do have a bit of a breeze.

I say, get over there,
let off the brake,

And see what happens.

And let's see if we can
make some more water.

♪♪

Have you got movement?

-Yeah. Check it out!
-Looks like it.

-Yeah! Whoo!
-Oh, my god.

-It's going fast.
-Just that little bit.

-Oh, it's working great.
-Yeah, that's amazing.

-Okay. Coming down.
-Yeah, dad.

-Wow. Wow.
-Is that awesome?

-Yeah!
-You have water!

-God, that's beautiful.
-Yes!

-This is awesome.
-Whoo!

-Great.
-Group hug.

-Yeah!
-Group hug.

That is beautiful.

Narrator: one week ago,
barney and laurie's cabin

Was unstable
due to flash floods,

And they lacked the ability
to collect and store

Enough water
to keep the homestead afloat.

Now, their cabin's foundation
is on solid footing.

A trench will divert
any floodwaters

Away from their home,

And their windmill's pumping
hundreds of gallons of water

Every time
there's a desert breeze --

All for just $700
in materials.

I will
sleep better at night

Knowing that
my mom and barney

Have a safe
and sound situation.

Marty:
now I want to say something
to both of you.

You're not the youngest
homesteaders we've ever helped

And you're not the oldest,

But no one worked
as hard as you did.

You guys are a team,
and you are going to succeed,

And that inspires us
as we leave here tonight.

All I got to say
is just thank you.

Thank you
for being here,

Just giving us hope
that our dream came true.

You're very welcome,
and you're very deserving.

Thank you.

Thank you. You have no idea
how much that means me.

-Oh, honey.
-You deserve it, man,

And you're going to be
the most successful homesteaders

I think we've ever left.

Well I'm going to make it
a point we are.

Just so awesome.
I'm going to miss you guys.

A week ago, we met a couple

In this high-desert area
of arizona

That had some issues,

But all said and done,

This homestead is set up
for immediate success

At the base
of these amazing mountains.

-Thank you.
-Goodbye.

Tell chelsea
thanks and goodbye.

Thanks, guys.
See you.

♪♪

Barney: two weeks after they
left, we had a two-inch rain,

And it all
ran down through here

And kept water away
from the house.

I'd like to thank the g*ng
for giving me an opportunity

To get back in the pig business.

We brought a boar in,

And we should have
some late-spring litters

Coming towards
the end of may.

I'm very happy. I've got all
different kinds of vegetables,

So I'm thrilled.

Thank you again.
God bless you,

Homestead rescue.