All language subtitles for Homestead.Rescue.S12E07.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY[EZTVx.to]_[English] (SUBRIP)

[Marty] It's like
a jungle in here.

[bird squawking]

Oh.

Any alligators in here?

You ever heard
that expression,

"Fish out of water?"

Well, you're
looking at one now.

As far as the eye can see,
it's swamped.

I'm gonna take
all the precautions I can

'cause I don't want
to spend the weekend dead.

They're in over their heads

in the swamp.

Alligators are privy
for survival.

I have to worry about
my kids going outside.

I'm worried about them
getting attacked.

Oh, my...

[Marty] Is that the mother?

I don't want to be
holding this.

[Deborah] The flooding
is destroying

this whole homestead.

You win the saddest
garden award.

I'm at a loss right now.

I don't even know
what to do anymore.

[Misty] They have 22 acres
of what?

Freestanding water
filled with gators?

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Marty Raney,
master builder

and stonemason.

[Marty] I don't see
problems on homesteads,

I see challenges.

[narrator] Daughter Misty,

garden and food
preservation expert.

[Misty] I believe you can
grow food anywhere.

[narrator] And son Matt,
skilled craftsman

and predator protection.

-[Matt] Wildlife is a
constant threat...
-[dog barking]

...but I draw the line

between their home
and your homestead.

[narrator] Together,
they use Alaskan know-how...

-Let's find some power!
-[Misty] Yeah!

[narrator] ...and
ingenuity...

[Marty laughs] It's perfect!

[narrator] ...to save
the off-grid dreams

of desperate homesteaders.

[Marty] We work every second

we can trying to help
complete strangers.

That's who we are.

[instrumental music playing]

[cawing]

[Marty] Our very first
homestead in Florida.

What does Alaska and Florida
have in common?

It starts with an "S".

[Misty] Snakes.

Snow?

[Marty] Out of all 50 states,
Alaska has the most swamp.

Second is Florida.

I'm gonna tell you a statistic
and don't forget it.

You're ten times
more likely

to get killed
by an alligator

than you are by a bear
in Alaska.

What?

[Marty] Yes.

[narrator] The Raneys respond
to their first ever SOS

from the swamplands
of central Florida,

where dense vegetation,
dangerous wildlife,

and volatile weather
have been challenging settlers

since Ponce de Leon

first stepped on the continent
over 500 years ago.

While tropical temperatures
provide a year-round
growing season,

hurricanes
and torrential rains

cause massive flooding,
making farming

or raising livestock
almost impossible.

While dangerous predators
like the Florida panther,

the Burmese python
and the American alligator,

make any outdoor activity
a risk to life and limb.

It is here that
the Haas family

finds themselves
near the jaws...

[growling]

...of disaster.

I'm Christina Haas.

I live with
my two daughters

on a 22-acre homestead.

I purchased this homestead
in April of this year.

It had the home on it.

It had a pond,
almost 22 acres

and I was able
to visualize

making this property work.

[narrator] Christina brought
her homestead dream
from one paradise

to what she thought
was another

to be closer to family.

[Christina]
I was living on Maui
for a little over four years

and my dad was sick,

so I decided
to move back to Florida

to spend some time with him.

[Deborah] It's a beautiful
piece of property.

It's ten minutes away
from our home.

But the rains in Florida,
especially in the summer

during hurricane season,
are torrential.

[thunderclap]

[Christina] The water
was flowing into

the garage of the house,

the water was flooding out
the side of the yard.

[narrator] And as
the swamp waters rose,

Christina quickly found out
she had another
deadly threat...

alligators.

[Christina] We have seen
a gator in the pond.

We've also heard alligators
around the property.

[Deborah] We're very fearful
for her to be outside

with the kids in the yard.

She has 22 acres
of property

that she can't let her
children go out and play

because you have to be worried
that they're gonna

get chased by an alligator.

[Christina] We've been unable
to plant any gardens,

we have not gotten
any animals on the property

because we don't have
a safe place for them to stay.

[Deborah] Christina is
desperate for help.

We have always been
that source of hope for her,

and we've kind of reached
a breaking point.

[Christina] My father is
almost 70 years old.

He's always
coming out here

trying to help me,

and he has his
physical limitations.

My mom works full time
and she tries to come out here

and help when she can.

I'm getting old
for this stuff,

I don't know how much
I can keep up with it.

I try to do more I can
just for her.

I'm just worried about her.

[Christina] When I took on
the property,

I could never even imagine
how bad it was gonna be.

[narrator] Desperate,
Christina's parents

reached out to the Raneys
for one last hope

to save their
daughter's dream.

[Christina] We've poured
our heart, our soul
into this property,

and it's very overwhelming.

[instrumental music playing]

[Misty] Hello?

Is there alligators in here?

[Christina laughing] Yes.

-[Misty] Could be.
-[all laughing]

[Marty] Nice to meet you all.

[Misty] First of all,

that right there,
looks really scary.

This close
to your front door.

[Christina] It's very close.

And we've seen alligators
in the pond,

we've also heard alligators

because they make
a grunting noise,

-so you can hear them--
-From your house?

Yes.

We had a lot of rain,
so out there,

it's pretty swampy right now

Coming from Alaska to Florida,

I'm realizing that this isn't
an easy place to homestead.

We have swamps,

but they're not filled
with gators and snakes.

And when you combine
that with storms and flooding,

like clearly,
this isn't gonna be easy.

[Christina] When I was
living in Hawaii,

we had fruit trees,
we had lots of vegetables.

We had plants
that we were able
to donate to people.

I originally started
my nonprofit

to help
with educating people

how to grow
their own food

and also farm and help people
with food cost.

[Deborah] Christina got
that idea

just because raising a family
as a single mom

food was expensive,

and it was hard for her
to be able to shop.

During this time,
my father had come out

to Hawaii to help me.

In Hawaii, I noticed
my dad's health issues.

I didn't think
I was going to get

to spend much time
with him.

So that was the main reason
we came back to Florida

was because of
my father's health issues.

[Deborah] When Christina
left Hawaii

to come back to Florida,
she lost her dream.

We started
looking for properties

so that she could
not only have her
own homestead again,

but that she could expand
on her dream of

building her nonprofit
and helping others.

[Mike] Christina can't keep up

with it right now
the way it is.

I'm getting too old

to do this property
and my property
at the same time.

[Christina] We have considered
selling the property

due to how difficult it's been
for us to keep it up.

We worry about animals,

we worry about flooding.

If there's going to be
any more major issues,

we're not gonna be able

to sustain
the property ourselves.

This looks a little suspicious
right here.

-[Deborah] This is
an alligator slide...
-[Marty] Okay.

...and it's where
the alligator

comes in and
out of the water.

-[Marty] This activity looks
fresh to me right here.
-Yeah.

There's been an alligator
coming in and out of here.

-Yeah, they're...
-It's here right now.

-It's here.
-I mean, how far away is it?

He's hiding from us.
We don't know where he is.

[narrator]
The American alligator,

one of only two alligator
species in the world,

is well adapted
to the freshwater bodies

of central Florida.

Growing up to 14 feet
in length,

these ambush predators

can hold their breath
for hours at a time

allowing them
to remain camouflaged

while waiting
for unsuspecting prey.

Once their target is near,

the alligator rushes
out of the water,

bites down
with almost 3,000 pounds

of pressure,
and performs a death roll

to drown and dismember
their kill before consumption.

[Marty] How do you
keep alligators

from taking over
your homestead?

I'm not sure.

I've never seen
anyone selling gator fence.

But this homestead
needs one.

Let's look at some
more land.

[Deborah] All right,
so in here you can see, too,

-it's down low and water.
-[Marty] Oh, yeah.
Lots of water.

So I think
it just goes all around.

And the problem
that we had when we had

all that rain this summer,
was this filled up

and then it started
back flowing into the yard,

and it came
right up to the house.

[Marty] Let's go look
at that area
where it flooded please.

Florida is
known for hurricanes

and four, five, six
inches of rain at a time.

That turns into flooding,
and it compromises everything

and the few acres
that these guys have,

that already
isn't underwater.

Well, it looks
like a jungle.

It doesn't look
like an easy fix.

I'll stand right here
on day one and tell you

the hardest thing
that I can do on a homestead

is taming Mother Nature.

It's a tough thing
to fix water.

[Misty] The biggest concern
of mine

is seeing
free-standing water

kind of everywhere I look.

You have this
amazing growing season,

but the moment I try to add
any outdoor garden,

-what is protecting it?
-Right.

And that's what we originally
wanted to use this cleared
area over here,

until it started raining

and there was about
this much water over there.

-[Misty] Yeah.
-So of course
I can't put plants there

if they're
gonna be underwater.

[thunder rumbling]

[narrator] June to November
is tropical storm season
in Florida,

bringing torrential rain,
thunderstorms and tornados.

But the most powerful
and wide-reaching

are hurricanes,

which can bring
sustained wind speeds

of more than
150 miles per hour

and severe flooding.

The last significant hurricane
to hit Florida,

Hurricane Ian,
left 161 dead

and damage costing
112 billion in its wake.

[Misty] There's so much
going on this homestead

because not only are you
up against it

when it comes to all the
different types of predators,

but they're trying to
homestead in a swamp.

So this is the one place

where we could
meet a challenge

that we're not
able to solve.

Have you moved
any plants into the ground?

[Christina] We do not have any
in the ground.

What we originally
wanted to do was

make some raised
garden beds.

But we found out when it was
pouring rain down here that

that area floods.

We had a beautiful garden
in Hawaii.

We had so much
growing over there

and we were able
to actually help people

as well as educate them
on how to grow their own food.

So we've been trying to get
that nonprofit going here.

It's just been
a struggle so far.

[Misty] Okay, so this is
the saddest, maybe.

You win
the saddest garden award.

I'd love to be able to get
Christina back to the place

where she's running
her nonprofit again.

But let's be real here.

You have to get to a place
where you're feeding yourself
and your family first.

So that's gonna be
my ultimate goal.

That's gonna be
where I start first.

[instrumental music playing]

[Matt] So this is a really
amazing structure.

What does your family have
planned for this pole barn?

We really have planned

to like, get some chickens
and goats in here,

so that we could have eggs.

[Matt] A structure like this
is amazing for livestock

because it keeps 'em
out of the sun,

it allows the wind
to blow through.

And I think when you look
for the best spot to put

a chicken coop
and then maybe an area
that we can wall off

and then extend
outside and inside

for a goat pen.

I've heard gators
over this way and over there.

[Matt] Really?

[Katarina] Yeah.

[Matt] If we're gonna bring
chickens on this homestead,

I'm definitely gonna
have to make them safe

because they're gonna be
the smallest livestock

and the easiest prey
for an alligator.

I mean, you think like,
alligators have walked
right here?

Probably.

This close?

Closer?

So we'd have to get rid
of all this grass and brush

and make this area
a little bit less enticing

for anything to come crawl out
during the day.

[Marty] All right. So...

[exhales] The sun's setting
and guess what's coming out?

Gators. They're about to start
making those noises
right over there.

They hear it
almost every night.

But more importantly
than that, I had no idea

that this 22 acres
was 80% covered in water.

I thought it was gonna be
a lot easier

to homestead in Florida,
and I'm finding out
it's not.

You're dealing with
the subtropics,

but you have
all these crazy predators.

You're not on a homestead.

You're in a swamp stead.

They have 22 acres
of what?

Freestanding water
filled with gators?

I took a little walk
with Katarina and Isabella

and checked out
the pole barn.

And, man,
it is really cool.

So we have
to build something

that's gonna help this
homestead generate food now.

But I would never
want to bring livestock
into that pole barn

unless it was safe.

[Marty] What do I know
about hurricanes?

Not much. What do I know
about alligators?

Less.

These homesteaders
are living with both.

So together,
we join forces

and hopefully can solve
any problem.

I don't know how you
homestead in a swamp,

but that's what
we're forced to do.

I think we just
focus on you

and figuring out
a garden space

that will work
on this homestead.

I'm ready.

This family was interested
in getting chickens or goats.

Guess what? You've got
more than enough space

for some chickens
and goats to spare.

And you could even turn part
into an interior run

and let the animals
run around in there,

-somewhere they can get
locked up, be safe at night.
-Awesome.

Whatever we build
or whatever we plant

-is susceptible to flooding.
-Right.

To control the flooding

that you just talked about
is not gonna be easy.

Mother Nature
is a tough foe.

That said,

-I want to see
those two girls...
-[Deborah laughs]

...and their sidekicks

-on the homestead tomorrow.
-[Mike laughs]

-We'll all be here together.
-[Christina] We'll be here.

[Misty] Good morning.

-You ready to work?
Everybody looks pumped.
-[Christina] We are.

[narrator] It's day two
on the Haas homestead
in central Florida.

But before the rescue
gets underway...

What?

[narrator] Matt arranges
a crash course

on the homestead's
scaly menace.

-[Misty] Oh, my gosh!
-Is that thing alive?

All right,
stand back, everyone.

We call those swamp puppies.

[Misty] No.

[Matt] Everybody, I'd like you
to meet Alan.

[hissing]

What was that sound?

It's just breathing.

My family is not experts

in all things alligator,

but I do know somebody
who's grown up here

and knows quite a bit

about these dinosaurs

and how to keep
people safe.

-Oh, my...
-[Marty] Oh, my...

Is that the mother?
I don't want to be
holding this.

What is that thing?

[Jimmy] My name is
Jimmy Riffle,

and we do
educational programs

with American alligators.

[Marty] Guys,
meet my new friend.

[Jimmy] So Brad here is--

How come he's
snorting at me?

[Jimmy] He's just
letting you know he's there.

[Marty] Is this a good sign?
The laying down?

[Jimmy] Yep, he's relaxing.

[Jimmy] That sun is
beating on him,

and I think he's just really
enjoying that sun.

[Misty] So we're from Alaska.

We've spent zero time
with these animals.

Basically, they've been
here forever.

You know, people have lived
alongside them forever.

You just got to learn
to coexist with them.

The fact that Florida,

man-made or not
body of water,

there's an alligator probably
living in it,

or has lived in it.

They will sink
to the bottom

and they can stay
underwater for hours.

-[Misty] Oh, my God!
-[Jimmy] Hours.

-No.
-[Jimmy] Yes.

[Misty] So how big

do alligators
get in Florida?

Males probably get
12-13 feet in length.

[Misty] And how much
do they weigh?

So a 12 and a half foot
alligator, probably 600,

-700 pounds,
you know, give or take.
-Oh, my God!

[Jimmy] And, you know,
with you having

different wildlife
on the property,

they will get larger
if their diet is bigger.

[Misty] So obviously,
if we try to bring

smaller livestock here,

in this region of Florida,

you would have
to figure out

how you're keeping them safe?

You just take
certain precautions,

like your waterways,
that you have back here,

keeping it mowed down,

keeping the grass low
to the ground.

You know, they're
ambush predators.

They'll stalk their prey,

especially smaller mammals,

probably pigs,
things like that.

They consume
those type of animals.

-The garden
isn't the draw for alligators?
-[Jimmy] No.

If they get into the garden,
of course, yes,

they could damage the crops.

So don't build the garden
right on the water.

You could build a structure
like a small fence,

but they are capable
of climbing.

They can climb a fence?

What is... What's that?
How high?

Basically five to six
foot in height

is a good height
for keeping alligators out.

No Raney needs
Jimmy Riffle as much as me.

All of this knowledge
is kind of getting me thinking

on what my next move
is gonna be.

Jimmy, thank you so much.

Because I'm trying
to figure out

-how to help Christina...
-[Jimmy] Uh-huh.

...right?
Coexist with these guys.

What I'm up against.

So that was
really informative.

So thanks for coming out.

You're very welcome.

And thank you
for having us out to

show you
these cool animals.

[instrumental music playing]

[Misty] Let's talk about
the solution of actually

growing food
for your family.

-[Christina] Okay.
-So I would love
to build a garden.

I don't think we need
to build a greenhouse.

-Florida is a greenhouse.
-Right.

There is a year-round
growing season here.

This is what
I've learned this morning.

Gators are...

the threat is real

to be like this close
to a swamp, with this grass,

with this garden space,
this is too dangerous.

I definitely need to create
a safe garden space,

not only for me
to work in and construct,

but also long-term
for Christina and her girls

and everybody to be
able to garden safely.

We're too close.

This isn't good.

We wanna create a space
that's safe enough

for homesteaders
to walk around.

We want you and the girls
to be able to safely garden.

-So there's
a lot of work to do...
-Right.

-...to create that space.
-[Christina] Okay.

But I would love to be able
to put in multiple raised beds

and just see how far
we can get.

[narrator] To create a flood
and gator-safe garden space,

Misty will first make
an eight-foot clearing

providing unobstructed views

to eliminate
alligator ambush.

Then she will design and build
several raised garden beds

with sheer
unclimbable ledges

heavy enough
to withstand hurricane winds.

[Misty] Right now, the jungle
is pushed right up
against the homestead.

And based off of
what I've learned with Jimmy,

all this tall grass,

all of these trees,
all these vines,

all of this jungle
has to go.

[narrator] At the front
of the homestead...

[Marty] Here we go.

...Marty sets
his sights on storm protection
and flood prevention.

[Marty] All right,
let's talk.

So I took a little walk
in the swamp.

-That land's
completely unusable.
-Right.

But it does seem like
you could gain
30 to 40 feet of land,

-times that distance.
-[both] Right.

And to do that might mean
we can manage some
of that material and build...

a berm.

I think
if we can achieve that,
this house, that building,

then the pole barn
will never flood again.

That's awesome.

You know, we want to fix
the flooding issue

-because that is
the number one the thing...
-Number one.

...that's destroying
this whole homestead.

And on that note,
let's get started.

[Deborah] Okay.

[narrator] To control flooding
caused by extreme weather,

Marty will mine
the pond bed for sand,

which he will use to build
a 30-foot buffer.

Then he will dig down
a swale or drainage ditch

to direct water
around the homestead,

using the excess material

to create a three-foot
berm embankment

and hold back rising waters
during increased rainfall.

So is he gonna
try and hit bottom?

Yeah.

[Deborah] Oh, my gosh.

Looks like a lot of sand
to me. I like it.

-It did. Yeah!
-If you don't mind...

-Keep going.
-[Mike chuckles]
Keep going.

[Marty]
It's ironic how many times
a homesteader has a problem

and they're standing
on the solution.

The color is changing.

Yeah, that's more sand.

On this homestead,
the problem's flooding.

But right here is a massive,
thick layer of sand.

Our goal is
to get to that sand

and displace it
from over here...

to up here.

Stack it up...

and stave off
future flooding.

[Marty cheering]

[Misty] Look at this.

There's like a trail
right here.

I mean,
if this doesn't say "gator",

I don't know what does.

[narrator]
On the Haas homestead
in central Florida...

[Mike] Watch out for snakes.

[Deborah laughing] Yeah.
Check for snakes.

[narrator]
...Matt meets up with
Christina and her daughters,

Katarina and Isabella,

to discuss remodeling
the pole barn for livestock.

So what does
that livestock dream
look like to you?

Um, we were definitely looking
at goats and chickens

as far as you know,
eggs, goat's milk,

maybe cheeses,
stuff like that.

And I think that
that's the the perfect
livestock to start with.

I think we should walk around
and really decide

what we could use
this whole, entire space for.

Follow me.

[Christina]
We've always wanted
some sort of livestock,

but we haven't been
able to ensure
that the animals are safe

from alligators
or anything that might
threaten their lives.

I like this place
for the goats.

Let's just say
this is goat, goat zone.

-[Christina] Right.
-But then right here,

this would be
the chicken coop zone.

How tall are you?
Come over here.

[Christina chuckles]

Okay. You can walk
right up here
when you want some eggs.

Now open up
this imaginary door.

Okay, that's a good height
about right there.

Now, with your other hand,
grab an imaginary egg.

Now say,
good chicken.

Good chicken.

[all chuckling]

And then...
you have breakfast.

[narrator] Matt's master plan
is to create two zones
for the livestock,

a pen for the goats
with stalls
and a milking table,

and a specially crafted
chicken coop with egg shoots
to make collecting a breeze.

If you will,
turn your two daughters loose.

We're going to start
working on this coop.

Have fun.

[Matt] My two kids,
Ruby and Indy,

they don't learn anything
unless it's fun.

So when I started working
with these girls,

I knew that
I had to make things fun.

Because when
they're having fun
and they're learning,

they're going to have
a lot more skills to
contribute to the homestead

long after I leave.

We're going to do
a little bit of demolition

because these racks,
they're now in our way.

But all this wood
is going to be
reused and upcycled

to help us build everything
we need for chicken coops.

So this right here
is an amazing tool.

And it's gonna cut this
all apart really clean.

You ever used
a SAWZALL before?

-Yep.
-Since you've used one before,
you can grab this

and then you can grab
onto the edge and start
prying these boards off.

Here you go.

Wow.

We are having a lot of fun
working with Matt.

[Matt] So grab on to
that piece of wood

and just pull it this way
until it busts off.

Good? Okay.

Nice.

Throw it in the pile.

He's a funny guy,
he tells jokes.

Let it rip.

He's pretty cool.
He shows us how to correctly
use the tools.

Whoo!

Okay. Now...

see if you can get back here
and detach these.

All right, cool.

It is really cool to see how
the pole barn's transforming.

I'm very interested
to see how it turns out.

[Marty]
This is really good news.

[narrator]
On the back of the homestead,

Marty has an update on efforts
to reclaim the swamp.

There was enough sand
dredged up from the swamp

to bale up here on top,

and frankly, create some more
real estate and high ground.

And the cool thing
about sand...

is it drains.

We're this far away
from solving the flooding

on the backside
of this homestead.

That said,
time to clean up.

Clint!

-Sorry.
-[Deborah chuckles]

Don't be alarmed.
You're going to hear that
more than once.

[all laughing]

[Marty]
From this homestead,

we're taking trees down,
but what do you do with them?

If it's big enough
and if it has value,

and if there's a need
for lumber, you mill them.

It's a bonus.

Come on in.

We were very fortunate
to find this guy.

Thanks for coming.

You're more than welcome.

-Marty Raney.
-Marty, Frank Shotto.
Nice to meet you.

-Mike Haas. How you doing?
-Mike, nice to meet you.

How long have
you been in Florida?

I've been in Florida
since I was six.

-So, 20 years.
-That's a long time.

[chuckles] I wish.

[Marty] I got
a question for you.

-Okay, so we got some pine.
-[Frank] Mmm-hmm.

We've got some cedar,
we're calling it.

There's a number
of the cypresses.

[Marty] And what is this?

-Maple?
-[Frank] That's the maple.

These are indigenous hardwoods
that we deal with down here

from the Vero Beachline
in South,

which makes them
kind of rare.

I mean,
it's a pretty big country,
and it's the only portion

of the country
you're gonna find them in.

So we should be good
to mill all of this.

[Frank] Absolutely.

[Marty]
Maple trees are amazing,
but I prefer the cypress trees

because that tree
is more valuable.

Why? Bugs.

Because in Florida
they invade everything.

The good news is
we've just logged up
a bunch of cypress,

very close cousin
to the cedar tree.

A squared off
finished product.

What's really cool about cedar
and cypress trees...

is that they have
a very pleasant aroma...

at least to humans.

But to insects
and invasive bugs,

they hate the smell
of cedar and cypress.

It's a natural repellent.

Thank you. Thank you.

[Misty] All right.

Christina. Come!

[narrator] As Misty finishes
the safety boundary

separating the swamp
and the garden,

she calls over Christina
to discuss next steps
for the raised plant beds.

-Okay! How's it going?
-[Christina squeals]

Um, so, how's our buffer?

-I'm loving it.
-It's better
without the tall grass.

-Check this out.
-A lot better.

I gotta show you something.

So...

look at this.

There's like a trail.
A total trail right here.

I mean, if this doesn't say,
"gator game trail",
I don't know what does.

But you can see it
go all the way to the swamp...

-Right. In the water.
-...and we're super close
to the water.

-Oh, yeah.
-But...

At least we have
that eight foot barrier
where we can start working.

-Okay.
-And I have this crazy idea,

um, for a garden,
and it's time to get started.

-You ready?
-I'm ready.

Okay. Let's go.

I thought it was going
to be pretty easy
to find what I needed

to put this garden in,
but actually,
it's been really hard.

So we have been sourcing
this really weird material,

and I think I have enough
where we can
actually get started.

And hopefully,
Christina likes it.

We had a heck
of a time trying
to find, uh... these...

bathtubs.

-Bathtub.
-[Misty] So...
What do you think?

You like it?

Phew!

[Misty] This is
the first load of many.

-You ready?
-I am.

We had a heck of a time
trying to find these...

Bathtubs.

-[laughs] Bathtubs.
-[Misty] So... bathtubs.

It's no easy task
to garden in a swamp.

We're going to use
a bunch of bathtubs

that we've sourced
from junkyards
all over Florida.

Tie 'em together,
and we'll have
ready-made raised beds.

So the idea with the bathtubs
is to create a bathtub garden.

You have a low lying area,
that gets a ton of rain
to the point of erosion

and putting in anything else
that's not meant for water

is going to disintegrate,
wash away

and be like a,
a total waste of your time.

These things
are cast iron.

-Do you think anything
is getting through this?
-Nope.

I don't think so, either.

-What do you think?
-I love it.

-Do you like it?
-Yes.

It's way harder
than I thought
to find bathtubs in Florida

because we need so many.

But I'm gonna
take what I can get.

There was even
one on the homestead,

and we're gonna start
piecing this thing together.

I think me and you definitely
are taking this with us.

-You ready?
-I'm ready.

Obviously, there's a lot
of challenges

when you're trying
to garden in a swamp.

One being,
what's the material
that's going to last in water?

We're introducing
these cast iron tubs.

They're 250 pounds apiece.

And we're tying them
all together.

These things
aren't going anywhere,

and they're meant
and designed for water.

It would take
a lot of material and time
to build a bed this size.

-Okay.
-[Misty] The fact that
we already have one,

two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine,
ten bathtubs...

is amazing.

I absolutely
love the bathtub idea.

I think it's very unique.
I think it's different.

I think it's something
I've never seen
anybody try before.

When the Raneys
first got here
and we're going over,

you know,
our plans for the property,

we, of course, wanted
some sort of gardening
project going.

Uh, what we had in mind
is not even close
to what they had in mind.

And we just love
all their ideas.

Looks good, right?

[Christina]
Yes. Never would have
thought of this.

[Matt] All right.

Look at all this space.

This is looking
really clean.

[narrator] With the pole barn
finally cleared out,

Matt, Kat and Isabella
get to work
building their chicken coop.

Measure from the center
of that log
to the center of that log.

Okay. Drop the tape down,
all the way down.

No.

[all laugh]

These two girls are
not used to the construction
shorthand at all,

and they're taking everything
literally, as can be.

Which means
that they're listening.

Now that we know
the dimensions,

we've got to start
cutting some material,

slapping it up
and turning this thing
into an actual coop.

Tiptoe.

Check this out.

You want
a good digging tool?

You ever
played Minecraft?

-[both] Yeah.
-[Matt] A hammer.

Teaching these two girls
how to use tape measures
and speed squares

are just little building
blocks that build
into greater confidence...

so that they actually
have skills...

to help the homestead.

Check this out.

What does this look like?

[Katarina] Fake grass.

This is like a used
portable putting green

that we're going to upcycle

and turn into a really awesome
nesting bed because...

if it can roll a golf ball
easily across it,

than an egg's
not gonna have
any problem rolling out

into a nice little trough
where you can
collect the eggs.

Upcycling a putting green...

and using it
for a nesting box

where the eggs roll away
like a golf ball,

is one of my best ideas
I've had yet.

We want a chicken
to lay an egg

on this table

and basically,
be able to have
the egg roll out the back.

And so we need to tilt
this entire platform up.

The rollaway nesting box
has to be the right angle.

If it's too steep,
you're gonna have eggs

rolling out real fast
and breaking. And if
it's not steep enough,

they're not
gonna roll out.

Get the golf ball.

Here we go.

Here's the ultimate test.

Let him rip.

You think eggs are gonna
roll out of there real easy?

[Katarina chuckles]
That looks awesome.

I think
it's good for chickens.

[Marty] All right.
So who dug this trench?

Christina and I dug it
in a thunderstorm.

-During the storm,
soaking wet.
-Yeah.

-Soaking wet,
thunder and lightning.
-Lightning.

-For real.
-[chuckles] Yeah.

[Deborah]
Christina called me.
She was in tears.

The garage was flooding,
so Mike and I drove over here.

And he was sweeping it
out of the garage,

and Christina and I
came out with shovels
and started just digging...

towards the pond.

-[Marty]
That's a lot of digging.
-[Deborah] Yeah.

[Marty] Day one,
these homesteaders told me,

"Hey, come to the back
of the property.

"Look where all this flooding
is coming in."

Well, we have dug
a lot of material up...

built up the bank
and pretty much
fixed that problem.

But in the front of the house,
it's flooding, too.

Whoever built this house
40 years ago,

they didn't cut this grade,
this earth,

this high ground,
down low enough
to get this water away, and...

-Right.
-...a cool place to take it,
would be to that pond.

-[Deborah] Sure.
-[Marty] You did it by hand.

-[Deborah] Right.
-[Marty] But we have
equipment here now.

I could take the excavator
and install a French drain.

[narrator] The French drain,

named after
American agriculturalist,
Henry Flagg French,

typically consists
of a dirt trench

filled with
a low density material

like gravel, rocks or sand.

The combination allows
for a stable ground surface

that carries water
through the trench

away from building foundations
and other unwanted areas.

[Marty]
We'll cut some trenches,

connect them
to the very trench

that Christina and her mom
dug during the storm,

and try to carry rain
away from the house,

get it redirected
to the pond,

alleviate any more
flooding on the front.

Hopefully, we leave
these homesteaders
high and dry,

and that's a good thing.

-[narrator] On the Haas'
central Florida homestead...
- [reverse alarm beeping]

[Marty] You got it.

...Marty gets
a delivery that will play
a big role in flood proofing.

[Marty] So there's
no way that I'm ever
gonna dig a trench

or a French drain
until I find out what
I'm gonna put in that ditch.

Some kind of gravel,
some kind of sand,

something that
will collect that water

and allow that water
to move through it.

And in this case,
from the house to the pond.

So what do you
call this product?

-They actually call it cochi--
-Cochitos.

-Cochito.
So it's sand...
-Yeah.

-...and seashells.
-Sand and seashells.

-Sand and seashells.
-Yeah. Mostly. Yeah.

[Marty] And this is
a road base, right?

-Yeah.
-So anything
that's left over,

we can broadcast out here
and make a nice driveway
with it.

-Yes, exactly. Yeah.
-Okay.

-And walk it in
with the excavator.
-Yeah.

In Florida,
the custom thing to
put in that drain is...

It's crazy.

It's sand,
it's crushed up seashells.

It's amazing,
and we're this far away

from solving the flooding

on the front side
of this homestead.

So the next step,

I think we're going
to try to design
an electric fence

to keep alligators away
from the homestead.

Here we go.

Okay! We've got a place
for the chickens to sleep.

We've got a place
for the chickens
to lay eggs,

and we've even
made the chores

to keep these chickens
fed and watered

and collecting
the eggs a lot easier.

Let's go around
[imitates clucking]
ba-ba-ba-back...

and check out
our collecting tray.

Rollaway nesting boxes
are very useful because
they prevent the chickens

from getting broody
sitting on too many eggs,

because as soon
as they lay that egg,
the chicken gets up

and the egg rolls away
and collects into a nice
little trough outside.

So... this is the tray.

Open it up.

How does it look?

[chuckles] It looks cool.

Now that we have
a collection tray
for our roll out nesting box,

we're gonna test this
with some real eggs

and see if we can
get a hole in one.

All right, girls.
You ready for this?

-[both] Yeah.
-[Matt] Okay.

Three, two, one.

It didn't break!
That's awesome!

-[Isabella] Oh, my goodness.
-[Matt laughs]

[Matt clucks]

[Katarina] The way that
we built the chicken coop,

I do think our chores
will be much easier.

We just have to
go around the back
and open up the lid.

All right.
How did that go?

No broken eggs.

That's really cool.

It's hard work to homestead,
but it can also be pretty fun.

And your chickens
could be laying eggs,

but not even know that
they're playing mini golf.

[Marty] Hey, Mike, Deb,
come over here for a second.

[narrator]
With the storm and flood
prevention complete,

Marty has a uniquely
Floridian task
for Mike and Deb

that will test their ability
to help this homestead

long after
the Raneys leave.

What do retired people and
oranges have in common?

They thrive in the sun.

That said, once upon a time
on Christina's property,

there were a lot of orange
trees thriving in the sun.

I want to bring that back
to this family.

This is Mike Hale and
his sidekick Alexis.

We're all gonna learn
something, I'm sure.

[Hale] Okay,
lesson number one,

try to keep the dirt as close
to the hole as possible

-because we got to move
it back when we're done.
-Right.

Michael Hale, he's a
third-generation orange
farmer right here in Florida.

[Hale] When it
comes to the plant,
you don't want to go too deep.

This is the bud union.

This needs to be up as high
as possible off the ground.

[Marty] He came
to this location.
He's a neighbor.

Donated his time
and a few trees.

He wants to help
these people.

And this is an opportunity
to bring in another
food source.

[Mike] That's ten foot.

We're aiming at 12 feet
with the tree,

which should give any range
of 25 feet on each side.

[Marty] 25 feet?

-[Mike] Yep, but...
-No way.

Grapefruit like this one can
grow up to be, like,
100 feet tall.

[Deb] We're really learning
and absorbing so much.

These trees are gonna be
a great contribution
to the homestead,

from orange juice to
key lime pies. [laughs]

How often
do you water them?

[Hale] When you get them
established, couple times
a month, maybe.

Right, so during the rainy
season, we don't have
to do much?

[Hale] You don't
have to water them
at all. Yeah.

[Deborah] And that
makes fruit sweeter
when it's watered a lot, or,

-or juicier? That's
what I've always heard.
-Oh, actually opposite.

-Really?
-Yeah, it'll water
the fruit down,

the more water you
put on them.

Meaning, the more
the tree struggles, the more
everything's gonna taste good.

You don't want it to die,
obviously. But, like, if you
stress a tree,

then it's more likely
to reproduce with
a lot of fruit

-because it thinks
it's gonna die.
-Nice.

We didn't know that.

[Marty] What was
really cool is

getting all of that
third-generational
Florida farmer intel.

And now, I want
to put Deb and
Mike to the test.

How do you guys feel
about planting your own
orange trees?

-Great.
-Can you handle it?

[Mike] I can handle it.

-Here?
-Yep.

[Mike] All right.
So, this is 12 feet.

[Deborah] Means a lot
to us that Marty
sees this family trying

and that we're really
learning and

absorbing what everybody here
is telling us.

We've had so many people come
and offer us knowledge

so that moving forward,
we can have resources.

Looks amazing. You're done.

We're done.

[Marty] I've been
watching this family.

They're hard workers.

Christina found
this property.

Her parents immediately
became invested in
fixing the problems.

-You guys happy?
-[Deborah] We are.

[Marty] And they tell you
of how important family is,

and that no family is
ever left behind.

Now, a watched
pot never boils.

-[laughs]
-Right.

And a freshly planted
orange tree,

might take a couple of years
before it bears an orange.

-Let's go.
-All right.

Let's try and center this
by just eyeballing it

-because we have a little bit
of a live edge.
-[Christina] Okay.

[narrator] Across
the homestead,

Misty and Christina put
the finishing touches on
the bathtub garden beds.

-So, I have a question.
-[Christina] Yes?

[Misty] How is
your dad feeling today?
Is he doing good?

-He seems really happy.
-Oh, yeah. He is.

[Misty] I'm glad to have
your dad around.

He seems like a
really special guy.

I grew up watching my father
make repairs to the home and

build decks, and fix things
out in the garage.

My father helps with
painting and plumbing

and anything that
I need help with.

To be able to have that help
is wonderful and

we've made a pretty good
team with this.

-He's always over here
trying to help me and...
-[Misty] Yeah.

...you can tell it's not
easy for him.

He's got rheumatoid arthritis,
so his hand

will bother him sometimes.

Um, and they think he
might have early-onset
Alzheimer's, too, so...

Oh, no.

Have you seen
anything like that?

Um, we've noticed some changes
in him, in his behavior.

That's not good.

It's not good,
but like I said,
I'm glad I'm...

I'm close to home.
I'm here.

You know, him being right down
the road is just...

[chuckles] wonderful.

[Misty] I really like
where Christina is
at with her family first.

Christina's parents have
both been a huge help to her,
specifically Mike,

but that's gonna change due to
Mike's recent health concerns.

That knowledge is really
helpful for future plans
I want to do here, as well.

For me, the takeaway is
this garden has to be

doable, workable for her.

Okay, we're just gonna
get this flat.

I think this looks...

beautiful.

[Misty] This is
a single mom that's
made a lot of sacrifices.

There was a moment there
where she didn't get to,
like, live her dreams.

And I'm so excited just for
her journey to start back up.

Heck, yeah.

[Marty] Hello, family.

[narrator] With
daylight fading,

and Marty all finished with
homestead flood protection,

the Raneys gather at
the far side of the pond
to discuss next steps.

Christina obviously moved back
home to be with her family,
to be with Mike.

He's been remodeling
the house, and he does
a bulk of the...

the bulk of the
work around here.

But that could change
pretty quickly.

There's some
health concerns,

and they're thinking it's
early signs of Alzheimer's.

-[Marty] Who?
-Mike.

So, there's some
pretty heavy stuff.

I think for this family,
we need to keep in mind

doing something that Christina
could do on her own.

It has to be manageable
for her and the girls.

Very good intel.

I've been working with
Katarina and Isabella

and showing them
Construction 101.

We've turned half of that
pole barn into an actual barn,

really trying to make sure
that I can teach these girls

enough skills,

because this homestead
needs a lot of help.

[Marty] I spent
the last few days

focused only on flood control
and gator protection.

But now I think we should
switch gears,

and build something on
this property that we can't
build on any other homesteads.

We came here to help
this family, we came here
to help feed this family,

and it's just staring us in
the face every day.

I want to go out here,
survey the pond,

see how deep it is, get all
the data I can because
we're looking at

a legitimate protein
food source.

On that note,

there's another way,

to feed this family
with fish,

and it has nothing to do
with the pond yet.

It's very common down here
in Florida to raise fish

by the thousands,

right in your garage,
or right in your...

pole barn.

[Misty] Mmm-hmm.

[narrator] Raising fish
in a fish farm, also known
as aquaculture,

is a practice dedicated
to the breeding,

rearing, and harvesting
of fish primarily for food.

Fish farms can operate
in various aquatic settings,

including tanks and enclosures
with natural water bodies

like ponds, lakes,
or coastal areas.

It provides a controlled
environment for fish growth,

where they can be
fed, protected,
and easily harvested.

I'm not saying we could
feed the world,

but they will definitely have
more fish than they can eat,

fulfilling that dream,
that goal,

to feed their neighbors,

-their friends,
their community.
-Mmm-hmm.

So, I think that if you're
interested in that,
we'll pursue it.

Yeah, we've created a garden
for her and her family,

but how do we take it
to the next level?

Florida has the climate to do
something like that.

The problem is, can we do it
in a couple of days?

Because that's all
we have left.

Making a change this late
in the game...

These tanks need
to be moved.

...is really risky,

and I'm just hoping we can
finish on time.

[Marty] So, the question is,
is this water deep enough
to sustain fish?

-[water splashing]
-[Marty] Oh.

Something just surfaced
right there.

[Misty] All right.
Super pumped.

[narrator] It's day five
on the Haas homestead.

Misty and Christina have
framed their bathtub
garden beds

with bug-resistant cypress,
filling them to the brim,

and this ingenious
swamp-proof garden,

will soon be ready for plants.

I got a little worried with
the bathtub garden because

these bathtubs are ugly.

Thank goodness for
all this cypress.

Not only does it look amazing,
but it's bug resistant,

and the bathtubs are getting
us out of the swamp.

We're gonna throw some soil
and we're almost ready
to plant.

The yard looks completely
different today than it has.

All the work
that's going on,

the bathtubs going in,

you can really start seeing
the whole property transform.

[Misty] I love this.
So, when you
combine the cypress

with the cast iron bathtubs,

these are gonna last
a really long time.

[narrator] Five days ago,
the Haas homestead
was more swamp

than productive garden
or growing space.

Now, with the introduction
of several raised bathtub
garden beds,

Christina and her family
will be able to grow a wide
variety of produce

without fear of flood
or alligator assault.

So, I have an idea I want
to run by you. Right?

So, what is the nonprofit
in Florida?

We're trying to help people
with food security

as well as
educate them on how
to be self-sufficient.

Okay, and I love
that idea.

So, obviously, we've started
with our garden,

but I think we should also
be farming fish.

When you combine the two,

it is starting to
become a destination

place for the nonprofit.

And when it comes to just
being you and the girls,

I want it to be
this realistic thing.

I'm thinking something
small-scale that you grow
down the road,

hopefully with your community
and your nonprofit.

What do you think?

I love it.

I never imagined we would be
fish farming here.

We never thought of it as part
of the nonprofit and things
we were doing.

So, the fish are a great
source of food,

and I'm really excited
to get started.

[narrator] A fish farm
consists of three
crucial elements,

the tank, the filter, and
the pump, which when combined,

create a fully enclosed
self-sustaining system

The tank houses the fish
and their spawn,

while the pump cycles water
through the filter,

capturing impurities,
keeping the fish healthy.

Once the pond is
properly conditioned,

the pole barn farm
will expand operation

by moving fish into cages in
the homestead's main reservoir

maximizing their output.

To create a system that's
scalable for Christina

where she can grow
fish is key.

She can start them in
the tanks and then
move them to the pond

once my dad cleans it out.

We've got our work cut out for
us with just a few days left.

We could use a little help.

Come on in.

Christina reached out
to the community,
and here they are.

Hello.

We're really happy to see you
because we need help.

-Can you help?
-[all] Yeah.

For me, that's really
exciting, because
we have a ton to do.

But for Christina,
this is what her
nonprofit is all about.

We have so much work to do,
and we can't do it on our own.

-So, we welcome all the help
we can get at this point.
-Oh, yeah.

And I feel like we're gonna
kind of divide up.

Just jump in there.

So, I'll take a few
of you right now,

and then maybe the rest can
find Matt and my dad

and just say, "Hey, what
do you need from me,"
and just help them.

-You ready?
-[woman] Yes.

Okay, let's go.

We only have
a few days left.

we're starting a whole
new project in something
we've never even done before.

So, thanks to the amazing
community in Florida,

we're gonna get a ton of work
done and this is what
homesteading is all about.

It's about sharing and
experiences that you can have
with your community members.

And seeing it in real time
is really exciting.

Okay.

So, let me introduce you...

to Frank.

So, he's gonna help us put
this system together.

We ended up reaching out

for someone to come mill all
these cypress trees.

Come to find out, that same
person is actually,

like, an aquaponics master.

I need to fast-track
this thing and

Frank it is.

-We're gonna just
follow his lead.
-[woman] Okay.

[Misty] You have this system
at your house?

-Basically, you have
a tank of water.
-[Christina] Okay.

You have...

a number of milk crates
full of these lava rocks,
which is the magic.

That's what's gonna do
the biological filtration
of the water and keep

-the urines and the waste
and everything in check.
-[Christina] Okay.

So, we're ready
to get to work.

What is the first thing?

-Find the location
for the two tanks.
-[Misty] Okay.

I'm so glad the Raneys were
able to come out here.

Yeah, there you go back
and forth, right there, hold.

We were really struggling
before they got here and,

you know, now we're even
further ahead than we even
ever imagined we would be.

[Misty] We're gonna try
and get these tanks level,
but how exciting is this?

We're starting our fish farm.

What do you
think, Christina?

It's a huge
head start for us.

-Yeah.
-Literally a dream
come true.

-[Misty] Really?
-It really is.

I wouldn't have been
able to do this without
you guys, ever.

Never would have
been able to do this.

[Misty] Aw!

So, I appreciate it and...

I, I really love it.

[Misty] Aw!

I do. I am liking it.

This is really exciting.

Christina's sacrificed a lot
to be here in Florida

but I want to show her that
she can have what
she had in Hawaii,

maybe even more.

We're ready for rocks.

[Frank] That's it.

[Misty] Yes, water.

[birds screeching]

[Marty] We're gonna
test the waters,
as it were.

[narrator] In the middle
of the Haas family pond...

[Marty] It should be
real deep here.

...Marty investigates
to see if it can become
healthy enough

to accommodate a future
scaled-up fish farm.

[Marty] On day one,

I see a beautiful homestead
with a really cool pond,

but it's covered with
a heavy skim of algae.

Millions of ponds have
algae in them,

but when you get
to the point where
the algae is too heavy,

tipping the scales,

it can actually
kill the pond.

How deep is it?

No idea.

So, I'm doing
my own mapping.

[narrator] In order for a pond
or other natural body of water
to sustain life,

it must contain
adequate oxygen levels,

controlled nutrient levels,

and biodiversity.

In the case of a pond that
is out of balance,

bacteria consumes oxygen
to break down organic waste,

such as dead plant life
and algae.

The process leaves less oxygen
to sustain life,

leading to a cycle of death
and decomposition.

[Marty] Our goal
is to help this family
be self-sufficient.

And when it comes
to looking at that pond
for a food source,

I want to make sure that pond
is deep enough for fish.

I believe that a average depth
of five, six, seven feet
is deep enough,

but what
the pond doesn't have
is a clean surface.

This thing is so
full of algae.

Is it possible to get
rid of it?

Just eyeball it,

go over on this side,
just like that one over here.

Then do the same thing
with this one.

[narrator] Over
at the pole barn,

Matt continues teaching
the girls homesteading skills,

as they turn their attention
from the chickens
to the goats.

[Matt] The homesteaders
want goats,

not just to raise as pets,

but so that they can get
milk every day.

That requires
a milking station.

Getting the goat up
off the ground

makes it so that you can sit
at a comfortable height

and do all that work
day in and day out.

[drilling]

[saw whirring]

So, we finished a nice
little table, or a platform,

for our goat milking station.

Goats have a tendency to be
looked at as unruly and hard
to deal with.

And that's where
this stanchion part

comes into play.

Open up, put the bucket in,

drop some... drop some
imaginary feed.

Now, I'm a goat.

I'm, like, I want to
get that feed.

I'm gonna go in there.

And then that's when you...
[imitates chopping]

Put this on, put the rope on.

Like so...

And they're not gonna be able
to get out.

And the goat is gonna be,
like, I get to have
some goat feed.

None of the other goats
get to have goat feed.

I'm special.

I'm up on my little platform.

Building the goat milking
station with Matt was awesome.

I think the concept
is really cool.

This is just
another example

of how useful
upcycling is.

We upcycled materials,

built a very cheap,
but insanely

useful goat milking station.

But now, you've used
a lot more tools,

you've gained
a lot more skills.

Do you understand how to build
it enough to where you can be,

like, "Oh, yeah, I get it.
I could do that"?

Yeah, definitely.

Let's go.

[Misty] How's
it going, Frank?

[Frank] Hey,
good morning, Misty.

[Misty] Whoo,
good morning!

[narrator] As the sun rises
on the second-to-last day
of the rescue,

Misty has a change that will
dramatically upgrade
the fish farm.

[Misty] I'm so happy
to have you back.

[narrator] At the risk
of failing to finish
before she must leave.

So, I know we're
bringing tilapia here.
We got our pumps,

we have some
filtration, lava rocks.

I would like to not only farm
fish, but also farm veggies,

all in one aquaponics system.

So, we're taking it to
the next step.

-You can literally have
your entire dinner plate...
-Yes.

-Yes.
-...comes from
your backyard.

[narrator] The aquaponic
farming method combines

the act of raising fish,
aquaculture,

with the growing of plants
in water, hydroponics.

In this closed-loop system,

the fish waste provides
nutrients for the plants,

and the plants
help filter and purify
the water for the fish.

Because we're changing...

ideas a little bit,

-welcome to the homestead,
things change by the hour.
-Mmm-hmm.

I think these tanks need
to be moved,

and I think that these plants
are gonna need some sun.

-Yes.
-Okay.

-I'm so happy you're here.
Okay, so I guess we're moving.
-Good.

-We're moving.
-Let's do it.

Do it.

[Misty] Thank goodness
for Frank.

He's a wealth
of information.

He knows everything there is
to know about aquaponics.

He has a very similar system
in his front yard.

And with just days left,
somebody like Frank

is the most valuable thing
on this homestead.

[water splashing]

Right now, we're on
the north side of the barn.

We need to move
to the south side,
which is the sun,

and we'll be farming not only
fish, but also vegetables,

and vegetables need sun,
so these tanks got to move.

Okay, now you can see
it coming together.

[man] Yeah. Yeah.

[Misty] What I really
love about this part
of Florida,

it's very community based.

We're trying to feed Christina
and her family, obviously.

But she is a part
of something bigger.

The nonprofit and what
Christina has done in the past

is all community-based,
it's community-reliant.

Right there, right?

Seeing it all come together
in real time right now

is really, really special.

So, for Christina to have
this amazing aquaponic system

is actually
the perfect solution.

But making a change
this late in the game
on any build

is really risky

and I'm just hoping
we can finish on time.

-Good?
-We got one.

[banjo music playing]

-[Matt] You guys using
these tires for anything?
-[Katarina] Nope.

I have a really good idea

that I know
the goats are gonna love.

[narrator] At the back
of the pole barn,

Matt shows Isabella and Kat
an inventive way

to create enrichment
for their future livestock.

What do you know about goats?

Not much. We've never had
goats in the past.

Well, guess what?

Goats are very playful.

They love to climb.

And a big part
of keeping livestock happy

is having something fun
for them to do

that they like to do
in their pen.

I have an amazing idea
for these tires
that's gonna be fun

and it's gonna be a way
to upcycle them

and turn them into
something the goats
are really gonna use.

-You into it?
-Yeah.

-Yeah.
-[Matt] Okay, follow me.

As soon as I looked
at that pile of tires,
the wheels started turning.

A lot of livestock
benefit from something
that's called enrichment.

Makes them happier
and more productive.

And we're gonna
upcycle those tires

into something that's gonna be
really fun for the goats.

Who's ready
to have a tire race?

-[Katarina] What?
-What?

[Matt] So here we go.

Okay. On your marks.

I'm on uneven grounds.
This isn't fair.

-Get set!
-[Katarina sighs]

-Go!
-[upbeat banjo music playing]

[Matt laughing]
Why am I so far behind?

-[Isabella panting, laughing]
-[Matt laughing]

Oh, no. Oh, no!

Your sister's gone too far.

Argh!

[panting] What do I get?
What do I win?

Put your hand up like this,

turn it like this,

reach around...

-and start patting yourself
on the back. [laughs]
-No, no!

[Matt] All right,
let's put 'em together,
like flat...

We're gonna take
all these tires,

stack 'em up like a pyramid,
fill 'em with sand

and they're gonna have
an awesome little mountain
to play on

that they're gonna love a ton.

Okay. That's how
we'll do it.

I'm gonna hop
in that thing,

get some dirt

-and fill this row of tires.
-[Katarina] All right.

[excavator whirs]

Teaching Katarina and Isabella
about upcycling is easy

because all you have to do
is use your imagination.

These girls are still young,
they're in middle school.

They got all kinds
of imagination

and I'm showing 'em the way.

Don't fall.

It's like quicksand.

You want it to squish
and then flatten out,

so it goes
in those wheel wells.

Try to fill those tires.

-I think we can go
a little bit higher.
-All right.

Filling those tires with sand
really did the trick.

Do you like it?

-Yes.
-It looks like a cake.

We both did enjoy
working with Matt a lot.

He made working
a lot of fun.

I didn't think
I'd ever be saying that,

but here I am.

Boom.
All of our powers combined.

Thanks for your help.

[pleasant music playing]

[Marty] Let's talk
about a few things.

[narrator] It's the Raneys'
final day

on the Haas homestead
in central Florida.

Have you guys ever thought
about cleaning this pond up?

A lot. [laughs]

-[Marty] You have?
-Oh, yeah.

[narrator] And with time
running out,

Marty presents the family
with an innovative idea

to breathe new life
into their pond

that could maximize output
for their eventual fish farm.

[Marty] It's windy,
but it gives me a nice visual

-of what the pond
could look like, right?
-Yeah.

My dad gave me some
herbicide spray that,

you know,
it doesn't harm the fish.

Did it work?

It cleared up a small,
small area, but not...

-And then it just
kind of comes right back.
-[Deborah] Came right back.

[Marty] Well, there's a lot
of ponds in Florida.

But not everyone is getting
full use out of their pond.

-[Christina] Right.
-So...

We found a couple of guys
that actually clean ponds
for a living

and they're
pulling in right now.

-Okay. [laughs]
-Oh, wow!

Thanks for coming.

-Bryan and...
-Nice to meet you.

-Paul.
-[Marty] Paul.

This is the family.

So, tell us
what you can do.

[Bryan] So, I can install
a machine that makes
ultra-fine bubbles.

That will energize
bacteria in the water,

so the bacteria
will eat the muck.

Everything that's alive
needs oxygen to live.

If you have
organic waste in there,

like when
the grass clippings and stuff

go like into the water,

it takes oxygen
to decompose that.

The fish need that oxygen

and then,
if the fish don't have oxygen,

then they die

and then you have to use
more oxygen to decompose them.

So once it starts
going bad,

-it just continues
to go bad.
-Right.

[Bryan] Nothing is
gonna be healthy,
nothing's gonna live.

So, we put bubbles in there
and we'll get it all fixed.

And then we'll be able
to pull our equipment out

and just do
regular maintenance in it.

Awesome.

So, the pond has never had
an aeration system

or probably never
been cleaned before

or skimmed.

-Yep.
-So, does your system
combat this?

Yes, because our bubbles
are smaller,
there's more surface area.

So, it's more efficient
and more effective.

-[Christina] Nice.
-[Matt] That's cool.

[Paul] Fish will love this.

The fish thrive with a higher
increase in oxygen.

So, they'll feed longer,
they'll grow bigger

and it's completely safe.

You're confident?

-[Bryan] Yes.
-[Paul] Totally confident.

[Marty] Is it cool?

-Very cool. [laughs]
-[Mike] Yeah.

-[Marty] On that note,
let's get started.
-Okay.

-Thank you very much.
-Get to work! Get to work!
That's cool.

Come on, little darlings.

[captivating music playing]

All right.
Today is a big day.

These two sisters,
Isabella and Katarina,

have worked a ton.

They've helped me
out immensely

and these two girls
are finally gonna see
the fruits of their labor.

Good.

[Katarina] Aw.
They're so tiny.

Wait, how many coats
are we dropping off right now?

-I think there's eight.
-Eight?

[Katarina] Having the goats
arrive today,
it's pretty awesome.

Goats are really cute.

[Matt] Here's yours.

[Isabella] It was fun
holding the goats.

Look at them.

[Katarina] Aw,
aren't they cute?

Especially the baby ones.
I like the baby goats.

-[goat bleats]
-[Matt] Bring 'em
all the way in.

-Just set it down.
-[goats bleating]

[Matt] Okay. Come on.

[bleating]

[Matt] Okay.
Goat mountain, here we go.

Seeing the goats
get up onto the tires

onto the goat mountain
and playing up there

is really what
this is all about.

If you had to name
one of these goats right now,

which one would you pick
and what would you name it?

Um, the, um,
black baby goat there,

-I would name it Midnight.
-[Matt] Nice.

I thought you were gonna
pick out the brown one

that has the beard
and you were gonna
name it Matt.

[both chuckle]

Yeah, we have
chickens, too.

All right,
let's get some chickens.

-[upbeat music playing]
-[Katarina] Chickens
coming through.

[Matt] Okey dokey.
All right, get it inside.

[chirping]

[Matt] Okay, so...

I'd just open it
and then you come out.

As soon as we got
the livestock inside the barn,

we had some chores to do.

Time to feed these chickens.

[clucking]

You wanna dump
that whole thing
right in that trough.

I wanna make
the chores easy.

Collect the eggs
from the outside.

Feed the chickens
from the outside of the coop.

And just make those chores
that these girls are gonna
be doing day in and day out

that much more manageable.

[chirping]

[Katarina] Oh, no. The goats.

[Isabella] No!

-[laughing]
-[Katarina] Get the goat.

-Get the goat!
-[Matt] We're gonna
make a cover for that.

This is the first thing
we started building

and I think this is one
of the finest chicken coops

that I've ever built
on any homestead.

Pretty awesome.

What was your favorite part
about building
this chicken coop?

Building the nesting box.

I like the idea
of the eggs rolling down

and pretty special
because we helped build it.

These chickens
could lay an egg every day,

giving you amazing protein
that's healthy

and It's gonna be food
coming right from
your own homestead

for you and for anybody
that you wanna help
feed themselves in the future.

[narrator] Seven days ago,

the Haas family
had no livestock,

no protein source
on the homestead

and a large pole barn
with untapped potential.

Now, they have
a brand new chicken coop,

goat pen and milking table,

along with the knowledge
to raise their livestock

and maintain
a fruitful homestead.

Does it feel different
having animals in here?

-Definitely.
-This is awesome.

[clucking]

[Marty] We gotta get cracking.
Let's go.

We got a fence to put in.

[chainsaw revving]

[narrator] At the edge
of the newly built berm,

with time running out
on the homestead,

Marty uses
some Alaskan ingenuity

to keep Florida's predators
at bay.

[Marty grunts] I got
the heavy end.

Go.

Owen,
reach over there, please.

Okay, so,

remember that first day
we cut all that cypress?

We milled
the big part of it,

we saved the tops
all the way down to that big.

Why? It's all valuable.

You can drive that
in the ground,
have a great fencepost.

So, nothing was wasted.

Let's go.
Quick, quick, quick.

Watch yourself.

Done. Next.

Twenty feet. Go. Go.

Put it in there. Go.

Okay. Next.

Got it?

Next.

Good job.

Yep.

Let's go.

Okay. That'll work.

Thank you.

You see how easy they are
to drive in the ground, right?

Doesn't take all day
to do a day's work.

All right, next.
A few more, a few more. Whoo!

[pleasant music playing]

Hey, Misty?

Aren't you supposed
to be in the excavator?

I saw you relaxing
and I thought, "Hey, why not?"

[sighs in relief]

Wow, this is incredible.

We might be onto something.

This is the most comfortable
I've ever been in my life
and I'm not kidding.

I'm gonna get one of these
for my yard.

I'm gonna get one of these
for my living room.

[both laughing]

[Misty] Hey, Clint.
Take a load off.

-Hey.
-[Misty] Oh.

[all laughing]

Clint!

What you guys don't realize
is that mine's full of water

and I have no pants on.

[Misty] La-la-la-la
la-la-la-la-la.

[country music playing]

[Marty] We can start
by putting in our insulators.

[narrator]
On the Haas homestead
in central Florida...

Working our way down
the fence line.

...Marty adds
one more line of protection

between the homestead
and the swamp's alligators.

[Marty] Here's the thing
about fences.

When you build one,

you're either keeping
something in

or you're keeping
something out.

What am I keeping out?

I'll give you
a couple of clues.

Boots and purses.

So, we're building
an electric fence for gators.

And if you're a gator

and 70% of your body
is in that water,

and your nose or face or head
hits an electric fence,

I mean, you're grounded

and you're gonna get
the shock of your life.

See you later...

alligator.

[upbeat music playing]

[Misty] We'll plant
the plants right into
the lava rocks.

The roots will reach down
and grab the water they need.

[Matt] Put a classy
putt handle.

[whirring]

This is the final day
on the homestead

and we have
a lot of stuff to do.

-[Frank] There you go.
You ready for fish?
-[Misty] We're ready.

Whoa, here they go.

So, I'm assuming I gotta
make it over to the water.

-[Frank] Yes.
-[Misty] Okay.

[Frank] Farthest tank back.

-[Misty] Oh, my gosh,
Christina.
-[Christina laughs]

[Misty] Look at 'em.

The stakes have been
high this week

because we're trying
to feed Christina
and her family, obviously.

But she is a part
of something bigger.

And for me, that is what
homesteading is all about.

Let's go grab the big one.

It's the giving and the taking
from your neighbors

um, and just showing up
for people in need.

Last one.

[guitar music playing]

-Dinner in the backyard.
-Oh!

You have a full plate of food
between the fish

and the veggies.
It's all here.

[Christina] Awesome.

[Misty] This aquaponics system
is this never-ending loop,

this never-ending cycle

that's just mimicking
what you see in nature.

You're feeding the fish,
the fish are feeding
your plants,

the fertilized water
and it just continues.

What I love about it
is it's simple
and it's scalable

and it's manageable
for you and the girls.

And I think for the nonprofit,
for people to see
how simple this could be

with whatever they have
lying around

-is really important.
-Exactly.

[Misty] When we first
got here, like, to hear

that she put everything
on pause for her family,

including her dad,

that's huge.

But now, guess what?
We pushed play.

She's got dinner
in her backyard.

She's raising fish, plants.

The technique
and the garden setup

are very manageable for her

and they're scalable.

[narrator] A week ago,
the Haas homestead was home

to more alligators
than plants or produce.

Now, with the introduction
of an aquaponic fish farm
ripe for expansion,

the family can farm both
a sustainable protein source

and a wide variety of produce
for themselves
and community members in need.

This is very manageable,
it's very simple.

We can use this to show people
and educate them

and then we can always
expand and grow from here.

We certainly are gonna
thrive with everything
the way it's set up.

This is more than
we had ever dreamed of.

With the fish, even,
that's a big step up for us,

not only as homesteaders,
but as a nonprofit.

We're really gonna be able
to help people
with all this stuff.

I'm very happy.
I am very, very happy.

Any regrets
in calling us here?

-Not one. Not a single one.
-[both laughing]

[Marty] I don't know
what real estate's
worth in Florida,

but I wanna believe
we gained you
a little real estate.

Yes, definitely.

Well, and just standing here,
you can see

that the water's gonna
trail off and go
right back to the pond.

It's expanded all of this,

so it's gotten
all the predators

far enough away
from the house so that
they can see 'em coming.

Before, none of this was clear
all the way
up to the watershed.

That said,
let's talk about that.

I really love this pond.

This is kind of
state of the art,

not your average,
run-of-the-mill aerator.

I think I can see
a difference already.

[Marty] If you take
what's happening
in that barn serious...

[Mike] Mmm-hmm.

...this could be
a tilapia farm.

-[Deborah] Yes.
-Here.

-Yeah. A lot bigger scale.
[laughs]
-[Deborah] Mmm-hmm.

[Marty] A lot bigger scale,
only time will tell,

-but it's there
for the taking.
-Right.

We're really excited
about the pond.

The fact that aeration system
is cleaning the pond

and getting it to where
we can have fish in there

and to where
there's not so much cover
for alligators to hide

and that type of thing
is really important.

We're super happy
about that.

[narrator] Seven days ago,

the Haas homestead
was dominated by swamps,

leaving them prone
to flooding

and allowing
unwanted predators
on the property,

while their pond
was a dead zone.

Today, the pond has
new life breathed into it

and will soon be ready
to farm fish.

Large areas of swamp
have been replaced
with high-standing dry land,

which increases
the homestead real estate

and acts as a buffer
against flooding,

while an electric fence
built with upcycled
cypress trees

will keep alligators
off the homestead,
where they belong.

[Marty] Look at that.
What's that?

[Deborah] That's
a snowy egret?

-[Marty] Hey.
-Yeah?

That's a good sign.

-Yeah.
-He's looking for a meal.

[all laughing]

[Marty] Well...

All good things
must come to an end.

Look behind you.
What do you see there?

-[Deborah laughing] A gator.
-[Christina] A big old gator.

That little piece of, uh,
lawn art isn't done.

Stay right there.

[all laughing]

[Katarina] Oh, my gosh.

-[Matt] Wow.
-[Misty] Dad.

[Katarina] That's awesome.

-Okay, come on over
here family. What's it say?
-Oh, my gosh.

[Christina and Deborah]
See ya later, alligator.

-Exactly.
-[all laughing]

-[Christina] Love it.
-All right.

Let's head for the truck.

This week has been
life changing for our family

and it's because
of your family.

Everything that you have done
has been such a blessing

and such a transformation
from what we had

and what we were doing,
because we didn't think
we could do it. So...

-And now?
-[Deborah] Now we
can do it.

-[laughing]
-Yeah, absolutely
can do it.

-Are you happy?
-[Christina] I am very happy.

There's so much more
than we ever expected

and it's really gonna
help so many people.

[Mike] It's been great.
I've learned a lot.

We reclaimed so much land
that we didn't
and couldn't use.

I feel safer for them
now that you pushed
that back.

We can see anything coming.
I don't have to worry
so much about them.

There's no way
I could have done this.

[laughs]

My parents
are extremely excited.

They know how upsetting
it's been that we haven't
been able to do anything,

uh, because
of certain circumstances.

And now that they see
how much easier
this is gonna be for me.

It's just wonderful.

It's kind of unique
to find three generations

all working
hand in hand.

You're very blessed,
Christina.

So, thank you very much.

I feel like we
gained another family.

-[laughs]
-Aw!

Can I thank you now?

-Yes, you can.
-[both laugh]

[Matt] Group hug?
Thank you, girls,
for all the help.

[Katarina and Isabella] Mmm.

[Marty] It's not every day
you meet someone that says,

"My mission
is to help other people."

We focused on helping
Christina help herself first,

but be successful enough
to help others.

I think we got
to that place.

Thanks to all
of the Floridians
that came to our support.

[Misty] Bye.

-[honking]
-[Christina laughs]
Thank you.

[upbeat country music playing]

[Christina] Here are
the raised garden beds.

We got a bunch
of vegetables out of them.

Katarina working out here.

Electric fence
is working great.

We haven't lost any animals.

The goats are doing great.

Two of our goats had kids,

so, we have
four new baby goats.

And my little nephew
is holding
our newest baby goat.

-Chickens just started
laying eggs...
- [clucking]

...a couple weeks ago,

so we get fresh eggs
every day.

We actually got
our aquaculture license.

We also added ducks,
geese, turkeys.

She's been filled with
a renewed sense of energy
and hope

and being able to do it
and accomplish it by herself

-as a single mom,
without relying on us.
- [bleating]

[Deborah] And she
is doing amazing.

-[crickets chirping]
-[frogs croaking]