[Marty] You're not living
the homesteader lifestyle.
You're gonna have
to make a decision.
Do you wanna be on-grid
or off-grid?
[Misty] You're a vegetarian
with no garden.
This is, like, a bad joke.
[Marty] Get some tools.
Get some action.
Let's hop it.
[Jasper]
Okay. Let's do this thing.
Here we go!
[Marty]
We gotta get you water.
Come on.
[Marty] We gotta get you
growing food.
[groans]
[Marty] And we gotta get
off-grid for good.
There's just so much
pressure on the homesteaders,
it's breaking them.
Fear of the unknown, man.
It's gonna be
a little bit difficult,
but I can do it.
[Marty] Homesteads are a work
in progress.
[grunts]
[Misty] Marty!
[Marty] I'm not gonna know
until we try.
This is beyond anything
that I've thought about.
It's just down
to the wire, man.
We work every second we can,
trying to help
complete strangers.
That's who we are.
[country music playing]
[Marty] Look around, kids.
Beautiful Tennessee,
which is known
for three things.
Music, moonshine,
and the Great Smoky Mountains.
It's a good place
to be running from the law.
[Matt]
That was a lot of the reasons
why people moved out here.
They could be off, secluded,
make their money
off their land.
If you pull out
that handkerchief,
it looks like you're ready
to rob a stagecoach, okay?
Yeah. Matt looks like
he makes moonshine.
He's gonna make a moonshine
back here
over the last 40 years.
[Matt laughs]
[narrator] The Raneys journey
into the timbered foothills
of the Smoky Mountains.
This rugged and steep
Appalachian landscape
has a rich heritage
of logging,
tobacco farming,
and bootlegging.
With mild summers that
give way to freezing winters,
this region offers
thousands of miles
of untamed wilderness.
It is on the edge
of civilization
in this harsh environment
that a three-generation
family struggles
from their continued reliance
on the grid.
My name's David.
This is my fiancee Steffanie.
We live on about 10 acres
with my mother, Roxanne.
[Steffanie] And my son Jasper.
[narrator] Two years ago,
David and Steffanie
bought an RV
to travel the country
in search of their
dream home.
Roxanne joined in hopes
of having
the perfect retirement.
And they purchased
nearly 10 acres of land
in rural Tennessee.
So our dream coming
on to this property
was to have the most
off-grid homestead.
We wanted to be
self-sufficient
in providing the foods
that we eat.
Even though
we're on 10 acres,
we're trapped right here
on a half acre,
because we're tethered
to the grid.
As a result,
that's isolated us
away from
where our water source is
because of the mountain
in between.
We're stuck on land that
we can't do anything with.
It's very muddy.
A lot of cloud
and tree coverage.
So, nothing has been
an easy clean simple fix.
We have a beautiful spring
on the property,
but the reservoir is open
to water runoff, animals.
It's just a mud hole, really.
And algae bloom makes sludge
on the bottom
of our holding tanks.
We're not even sure
if it's safe
to be brushing our teeth
with or showering with.
That's just disgusting brown.
We have to go down
the community center
to get our drinking water.
We've been really battling
with the freezing temperatures
and power outages that
we're not equipped to handle.
It's really cold.
One night it was, like,
below 2 degrees.
And it snows a lot out here.
[Steffanie] We are vegetarian,
means that our protein source
from eggs
is number one priority,
but we have not been able
to have chickens
because we're scared
of predators.
We haven't had
a successful garden.
[David] The land that's all
just rock and clay,
barely sunlight.
It's a constant struggle,
trying to tackle
these bigger issues.
[Steffanie] I don't think
that we're gonna last
another winter here.
Raneys,
please help save our dream.
[country music playing]
Well, there's two RVs.
[Misty]
There's a little kid. Yay.
-Hey, guys.
-[Marty] Hello.
-Hey, hey.
-[Steffanie] Welcome.
[Marty] Is it always
this nice in Tennessee?
-This is lovely.
-[Steffanie] Sometimes.
-Just breathe into it.
-Usually.
Well, just getting here,
there was a crazy storm
yesterday.
-There was.
-[David] Yeah.
It's pretty rough.
We're still
without power right now.
-So, you're on the grid.
-[Steffanie]
We're on the grid.
-[David] Yeah.
-And there's a power out?
-[Steffanie] Yup.
-So, where do you live?
-I live there.
-[Misty] Yeah.
So, you live here.
Where do you guys live?
We live right over here
in this RV.
[Steffanie]
And if you guys wanna come
and see Jasper's house.
[Matt]
You have your own house?
Yes.
Wow. I've never heard of that.
How old are you?
-Ten.
-[Matt] Wow.
Well, there's a reason
why we're here.
-[David] Yeah, absolutely.
-Why did you call us here?
When we began this journey,
we agreed as a family
this would lead us
to a better life.
But we're spending
a lot of time on basic things
rather than making
our homestead flourish
so that Jasper can really live
on a homestead
that we had envisioned
for him.
I came into his life
when he was three years old.
It kills me for Jasper
to have to experience
all these struggles
that we get into.
We want him to be able
to find joy in it
and really desire
this just as much as we do.
And also, this definitely
isn't the retirement
that I envisioned for my mom.
We've always taken care
of each other
and had a real good bond
of not just mother and son
but best friends.
When I was 11,
we left Florida
because we were
in an a*usive situation.
Growing up,
I watched my mom...
struggle with
healthy relationships.
And now that
she's getting older,
I just wanna make sure
that I'm there for her
in every way I can.
[Roxanne] David does his best.
If something breaks down,
he has to repair it.
And it is a lot on David,
and he does get stressed.
[Steffanie]
When we bought the land,
it was completely raw,
completely undeveloped.
And we've done
all the developing
besides our power pool.
[David] I dug a reservoir.
And we put everything
into getting the road put in
that goes
right into our spring,
but it takes
so much to maintain
these big projects.
And it feels like any time
we take one step forward,
we're taking two steps back.
It's wearing on us.
And it just feels like
we're failing
before we've even got
a chance to begin.
[Steffanie] We put our
blood, sweat, and tears
into this property.
It can't fail.
[country music playing]
[Marty] This is steeper
than a cow's face.
[David] Yeah.
[Marty] And the water line
keeps going.
-[David] It does.
-[Marty] Is that the tank?
[David] That's it.
That's the holding tank.
[Marty] That's a 250
gallon tank, right?
[David] Yes, sir.
[Marty]
So, what's the problem?
The filtration process
isn't good enough
to take everything out of it.
And the sun creates
an algae bloom on the side
and it will grow if I'm not
on top of it all the time.
And this isn't
the water source.
The rest of it is downhill
to get to the actual spring.
It doesn't matter what
homestead that I pull into.
I'm looking for the basics.
And from what
I've seen so far,
they don't have water
figured out.
I hope that
the spring looks better.
Otherwise, we're in trouble.
[David] This is the reservoir
for the...
At the spring head.
Would you drink that water?
-No, sir.
-Okay. Either would I.
So, this is probably not
representative
of what this
spring's producing.
-Correct.
-Okay.
So, a lot of water's
raining in,
-running down the mudline.
-All the time. Yes, sir.
Okay. You spent a lot of time
and effort, money
on this side of the property.
Then, why aren't you
over here?
On the other side
of the property,
we have electricity.
It was quick and convenient,
and you could have
affordable power.
Exactly.
-But I love it out here.
-It's beautiful.
[David] Yeah.
I love it out here.
[country music playing]
[Steffanie] So, here is
our strawberry patch.
[Misty] This is the garden
right here?
[Steffanie] Yeah.
It's a pretty sad
garden space.
[Misty] It is sad.
We have attempted
to grow tomatoes
on the other side
of Roxanne's house.
It's probably
the most successful
gardening food source
that we've planted.
We're vegetarian.
[Misty] You're a vegetarian
with no garden?
[Steffanie] With no garden.
Ridiculous.
[Misty]
This is, like, a bad joke.
It is a bad joke.
What are the challenges?
[Steffanie]
Well, there's a lot of clay.
Having a lot of crops
to haul water for every day
and our own drinking water is,
kind of, daunting.
So, this is your
water line, right?
This is our water line.
-[Misty]
Okay. So, does it work?
-[Steffanie] It does work.
Are you able to water
a garden with this line?
-Yes.
-[Misty] Do you have power?
The water line isn't dependent
on electricity
because we gravity-feed it
from the top of the mountain.
But you have to have power
to pump the water
to the top...
-Correct.
-of the mountain, correct?
[Steffanie] The power pole
isn't reliable.
Sometimes
it just shuts off randomly.
We came out here, we're like,
"Oh, yeah,
we'll just have water.
We'll just have electricity,"
and didn't really think
through all the challenges
and difficulties it takes
to get to that step.
Just the amount
that you scratched out here,
-I know what that took.
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
Um, but for me, like,
look at how tight
this space is.
[Steffanie] It is.
You're working this close
to the line?
Man, if you kicked up
with a rake or...
-[Steffanie] Yup.
-[Misty] Shovel.
Do you worry about Jasper?
It's scary especially with
how many downed trees
with the windstorms.
So, that's another reason
why we're like,
"Do we want a garden here?"
-No. No, you don't...
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
-[Steffanie] Right.
-is the answer.
-[Steffanie] Okay. [chuckles]
-Yeah, no way.
I'm looking at a tiny
little area for the garden.
It's pretty far away
from the water source,
and it doesn't get
a lot of sun.
On top of that, there's just
not one piece of produce.
The only reason they're here
is because of that power.
For me, that's a problem.
I don't even wanna stand here
because I'm, like, so nervous,
because I'm so close
to these lines.
My gosh. I'm gonna duck
because my hat
is gonna hit them.
[country music playing]
[Matt] Okay.
So, where exactly do you have
these little baby chicks at?
[Jasper] Inside the camp.
And they're right there.
Oh.
One, two, three, four, five.
There's a little picture
of you in there.
[Jasper] Yes.
That's for the chicken's
viewing pleasure?
Yeah. They also
like to imprint on me.
-[Matt] Oh, really?
-Yeah.
-They're getting big.
-[Jasper] Yes.
I'm taking care of them,
so there's much project.
You like raising livestock?
Yeah.
The best thing about chickens
to me are the eggs.
-[Roxanne] Yes.
-[Jasper] Yes.
We eat eggs.
And the price of food
is expensive right now.
[Jasper] Yes.
[Matt] So, anybody that
has chickens that lay eggs
have a real big advantage.
You know, I never met
a 10-year-old that was like,
"Hey, check me out.
I got my own chickens,
and I got my own house."
Wow.
This whole place is yours?
-[Jasper] Yes.
-[Matt] Whoa.
So, wait a minute.
You sleep in here
all by yourself
and you're not scared
or nothing?
[Jasper] No, I'm not scared,
because I have these lights.
Has it been hard
living out here
-the last couple years?
-[Jasper] Yeah.
Well, it's not like
we're in a city
and we have everything
and there's, like,
all these snowstorms
and different weather.
The power goes out?
Yup, all the time.
Well, especially last night.
-[Matt] Wow.
-And it was cold.
-Yeah.
-[Matt] I gotta tell you,
you are one tough kid.
I don't know
if I could sleep in here
when I was 10 years old.
Jasper is incredibly
independent.
It's inspiring to meet kids
that are into homesteading.
It makes me excited
for the future,
for this family,
and homestead.
Now would be
a really good time
for me to go talk to my dad
and my sister, Misty,
and see how we can help
all of you
the best we can
while we're here.
All right?
-[Jasper] Okay.
-[Roxanne] All right.
[Matt] Cool.
[country music playing]
Everything they're doing
is not homesteading.
There's no space.
There's no reliable water.
The power, everything.
I do not like
that location at all.
The whole 10 acres
of the homestead is over here.
It's real simple.
Do they wanna get off the grid
and move to this side
of the mountain?
I don't know if they're ready
for it or prepared.
I mean, you can just drive
two of the houses
on this property
wherever you want.
But their 10-year-old son
has his own cabin.
It's not on wheels.
Let's just go find the family
and see if they have
the big answers.
Yeah.
[narrator] Before the Raneys
can help the Agerkop-Clarks
fulfill their dream
of a fully self-sustaining
homestead,
the family must all choose
to pull the plug
and move off the grid
to the more hospitable side
of the mountain.
[Marty] Okay, family.
We still have some
really big questions.
You're not living
the homesteader lifestyle.
There's a power pole
right there.
And you guys are on the grid.
You might think
it's a benefit,
but staying on the grid
is k*lling this homestead.
We gotta get you chicken.
We gotta get you growing food.
We've gotta get people
comfortable
with off-grid power,
off-grid water.
[Misty] You have 10 acres
that you're not utilizing.
And there's not enough space
here to do anything.
We have to get to work.
And I'll tell you right now,
it's not gonna be right here.
Yeah.
I discovered
the best spot
on that side of the property,
on that side of the ridge,
was a flat area.
Beautiful.
So, do you guys want it?
Unplug from that
and go off-grid
on the other side
of this mountain.
We're really nervous about
unplugging from the grid,
even though the grid
is unreliable,
-but it was our anchor to...
-[David] Yeah.
[Steffanie] some kind of...
-Safety. And security.
-Yeah.
We'll see you in the mornin'.
All right. Thank you.
-Take it easy.
-See you in the mornin'.
-See you guys later.
-Okay.
-[Steffanie] Drive safely.
-Thank you.
-[Steffanie] Bye-bye.
-[David] See ya.
[Matt] Bye-bye.
[country music playing]
[Marty] All right, family.
It's a brand-new day
in the smoky mountains
of Tennessee.
You've had a evening
to think about things?
Are you guys ready to unhook
from the power
that's on this property,
move to the other side of a...
The mountain, and go off-grid?
My concern is,
to have heat in my place
and AC in the summertime,
because it does get hot
and it does get cold.
What are we gonna do here?
I know that
it's for the better,
but we're making it work now
with what we have,
but I know that
there's gonna be a point
where it has to be done.
So...
we're ready to move forward
with it.
Ready to get us moved
on another side,
with the spring,
in the valley.
[Steffanie]
We came out here with a dream
of being self-reliant.
The future is being off-grid
and being disconnected.
That's what we're paying for.
-Yeah.
-That's what we saw.
So, these homesteaders
have just decided
to move off-grid
to that side of the mountain.
But before they do,
we need to set them up
as homesteaders.
We need to provide
a protein source,
clean-drinking water,
somewhere to grow food,
and...
last but not least, power.
I'm very excited to move out.
I would like to move out,
have more space to go play.
On this homestead,
you've got the only house.
Yeah.
That means,
we gotta move your house.
Yeah.
Anything that we build
is gonna be over there.
-Yeah.
-That said,
raise your hand
if you wanna be a homesteader.
Yes.
-[Steffanie] We're doing it.
-Yes.
[Marty] Okay.
Which means
we've gotta get to work.
[David] Yes, sir.
[Misty] I love the fact that
you guys decided to move.
[narrator]
Up in the off-grid 10 acres,
Misty shows Steffanie
the perfect location
for a new garden area.
You have an amazing
growing season, in this area.
So, the potential
and the amount of food
you can grow
is pretty substantial.
All four of you
are vegetarians.
[Steffanie] Yes.
That's a lot of mouths to feed
with some lettuce.
It is a lot of vegetables.
[laughter]
So, I would love to do
a greenhouse
and a garden space,
and really blow out
a big area.
-Does that sound good?
-Yeah.
With Misty here,
I'm so excited
about the possibility
of having a garden.
It's one of the projects
in the homestead
that I have just not had
the resources
to accomplish successfully.
[Misty] We're already racing
against the clock.
I'd love to be able
to save time cutting corners
any way we can.
I wanna put a greenhouse
in a tree.
And give you
a treehouse greenhouse.
That is so cool.
Do you like that idea?
-Yeah, I do.
-[Misty] Okay.
I'm really excited
about the idea
of a treehouse greenhouse.
Any time you start to build
on a mountainside, it's hard.
It's steep, it's rocky,
heavy clay, lots of stumps.
And any time you put
a foundation in,
that's where a lot
of time and money goes to,
to get up into a tree,
eliminate the foundation
altogether.
We can get that much further
into the sun.
And it doesn't have
predators.
It doesn't have insects.
Everything is self-contained.
A treehouse greenhouse
is the perfect idea.
[narrator] After selecting
the perfect tree
to support
the elevated structure,
Misty will first build
a platform
10 feet in diameter
and then, add framing.
Next, she will add
clear plastic sheeting
for the walls and roof
for maximum sun exposure.
And finally, she will build
a staircase for easy access.
I love the amount of sun
up here.
-Yes.
-Obviously,
the higher you go up
on the mountaintop,
the more sun
you're gonna get.
This is pretty much
the biggest pine.
[Steffanie] Okay.
So, let's grab tools
and lumber, and go for it.
-All right.
-Okay.
Oh, my God. I'm so excited.
[chimes tinkling]
[country music playing]
[Matt] This is gonna go great.
Do you have any ideas
of what, like,
a chicken coop could be like?
I was thinking,
like, a tractor home.
A tractor?
A chicken coop with wheels.
Okay.
Jasper's been raising
these chicks
in a box in his cabin.
These chickens
are gonna grow up quick.
They need a chicken coop.
This 10-year-old will be
putting food on the table.
The number one coolest part
about a chicken tractor is...
-[Jasper] It moves.
-[Matt] it moves.
[Jasper] Yeah.
Chickens love scratching
the ground
and looking for bugs.
So, if you have
a chicken coop,
every new ground
that that chicken tractor
moves to,
is new feed for the chickens,
which turns into new
fertilizer for the ground.
Yeah.
I'm excited to build this.
[narrator]
Matt will build
a 6 by 8 foot chicken coop
atop an up-cycled tractor
beginning by rebuilding
the chassis
in order to make
the coop mobile.
Next,
he'll build nesting boxes
and include straw
to keep the chickens warm
in cold weather.
Finally,
after introducing chickens,
the mobile tractor
will be pulled alongside
the homestead's
new garden beds,
doubling as a chicken run.
[horn honks]
[Matt] I've got some
old farming equipment.
We're gonna use the wheels.
We're gonna use the axles.
And the best part is,
I get to up-cycle some
old tractor equipment
that's been sitting in a field
for probably close
to 80 to 100 years.
Per chicken, you need about
3 square feet.
Chickens have something
that's called a pecking order.
Matt said
that he was gonna tell me
some of the...
His advice and help me out.
It made me feel very good.
I'm excited to work with some.
-[Matt] Nice.
-[Roxanne] Watch your fingers.
-Ooh.
-[Jasper] Whoa.
[Matt] This is gonna go
pretty fast.
So, let's get
this axle out of there
and get these wheels
pulled out,
and then we'll start building
our chicken coop tractor.
-Okay.
-All right.
All right.
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty] Hey, buddy.
Well, we're gonna talk to you
about one thing, the water.
I've been thinking about this
a little bit.
How green this is.
And 70 feet or so,
that direction is your spring.
That water is terrible.
-It's terrible.
-Okay.
I'm thinking,
the spring that you have down
there might be running
under right
where I'm standing.
But we could get
the excavator,
tap into it here,
and we will develop it,
and it'll be
the new water source
for the new footprint
on the homestead.
That's a lot.
That's our only water source.
I think it's worth the risk,
because I think
we could start over
with a brand-new water source,
and one you might use
for the next 100 years here.
The second you sign off
on this,
I'm coming here
with an excavator.
I wanna say yes.
I wanna... I wanna trust
in the knowledge
that we have
accumulated here together,
and I'm ready to go.
[Marty] Well, hopefully,
we find water.
[narrator] Marty's risky plan,
dig and develop
a suspected spring
100 feet uphill
from the family's current
contaminated reservoir.
But digging too shallow
could result
in wasted time and no water.
And digging too deep
may collapse the spring,
permanently cutting off
all water from the property.
[engine rumbling]
[dramatic music playing]
Do me a favor.
Get over...
Get over here, buddy.
Come over here on this side
and look in that hole,
see if you see any water.
[David] It doesn't look wet.
Yes or no?
Nothing.
Keep looking.
Come on.
Taking the risk with losing
our water source,
it's difficult
'cause it's our future.
Everything that we have,
that we've put into this
is riding on Marty.
Most of it's rock here.
Should be water
on top of that bedrock.
[David] I don't see it.
-[Marty] Let me make sure.
-[David] All right.
[dramatic music playing]
It was dry.
I might've made a mistake.
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty] Should be water.
-[David] Nothing.
-[Marty] Okay.
Come on.
[David] Water!
-[Marty] What?
-Water!
[Marty] What?
-Water!
-[Marty] Where?
At the bottom of the hole.
I can see it bubbling.
It's coming up!
[Marty] Now that's water
right there, buddy.
You happy?
That was just scary, man.
What part was scary?
We could've lost it.
Uh, if we...
If we collapsed that...
I don't know, it's just...
Fear of the unknown, man.
That's a lot of water.
[laughs]
in 30 seconds, so...
That's faster than
what our spring's putting up.
Without risks,
you'll never know
if there's a possible reward.
Yeah.
[Marty]
It's hard to take risks
when family depends on you.
I can see the look
on David's face
because he knows
what happened here
is going to change
their lives.
-Oh. Look who's here.
-Hey.
Oh... Look, look, look, look,
look, look,
look here, look here,
look here.
Are you serious?
That's 10 lifetimes...
of volume of water.
It's filtered by this great
smoky mountains,
uncontaminated
by anything organic.
I've been working that spring
every day for two years.
I'm not incapable.
And to see that happen
so easily...
it speaks for itself.
-We've made the right choice.
-Yeah.
Here you go.
It doesn't even taste
like dirt.
-[laughs]
-[Marty] It has a...
It has a taste.
It's, like, you...
-Oh, that's good.
-[David] A bottle.
It's completely insane.
It's not choking you.
-[Steffanie] Oh, my God.
-Isn't that incredible?
[Steffanie] Yeah.
[Marty] Now, we have
to develop this water
and there's no turning back.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator]
Later that morning...
[Misty] Okay. Here we come.
[drill whirring]
-This is kinda heavy.
-Okay.
And then you just pull
the trigger
once you're on there, and go.
[drill whirring]
[Misty]
So, it's nice and secure.
I mean, hang on. Hang on this.
You hang on the other side.
We could put a little swing
under here for Jasper.
I probably
wouldn't be building
a treehouse greenhouse,
but because Jasper's here,
I love visiting homesteads
with kids.
It just makes it so much fun.
What do you think
Jasper's gonna think?
I think he is going
to freak out
and wanna live up here.
[laughter]
-He'll have two houses.
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
All the times of the year,
they don't need it,
it'll still be getting used.
And I want there
to be this element
where homesteading
isn't all work,
that it's fun.
First of all,
we're in the sun.
[Steffanie] Yeah.
And this just happened
to be the biggest tree
on this side of the homestead
that's not by accident.
It's not huge,
but because in Tennessee,
you can grow
pretty much year round.
This is just filling
those couple of months.
I like the size.
I think it'll definitely
get us through
our winter months,
so we can keep growing.
So, what I was thinking
is 7, 8-foot walls
and then, running some shelves
all the way
around this things,
so that you can just maximize
your growing rooms.
Okay. Let's start
screwing down the deck.
You go ahead and do this one.
You even showed up
with some gloves on.
-[drill whirs]
-[Misty] I like it.
-You're good.
-All right.
Nice. Perfect.
[Steffanie] As it stands now,
this is not
what I pictured for Jasper.
We haven't realized
a dream yet,
but Misty is just
a wonderful person,
taking Jasper
into consideration
with these builds
has really helped
to make me feel comfortable.
And having that connection
as a mother really
has helped me
to give my trust.
[Misty] So we're just gonna
finish screwing this off
and then build some walls.
-All right.
-All right.
[dramatic music playing]
[Matt] Okay, Roxanne.
I want this thing
to look legit.
[Roxanne] Okay.
[narrator] On the other side
of the mountain...
Okay. We're making a little
bit of progress here.
[narrator]
by the family's motor homes.
We've lost a lot of weight.
Basically,
what we're trying to build is,
like, a chassis.
-This is the foundation.
-[Roxanne] Okay.
I'm excited to build this
and I got some
old farming equipment...
[Roxanne] These wheels
will last forever.
that is gonna really turn
this thing
into a old-timey
classic-looking tractor.
Okay.
So, we got two in the back,
and once we run this pipe
through this channel,
and we are gonna
attach these...
-[Roxanne] Okay.
-wheels.
And then we'll have
a nice functioning
rolling chassis
that we're going to build
our chicken coop on top of.
Okay.
[dramatic music playing]
[Roxanne] When I was a child,
we had chickens.
And I did feed them
and we all helped with that
as a family.
Slide it on there.
-[Roxanne] Nice.
-Woo!
Now, we can actually build
the chicken coop on top.
-Okay.
-[Matt] You ready?
-Yes.
-Now that Roxanne and I
have a finished
perfect foundation
for the chicken tractor,
I wanna build
a brand-new chicken coop.
All right.
Nice little chicken door.
[drill whirs]
All right. Looking good.
Stick with me.
Let's keep going.
[Roxanne] Sounds good.
[birds chirping]
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty] Okay.
What do you guys think?
It looks good.
[narrator] On the other side
of the mountain...
Here's the thing about moving
on this side of the property.
It's gonna take
a lot of resources.
Finding water was a miracle.
This family's
only water source
is contaminated water
for showers,
for dishwashing.
They're hauling water
from far away.
That's got to change.
We need to figure out
what we're gonna put in there
as a reservoir.
We've got to get a pump in it.
And everything I just said
is on that truck.
-Oh, my God.
-[laughs]
[David] What? [chuckles]
[Marty] Okay.
This gentleman's name is Ken.
[Ken] You guys have some
good water when we get done.
[laughter]
-Thank you so much.
-Yup. No problem.
[Steffanie]
I feel like I'm dreaming.
No more generator.
No more freezing.
It changes everything
about our whole
water system here.
[David] We've gone through
a lot to get this property.
No help. No help.
-Just us. So, thank you.
-[Ken] Well, that's the...
That's the volunteer spirit.
That's just what...
That's what you do
to your fellow man.
You know what I'm saying?
Your neighbor.
And we're thinking
about dropping that culvert
in here like this guys.
Boom.
[Ken] So people looking
at culvert,
you're looking
at your well casing.
Can we help you unload that?
-Yes, sir.
-Okay. Let's go. Come on.
Mr. Ken King gave us
water security
for a long, long, long time.
This is gonna make life
a lot easier.
I don't have to worry
about drinking water.
I can open my mouth
in the shower.
You know?
Now, what you're looking at,
guys, is culvert,
filtration, pump.
For everything sitting here
is worth, uh, a lot of money.
-Thank you so much.
-You're very welcome.
Life-changing,
like Marty said.
[Marty] It's a good night
on this homestead.
[crickets chirping]
[Steffanie] My dad has a lot
of health issues.
I really wish he could get
in here and, kind of, see
what we're doing.
This has to work.
-Oh, yeah.
-Ooh!
-That's going.
-[Marty] Look out.
We're in big trouble.
[dramatic music playing]
[tense music playing]
[Marty] Hey, buddy.
We're gonna develop
the water we got.
We just have to manage it
and get it from here to there.
Not a small task.
I'm ready to set this.
Let's go.
[narrator]
To develop the family's
new water source,
Marty will drop
a 20-foot culvert
into the freshly dug spring,
serving as a well casing.
Next, he'll fill
in the interior
with gravel
to filter contaminants
and backfill
the rest of the spring
to direct the flow.
Finally,
he'll connect a water line
and pump the water 500 feet
up the property into a tank,
which will then be further
filtered with UV light,
providing the family
with healthy, viable water.
All right. Let's see
if we can pick that up
perfectly vertical, please.
I'm running out of time.
And, if we're truly
going to help
these homesteaders,
we got to develop this water
and get them
on this side of the mountain.
Clint, bring it down, please.
Come on over. Woo!
We're gonna go in from the top
and put in rock
to serve as a filter.
[David]
Water's all I think about.
That pressure
weighing down on me,
constantly,
every day for two years.
But, now,
I feel like I can breathe.
I feel like I'm breathing
fresh air in a...
Part of my lungs
that I've been tensed up
not even using for so long.
I wanna believe I've seen
enough water down there
that it's gonna hydraulic
through the voids
between the culvert
and the rock.
And by tomorrow,
have reached its static level,
which should be
about two feet,
maybe three up inside
that culvert.
All right, Clint.
I think we can backfill it.
Let's do it.
All you, Clint.
Come on in. The water's fine.
[dramatic music playing]
-[Misty] What you think?
-[Steffanie] It is awesome.
-[Misty] Isn't it cool?
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
I really like the shape a lot.
And I wanted something
a little more aerodynamic to,
um, be safe from all
of these high winds.
We have
the treehouse greenhouse
that's moving right along.
It's tucked in
and around the tree.
It's not this big wind catch,
if it were a square.
It's a pretty small area.
As long as we grow vertically,
we'll have plenty
of grow rooms.
So, the idea is to add
three shelves.
[Steffanie] Okay.
Literally,
something like this.
Do you feel like
you can reach this...
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
-and work pretty easily?
-Yeah.
-And then one in the middle
and then one down here.
-Okay.
-Do you--
The treehouse greenhouse
is really cool.
I'm really excited to see
what vegetables I get to grow
year round and get away
from the grocery store.
Okay. So, we're born
and raised in LA.
-[Steffanie] Yup.
-[Misty] Moved to Tennessee.
My dad,
I feel like he still doesn't,
like, really fully get
what we're doing here.
They've never been out here?
[Steffanie] No. My dad,
he has a lot of health issues.
This makes so much sense.
I've known you
for, like, a day.
This is why
you are the way you are.
-You're, like, on it.
-Yeah.
You're on it,
because you had to be, like,
-that since you were 12.
-Yeah.
So, I've had to grow up
really quick
and, um...
it's hard for him
to get out here,
-so...
-I'm sorry.
Yeah, it's...
I really wish
he could get in here
and, kind of, see
what we're doing.
-Yeah.
-But we knew that we had
to go somewhere else
so that, you know,
Jasper and us could thrive.
I was a single mom for a bit,
and then I met David
and he came in and was just
wonderful father figure.
But, it's hard to, like,
let go of that control.
I'm starting to put
all the pieces together
of who Steffanie is,
and I think there's just
so much pressure
on the homesteaders
that it's just breaking them.
So, hopefully,
little by little,
we're winning
the homesteaders' trust,
so we can move them off grid.
That's what's gonna make
all the difference.
You have to get to a place
where you don't carry
the whole weight
of the homestead.
Let us carry
some of that weight.
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
-At least this week.
Yeah.
Okay.
You know what
the best therapy is?
This.
-[laughter]
-[Steffanie] Right.
[Misty] This is my therapist.
[dramatic music playing]
Bring it over, Clint.
Where's the pump?
We put a culvert in,
but in the backfilling
process,
probably sealed off
some of the water.
It didn't seem
to be recovering
like it should.
So, we're gonna start over.
We'll take some
of that oversized
surface driveway rock,
put it in there,
and we'll make
a really nice bed
and allow that
to serve as a filter,
as it comes in.
I think that might be
the cure-all.
We didn't lose the water.
Don't worry about that.
This has to work.
-Oh, yeah.
-Ooh.
-That's going.
-What?
-That's going.
-Better now than later.
Look out.
Hey. [whistles]
Get me rock.
[dramatic music playing]
Don't hit me. Don't get me.
Boom!
Come on in quick.
[whistles]
Don't fall in, please.
[David] Every day is
an emotional rollercoaster.
We've got the pipe back in,
got gravel in,
got a good base,
got it surrounded
with gravel.
Perfect.
I think that this is gonna be
a better system.
I can see it in my head.
Yeah, there's water.
My guess is, there'll be,
uh, 200 to 300 gallons
in there in the morning.
If there isn't, uh,
we're in big trouble.
Before we backfill this,
we're gonna wait overnight,
see what the recovery is.
That said, sorry about that.
I didn't see that coming.
See you in the morning.
[whistles]
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty] Hey, buddy.
Let's look at this water.
[David] Yeah.
[narrator] Back by the site
of the new spring...
What do you see?
[David]
There's definitely water.
I hear hesitation
and I got to know why.
[David] Well, I'm not sure
how much of that is rain.
I'm gonna tell you right now,
Yeah?
I don't like
the look on your face.
The inferences that
all that work that we did
was for knot
and that I'm looking
at rainwater.
And I'm telling you
straight up,
look at my face,
that's well water.
If you say so, I believe you.
You know more about it
than I do.
I remember a man
that looked a lot like you,
standing right there,
pretty excited to find water.
-Yeah.
-And that's the same man
has the same smile right now,
because now, together,
we basically
have done it right
and we've protected that,
and I think
we're good to go forever.
Nice. I feel good about it.
We should burn some
of that rock up on here.
This also gives me an idea
of, you know,
if anything ever happens,
I can replicate this exactly,
now that I know.
On that note, Clint.
[whistles]
Let's put a little rock
on that water, please,
and see if we can capture it.
Thank you.
[David] We had to pull this
all out of here.
All the clay and mud
was pinching off the springs,
and there was
no recovery rate.
Now, we've got
that sorted out.
We're feeling real confident
about it now
that we're gonna have
good clean water.
Yeah, it feels good.
Perfect.
Okay, buddy.
Get some backfill ready to go.
Quick!
[upbeat music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[Matt] Hey, Jasper.
Hey.
[narrator] On the grid side
of the mountain,
by the RVs,
Jasper and Roxanne,
join Matt to complete
the chicken tractor.
[Matt] Does it look like
a tractor?
It's amazing. Yes.
[Roxanne] That is cool.
[Jasper] Awesome.
But we still have to turn this
into an actual chicken coop.
So, I'm really glad
that you're here.
-You ready to work?
-Yup.
If you build a chicken coop,
you gotta build a place
where those chickens
will lay eggs every time.
[Jasper] Yup.
Have you ever heard
of laying boxes?
Yes.
[Matt] Well,
I heard you wanted
to use some power tools.
-[Jasper] Yup.
-[Matt] Here's your drill.
I am excited for the chickens
to have a bigger home.
-[Matt] Go slow.
-[drill whirs]
[Jasper] And a place for them
to lay eggs and sleep.
Awesome.
I think it's epic.
You're looking
at four laying boxes.
-One, two, three, four.
-Exactly.
You fill this whole thing
with straw
and chickens
will come in here,
they'll get in that straw,
and they'll start
getting all broody,
and that makes it so that
they're the most productive
and they'll pump out
dozens and dozens of eggs.
Okay.
I think that
to really turn this thing
into the tractor
that we want it to be,
we're gonna need
to paint it a color.
[Jasper] Yes.
I'm not gonna pick the color.
I think you should pick it.
-Green.
-Green? Why?
Because green
is like a tractor.
[Matt] I think green
is a great color.
Should we keep working
and get this thing done?
-Yup.
-All right. Let's go.
It's Jasper's first ever
livestock structure.
Homesteading doesn't
have to be this dull,
drab, boring things, weird.
Why not make something
really fun
and that is the whole idea
behind the chicken tractor
tractor.
We really did it.
-I think we've built
the chicken tractor...
-[Jasper] Yeah.
-that looks like a tractor.
-Yup.
I think the last thing we need
to do is get some straw,
put a lot of the inside
of the chicken coop
and then we're ready
to move the tractor
-to the other side...
-Okay.
of the property.
All right.
[upbeat country music playing]
[Marty] All right.
We got good news and bad news.
And more bad news.
The only good news is
this weather is holding
when it's supposed
to snow here.
Bad news,
the water's not
even close to being there
and there's not any solar
in sight,
except 93 million miles away.
-What about you?
-I need water
for the greenhouse
because we gotta figure out
irrigation
and troubleshoot it.
Is there a way to get
a lot of water
to the tree house today?
No.
What's happening on that side
of the mountain?
I've been working with Jasper.
We're building
a chicken tractor.
But what a chicken tractor
needs is a big field
for a garden
that needs to be fertilized.
So where's the garden space
gonna be?
That's the thing
that we actually really need.
Here's the deal,
we're at the halfway point,
but half the amount of work
isn't done.
We convinced this family
to move
to the other side
of the mountain
and go off-grid,
but if we don't get the solar
and the water figured out,
nobody's moving onto this
side of the mountain.
That's a fact.
[intense music playing]
[fast pace country
music playing]
[Misty] All right.
What do you think
of the stairs?
[Steffanie] They look sturdy.
[narrator] Up on the ridge...
I'll do this one
and then you can do
the other one.
-[Steffanie] Okay. Okay.
-[Misty] And then I'll hold.
And then handle the drill.
Yeah. Perfect.
-[Steffanie] And--
-Okay. Let's give it a try.
-[Steffanie] All right.
-What do you think?
-Oh, yeah.
-Whoo. This is awesome.
[Misty laughs]
It's a big day for me today.
I need to finish
this greenhouse,
I need to start
this outdoor garden space.
So right now
I'm really focusing
on some type of irrigation
system for the greenhouse,
but I'm so excited to see
if I can make rain.
I have a crazy idea,
I wanna run by you.
-Okay.
-[Misty] I wanna build
a rain system.
A system that every time
it rains
that it actually comes
into the greenhouse,
-rains down on the plants...
-[Steffanie] Okay.
and then drains out
the bottom.
[Steffanie] Oh, okay. Yeah.
It'll be out little
rain forest
-in Tennessee.
-[Misty] Yeah.
Being with somebody
who really cares
about the environment
and being able to utilize
the rain water
for, you know,
many different uses
is a passion of mine
and is really important to me.
So what I'm thinking
is using a 4-inch PVC pipe
creating some type of gutter
off of the back
of the greenhouse
and then connecting
and piecing it together
with two lines
like a horse shoe
just on the top
where the rain comes in,
feeds the 4-inch gutter,
comes in the horse shoe lines
and then rains down
on the top shelf...
-[Steffanie] Okay.
-drips down through the pot,
rains down
on the second shelf...
-[Steffanie] Okay.
-and things that need
the least amount of water
will be on the third shelf
and then an output
out the bottom.
Instead of spending hours
out of the day
watering everything,
you can spend that doing
something else.
-Absolutely.
-Right?
I love how innovative
and unique this system is.
So just one line from the top
feeding the first pot
to the next pot
to the last pot.
They're getting watered
exactly how much they need
with the same natural rain
that comes through here
in Tennessee
which is an abundance.
I really like the gravity
feeding of water
-and using the water
multiple times.
-[Misty] Yeah.
And hopefully the tree house
is enticing for Jasper
and it gets him looking
at the homestead
in a more fun
and whimsical way.
I've messed a lot with drip,
gravity-fed systems
-and non-pressurized line...
-Mmm-hmm.
is hard to get water
to feed to the end.
So there's definitely
some troubleshooting.
But that's the idea.
So we're gonna work
on that now.
We have the light,
we have the space,
we need the water.
-Are you ready to put it in?
-Let's do it.
Okay. Let's go.
[country music playing]
Okay.
Man, it really looks
like a b*mb
went off over here.
Isn't it insane?
What I need
-is what you need...
-[Misty] Oh, I know.
-and that is a lot
of flat space.
-I know.
Dad has been working non-stop,
he's clearing land for us.
-So it's just me and you.
-[Matt] Uh-huh.
We need to create
a space together.
-Absolutely.
-Okay.
When I started building
this chicken tractor,
I thought there was gonna
be a nice big field
to fertilize on the other side
of the mountain.
It sounds like Misty
need some help,
so I need to be able
to make a garden space
for this chicken tractor,
so we actually have something
to fertilize.
The only way you can really do
a chicken tractor
on this ridge
is by doing a track
that you just pull it
from one end to the other...
-[Misty] Multiple.
-and then pull it back.
Dude... I got it.
Both of us need
the same thing.
I need to create a garden,
you need to create
a chicken run.
Each garden bed
will have a hoop over it,
which will be the chicken run.
And the only thing
that moves is the coop.
So it moves from this bed,
to this bed, to this bed,
she can throw plastic
over them,
she can throw shade over them,
and whether they have
chickens in them or plants
those hoops can act
as whatever purpose
she needs them to be.
-I love the idea...
-It's good.
of combining the hoop coop...
-Yeah.
-with the hoop house.
What do you even call that?
-Hoop tractor.
-Hoop tractor.
[narrator] Misty and Matt
will build three
8-foot wide raised
garden beds,
utilizing downed tree logs
to hold in top soil.
Next, to manage
fluctuating weather,
they'll build hoops
out of cattle fencing
for each bed,
using shade cloth
when temperature rise
and sheeting when they drop.
Finally, Matt's completed
chicken tractor
will move along a track,
enabling the chickens
to fertilize each garden bed.
[Misty] Okay. So here we go.
Basically, Matt needs about
8-foot wide section
so he can roll around
his chicken tractor.
Okey-dokey.
But in the meantime
we're just gonna start
pulling logs over,
try to create some type
of track system
that he can pull that
chicken tractor up onto
and fertilize
each garden space
and create this chicken run
garden space all in one.
[theme music playing]
[Marty] Fire it up.
[narrator] Near the well,
Marty digs
an 18-inch deep trench
to protect the water line
from the winter freeze.
[Marty] It's 500 feet
of water line
and well wire to the top
of the mountain.
Perfect.
[narrator] While over
the tree house greenhouse.
It gets pretty warm
in Tennessee.
[Misty] So I think
with the greenhouse itself
we need to introduce
some ventilation.
-We're gonna put
some vents in.
-Okay.
And the door
will be a vent, right?
But I'm thinking three
other vents besides the door.
So, we cut this little
square out of plywood.
I don't have any piano hinges,
do you?
-[Steffanie] I don't think so.
-Okay.
[Steffanie]
Uh, what's a piano hinge?
Oh, I'm gonna show you.
You're cutting your jacket?
[Misty] I don't even think
we need those
part of your jacket.
So we're gonna go
the length of this.
[Steffanie] Okay.
Sometimes with my build,
I don't have A to Z,
it forces you to think
way outside the box
and for me it's just
ingenuity
of using whatever you have
to get the job done.
There you have it,
a little fabric piano hinge.
We're just gonna screw it off
to the building,
put some plastic on it
and then just hinge it
just like this.
-That's so cool.
-Run the plastic
a little long,
that way you know water's
getting in and it...
It's lightweight enough
and thin enough
where it's just gonna fit
underneath the sheet
that's already up there.
Let's put it up.
[Steffanie]
I love Misty's ideas.
Just love how on the spot,
innovative her
capabilities are.
You know, she cut it right off
of her jacket,
and it works perfectly.
[Misty] But there you got it.
You don't have to be fancy
on a homestead.
-[Steffanie] Looks great.
-Like it?
-Yeah. We just got--
-[Misty] So open, close.
We'll put some plastic on it
you can put a little
stick prop, a little latch
and now we have ventilation
for the greenhouse.
-Sound good? Perfect.
-Perfect.
Piano hinge
is music to my ears.
[laughs] Oh.
[Matt] All right.
[narrator]
Near the motorhomes.
[Matt] Jasper, Roxanne.
[narrator]
Matt, Roxanne and Jasper
prepare to move
the completed tractor
to the other side
of the homestead.
We designed this
chicken tractor
to be moved
with the side by side.
Are you ready to do this?
Yup. Let's go.
The chicken tractor tractor
is ready to roll.
Okay. Watch out.
I'm getting in front.
Our chicken tractor
is definitely roadworthy.
But it's gotta roll
like a third,
maybe a half of a mile
on bumpy road,
up and down inclines
and I hope
she makes the journey.
[Matt] Okay. Hold on.
Are we gonna hit the woods?
Moving the chicken coop,
it was truly crazy
because I kept having
to tell Matt
if it was gonna go
off the road.
We did it.
I was a little worried.
Okay. Let's do this thing.
Here we go.
Whoa.
I can't stop.
It's working.
This homestead is mostly hill.
-Is it still back there?
-[Jasper] Yup.
We're going 4 miles per hour.
This tractor,
it has no brakes.
[Jasper] Oh.
[Matt] Whoo-wee
[country music playing]
How's it look, Jasper?
[Jasper] Pretty good.
-Choo choo!
-[horn honking]
[Misty] What in the world
was that thing?
[laughs]
[Matt] All right.
Everybody hop out.
You guys, this is the coolest
chicken tractor
I've ever seen.
[Roxanne] This is a first
we've seen this.
-What do you think?
-Like where are we?
[laughs]
Are we at the right place?
This is the place.
I'm thinking as the tractor
comes in this spot
and each of these beds
is actually the chicken run.
-It's amazing.
-So we have a lot of work
we gotta do tomorrow,
all of us.
But the material's here
and we'll make it work
for everyone. Sound good?
-Okay.
-Okay.
Let's get out of here.
Also welcome
to the homestead.
[Jasper] Yeah.
[Misty] Yoo-woo!
[crickets chirping]
[owl hooting]
[upbeat music playing]
[Misty] Okay.
[narrator] Back at the tree
house greenhouse...
[Misty] Already thrown
some pots in here.
-Awesome.
-[Misty] I wanna get a little
layout with you
of what this space
actually looks like.
We're just gonna position them
where we want them to go,
trace them, drill a hole,
and then jigsaw each pot out.
We wanna have each of these
pots feed the next pot
-on the next shelf.
-Okay.
This is one of my favorite
days visiting homesteads.
It's planting day.
Steffanie has a bunch
of these pots
and literally we're gonna
flip them upside down,
we're gonna trace them,
cut a bunch of holes,
and I'm thinking,
because we chose
to grow vertically,
we're gonna put in
about 80 pots.
So, it's gonna time consuming,
but in the end
all the material's here,
it's just a matter
of getting them in.
You'll see we already have
our rain system in place
-and feel how heavy it is.
-Oh.
It's actually full of water
-because it rained.
-It did.
And it's waiting for us
to create
the rain system inside
and basically it's a rain
waterfall system.
You already traced this guy,
so let's do the inner line.
[Steffanie] Learning
new skills from Misty
has been really amazing.
I've never used
a jigsaw before.
-[Misty] Okay. Yay. Yay.
-I'm excited for this.
And this like goes
beyond anything
that I would've thought about
what our greenhouse
would look like,
but it's really cool.
[Misty] So last few to put in.
-Fits like a glove.
-[Misty] Fits like a glove.
So next thing is
we're gonna fill up
all of these with soil,
one by one.
Plant and then try and tweak
and troubleshoot as we go.
[soft country music playing]
I love this greenhouse.
I love all the different
sized pots
and different colors
and shapes,
it's marvelous.
It smells so good in here.
[Misty] Smells so good.
I got you a present.
-Aw, thank you. Hmm.
-[Misty] Smell it. Oh.
-I'm gonna put it in my hair.
-[Misty] Oh, yeah.
Um, so all we have to do
is drill in our first hole
and there should be water
coming out immediately.
-Okay.
-[Steffanie] Oh, my goodness.
[Misty] So moment of truth.
Apparently
we can make it rain.
We drilled a couple of holes
and immediately rain's
coming in obviously,
from the PVC pipe.
But then, it's perfectly,
like, a waterfall effect,
it dripped down,
fed the first plant,
dripped down,
fed the second plant,
dripped down,
fed the third plant.
And then, out on the ground.
So it's a PVC pipe
and some holes,
you can make it rain.
When it comes to cutting back
the chore
of watering the greenhouse,
-it's taken care of.
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
[Misty] Thanks, Mother Nature.
-[Matt] Making it flat.
-[Jasper] Yeah.
[narrator] Over at the freshly
cleared space,
Matt and Jasper
plan the first steps
for the new garden's
chicken hoops.
All right, Jasper.
I think it'd be really easy
for Roxanne and your mom,
Steffanie
if we raise the garden beds
up off the ground
and it would make it
so we can put nice soil inside
because this clay
is not good for anybody.
So we wanna build three
We only have 25 feet
from here to the edge of our
little bluff here.
-Wow. Let's do this.
-You into it?
I am a little nervous
to have to keep
with the chickens
and how that will be my job.
It's gonna be a little bit
difficult for me to, like,
always keep up with that
but I can do it.
[narrator] By the mid-1800s,
most rural homes had backyard
flocks of chickens
used for their eggs and meat.
During the 1950s,
chicken production expanded
focusing on specifically
bred meat chickens
called broilers.
Today, the poultry industry
generates half a trillion
dollars annually.
[chicken chirping]
[Misty] Ah, yoo-hoo!.
Looks good.
-What do you think?
-I love it.
You guys did a lot of work.
So I kinda overlapped
everything.
I mean, like, the hoops
are sharing the same log.
[Misty] Yeah, I like it.
So I like this footprint.
[country music playing]
Now, Misty and I
are gonna work together
and figure out how to build
a chicken run
that will double
as a garden space.
What's amazing about this idea
is you get the rigidity
with these hog panels
for each coop,
and then,
with the chicken wire,
you get the protection
when it comes to the chickens.
You should go like this, boom,
and there should be
a zip tie here.
I need more zip ties.
Pass me for a zip.
I need more zip ties. Thanks.
There's no other person
I'd rather be doing this
with than you.
Let's move it over
and keep going.
[Misty] I'll roll it out.
We're getting to the point
on the homestead
where there isn't
a ton of time left
and Matt and I
still have things
that need to be sorted.
I'm trying to put in this
outdoor garden space,
Matt needs a chicken run.
We need to move really fast.
Yeah, it's a little slippery.
Ta-da!
[Matt] Come right in.
We have to get this
all figured out
with the tractor.
-[Misty] In place.
-In place and...
-[Misty] With chickens.
-And with chickens.
Yeah. So there's some work
to do, so let's do it.
-Ready?
-We're almost there.
Let's keep going.
[birds chirping]
This property is ready
for the homesteaders.
[truck engine revving]
[Steffanie] Marty!
-What?
-David's stuck!
[dramatic music playing]
[country music playing]
[saw whirring]
[Matt] Roxanne, you're gonna
be working with me.
-Come on over.
-[Roxanne] Oh, I wanna grow
so much.
[narrator] At the garden area,
Matt teams up
with Misty and Roxanne
to lay the groundwork
for the new garden beds.
One thing I know
about gardening is
if you have it down
on the ground,
then you gotta do all your
gardening bent over.
What if we raised
the bed up two feet?
You think it'll be
easier for you
to tend to your garden
and do all your
garden planting
if you didn't have
to bend over as much?
Yes. That's wonderful.
[laughs]
We have a nice flat space
where you can garden
and that's great.
Plus, I need a plate to put
my chicken tractor,
and so that these homesteaders
can grow some food.
And then, I'll run...
Oh, don't... Hey, don't fall.
-This is... I'm sinking.
-She's stuck.
We need to get
some soil in here
so you're not stuck
in the mud.
[country music playing]
[Roxanne] Thank you so much.
Woo-hoo-hoo!
[country music playing]
-[Misty] Matt.
-[Matt] Bring it in, please.
[Roxanne] I like it.
Let's put them in.
I need raised garden beds,
Matt needs a chicken run.
[Matt] All right.
Coming in hot, Roxanne.
Once we have the log
raised beds in place,
we're gonna stretch these
little hooped panels
over the top
and each garden bed
will become a chicken run.
We don't need any
kind of screws
to pin all these logs
together.
I have this rebar,
so let's cut a pin
[saw whirring]
[country music playing]
[drill whirring]
[hammering]
[Matt] It's gonna hold.
[grunts]
[hammering]
[Matt] Woo! Okay.
Is this tall enough?
[Roxanne] Yes. I love it.
Using the fertilizer
from the chickens
for the garden,
which there will be
garden strips
that are boxed in
is wonderful.
I mean, there's great
fertilizer.
We have our own.
[Matt] Woo! All right, folks.
We're getting closer.
[Misty] Ah, yoo-hoo!
I got you a present.
[Matt] Awesome.
[Misty]
These are all the woodchips
from off the property.
-[Matt] Really?
-[Misty] Yeah.
With gardening,
you need fertilizer
and a lot of people
use manure.
But what I think is exciting
about what Matt
and I are doing
is you have the chickens
come in,
they fertilize all winter.
And then, come spring,
you have your fertilized
garden.
There's nothing that
turn need to do,
there's no extra chore,
job done,
and you're ready to plant.
[Matt]
This is gonna poke my eye out.
[grunts]
-[Misty] All right.
-[Matt] Oh, my God. It fit.
Hoop coops are a very fast,
easy design
that are perfect
for a chicken run,
but also, they're gonna
keep out deer,
they're gonna
keep out rabbits
from eating the garden
that grows
after it's been fertilized
from those chickens.
What do you think?
This is the garden
of my dreams. [laughs]
[Matt] I'm really glad that
we've got to this point.
Now, we need to start
focusing on chickens.
And a door.
[Matt laughs] And a door.
Let's go work on that.
All right. Let's do that.
[Matt chuckles]
[birds chirping]
[Marty] You see
what's happening.
We got 500 feet water line
and an electrical line
for the pump
to run to this side
of the mountain,
water's coming from your well,
it will go
right into that tank,
and that's why,
first thing this morning,
we scratch this out
'cause we're actually
gonna build a bathhouse.
Wow. That is amazing.
I'm so excited about that.
Guys, just for the record.
You can literally
build a house
and this could be a...
You know, part of your house.
-Oh, okay.
-And so...
I don't know
what your future plans are,
but this does look
like a way cooler place
to live than the other side.
-Way cooler.
-Oh, yeah.
-It's more private
and that's what I like.
-Yeah.
That's my favorite thing
about it.
-That's right on that road.
-Yeah.
I've heard...
I could hear cars going by,
I heard the dogs barking,
I heard people talking.
So this is...
I haven't heard anything.
When you guys left last night,
I just kind of came over here
and looked around,
and cleaned up things,
and sat down
and just sat here.
And I watched the sunset
through the trees over there
and it was just so quiet,
it was so tranquil.
I just was so happy
just sitting in silence.
It's... We rarely have that
on the other side.
Thank goodness
that we have nice weather
for all this digging.
We're so lucky.
Because the day we landed,
someone said,
"It's gonna be snowing
at end of the week."
The mountains,
it really moves the weather
in a way that it's hard
to know for sure,
so we just always kind of hope
for the best with the weather.
We'll count our blessings.
It looks like it's gonna hold.
I haven't got enough sleep.
Let's go.
[Steffanie laughs]
[country music playing]
[Misty] Okay.
So you're pretty set.
[dramatic music playing]
To be in a place
where you look around
and you could have salad,
you're gonna have tomato soon,
you have herbs right now.
You have potential
for a nice strawberry patch.
This is giving you
that 365-day growing season.
And when you're a vegetarian,
that really matters.
As it warms up
a couple months from now,
all of these plants are going
in that amazing outdoor garden
and I'm confident that
when it comes to growing food,
this homestead
isn't gonna be lacking.
[narrator] One week ago,
the Agerkop-Clark
family's garden
was a rundown patch of dirt
yielding little
to feed the vegetarian family
due to a lack of water.
Today, they have a brand new
tree house greenhouse
standing high off the ground
out of reach of any animals
with a rain-fed
water catchment system
and started plants
that can be transferred
to a new garden space
enabling a consistent
source of food
to be grown year-round.
This space, it's everyone.
It's for you,
it's for Roxanne,
and it's for Jasper
'cause he's the future
of the homestead.
So this is the start
of this big bright future
when it's come to gardening
for you guys.
Thank you so much
for showing me
all these different ways
to grow vertically
and giving me that jumpstart.
I feel confident
as a vegetarian,
I'm looking forward
to the growing season.
Last year was difficult,
but this one,
I feel like I have a really
good head start on it.
I definitely see myself
in the tree house
working with plants and,
you know,
getting them ready,
planting seeds.
Working with Misty
put that passion
back in me for gardening.
So I'm really excited
to spend time in there.
-Is my work done?
-Yes.
-Okay.
-Hmm.
Let's get out of here.
-It's too warm in here.
-Yeah.
I need to take off
my sweatshirt.
[thunder rumbling]
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty whistles] Let's go.
[narrator]
There are 12 hours to go
in the Agerkop-Clark rescue.
As the build crew races
to put the finishing touches
on the bathhouse for pumps
and filtration systems.
[Marty] Power is the elephant
in the room.
[narrator] Just a couple
of hundred feet away,
Marty and Misty gather
Steffanie, David, and Roxanne
to address the final
critical homestead need.
Good news is, besides
from last night's rain,
it's been sunny
every single day.
I think we're at a point now
where we have to figure out
how to keep warm at night.
Everyone's been working
overtime on this homestead
so that the homesteaders
can move from one side
to the other side
of the mountain.
But how are they
gonna heat themselves
without some form of power?
Turn around.
[Misty] What is it?
-Marty Raney.
-Josh Leer.
-Josh.
-How are you doing, sir?
-Misty.
-Misty, Josh.
-Nice to meet you.
-Marty, Bill Siva.
[Marty] What do you have
in there?
A whole home power plant
that uses batteries
and solar power
to power your home
-Are you serious?
-[Roxanne] Now I got tears
in my eyes.
Oh, my goodness.
We've been out here
in the winter
and, you know, the power goes
out, and we're cold.
And having his mom and my son
and, you know, making sure
that we're all comfortable,
it's been challenging.
There aren't words.
Very wonderful.
Thank you, again.
You can be energy dependent
and live in your own
homestead safely.
It's just... It's a lot.
Oh, man. I always think,
"How is this possible?"
And it's guy... Yeah,
it's guys like you.
Yeah, this is big.
We're gonna be able
to have enough power supply
to get us through the winter.
So now, Mom and Jasper
won't struggle and freeze,
and go through all
of these hardships.
Good job.
We planned on putting
the solar panels,
a garden, a chicken tractor.
Don't ask. In this area.
I mean, we need an expert
to dial this in.
Is this enough room
for the display
that you've engineered
for that system?
That looks great. Yeah.
We have 12 solar panels
that we're gonna be assembling
with our racking.
And I think we're gonna do
two rows of six.
[Marty] All right. Let's go.
[Roxanne] We're not moving
over here yet,
but we have our solar.
And I am really excited.
[drill whirring]
These panels are in.
We've got
400-watt panels here,
for the system.
Okay. Thanks a lot.
-[Deeann] Thank you.
-You're a rockstar.
-Thank you so much.
-[Deeann] Yes.
-You're welcome.
-[Steffanie]
Thank you so much.
[Marty] All right. Hit it.
[Roxanne] We full steam ahead.
[narrator] On the other side
of the solar panels,
Matt and Misty
put the finishing touches
on their garden build,
connecting
the chicken tractor
with the hoop coops.
[chainsaw buzzing]
All right. Good.
At this point,
we don't got a lot of time,
so we just cut out
these hog panels
with the chicken wire,
we don't have hinges
but the staples are actually
gonna be the hinge.
We'll hammer these in...
and then the door
will be all this screen,
and you got a staple hinge.
Okay. There you go.
Staple hinge.
It doesn't have to be fancy
on the homestead, folks.
Matt and I are crunched
for time.
Ta-da! Crushin' it.
With our chicken
run/garden beds,
we're gonna just cram it
all in,
and that way, he could just
hook up his chicken tractor
with the chicken run
and we kind of
get this two-for-one
on the homestead.
It looks good from here.
You gotta keep your coop
nice and dry and clean,
and you do that with straw.
It breaks down over time,
combine that
with the chicken manure,
create this amazing fertilized
compost for the garden.
[narrator]
Compost and fertilizer
have different purposes
in maintaining crop health.
While compost is usually made
from decomposing plants
or food waste,
its main purpose
is to nourish soil
while fertilizer is used
to speed up plant growth
and the quality of crops.
Using both together
provides short
and long-term benefits
across the growing season.
[Misty] They've got about two
and a half months
until the growing season.
And in the meantime,
the chickens
are gonna be making soil.
Right here! Woo-hoo!
That smells good.
[Matt] We just need to move
this tractor over real quick.
Everybody push.
We got a good hit. Go!
We modified
our chicken tractor
tractor just right
and basically turned it
into a mobile chicken coop...
[Misty] Here we go.
that will go from hoop coop
to hoop coop.
And now,
we have a special-looking
chicken tractor
to help this homestead.
Obviously,
there's a little gap
when it comes
to the chicken tractor
meeting up
with these hoop coops.
So, I got a little hung
for that.
We just literally
got a 5-gallon bucket
that we're just gonna attach
right onto this thing.
And that way,
the chickens will have access
from the coop
into the chicken run
garden's face.
Boom. Crushin' it.
[upbeat music playing]
I think we're ready
for chickens.
We're gonna guide
the chickens here.
Good job.
Get back, get back, get back.
Shut that door,
shut that door.
All right!
-Look at these happy chickens!
-[Misty] It's amazing.
I love the fact
that we worked together.
You need a chicken coop,
I needed fertilized,
raised beds,
and we've got them.
-It's so good.
-No pressure.
-But it's amazing.
-We did it.
Yo!
[David] Let's get it.
[narrator]
With builds nearly complete
on the off-grid side
of their land,
David fires up their RV
in an effort to complete
their transition
to fully
self-sustainable living.
This property is ready
to be homesteaded.
There's water, gardens,
greenhouses, chickens, power,
everything you can think of,
except the homesteaders.
And now,
David's going to take
the RV off-grid.
[dramatic music playing]
[Misty] Marty!
-Marty!
-What?
David's stuck!
Yeah. I think he's trying
to make it.
[dramatic music playing]
I don't think I'm getting it.
[Matt] Dad, I think
this thing's gonna be stuck.
Getting through all the mud,
it's been difficult,
to say the least.
[Marty] There's been
a lot of rain.
It's made for a muddy road,
and David can't get the RV
to the place
that we've cleared out
for him.
Eventually,
the road will dry,
they'll be able
to get it up here,
but there's one thing
David and Steffanie
won't be able to accomplish,
and that's to move
Jasper's cabin
before we leave.
We're moving this building
from here to there,
a long ways.
I'm thinking about setting it
on that log skid...
-Yeah.
-and dragging it
with the skid.
[David] There's no way,
with this mud.
[Marty] It's gonna be risky.
We're not gonna know
until we try.
It's just down
to the wire, man.
You guys really bring it
to the wire.
We work every second we can.
That's who we are.
That said, we're gonna spin
that around and get going.
-Yes, sir.
-Thank you.
I'm on it. Yes, thank you.
That RV isn't going
to make it.
But, what can make it
is a smaller cabin
like Jasper's.
With a couple of pieces
of equipment,
we can motor that thing up
through the mountains,
through the mud,
and to its final
resting place.
Hopefully,
we don't get stuck.
It just started snowin'.
You know what I do
when it starts snowin',
don't you?
-[zipper zips]
-Let's go!
[whistles]
It's complete cowboy!
I put a lot of time
and money and effort
into Jasper's house,
but we're really close
to that point
where we need to be
but just running out of time,
and getting pushed back
with the rain
and the snow, it's...
a lot.
[Marty] We're there!
Just look like a homestead?
[David] Yeah.
More than it did before.
[Marty] Okay. Mom, Jasper.
What do you guys think
of your cabin?
-[Jasper] It's amazing.
-[Marty] For real?
Yeah. Because it's moved.
You like this spot better
than the other?
Yeah. Because there are
a lot more space
and there's not a lot
of noises as much.
Yeah. I like it
way better over here.
Oh. It makes me feel really,
really good.
Thank you.
[upbeat music playing]
All right. This has been
a tag team main event
that has given you
one of the coolest
chicken tractors,
I think, that ever existed.
-Mmm-hmm.
-[Matt] Thanks, Jasper.
First of all, what's in there?
-[both] Chickens.
-Each one of these
is a garden bed
and a chicken coop.
-[Steffanie] Okay.
-So as the chicken tractor
wheels down this way,
it feeds this one,
it feeds this one,
and right now,
they're fertilizing,
and they're soil-building
and prepping it,
ready to plant
as soon as it warms up.
You can move this tractor
anywhere on the homestead.
[narrator] One week ago,
the Agerkop-Clark family
had little success
maintaining a garden,
and no protein source
for the vegetarian family.
Today, they have an 8 by 6
custom chicken tractor,
enabling a constant
source of eggs,
and a garden space
with three raised beds,
enclosed with upcycled hoops
that will provide shade
in the warmer months,
and also double as coops
for the chickens,
which will provide
consistent fertilization,
creating a self-sustainable
food source
for years to come.
[Matt] All right, Jasper.
Can you open it up?
So you see anything in there?
-[Jasper] Yup.
-That's for eggs.
So your chickens are really
the next generation,
and they're gonna be doing
all the heavy laying
once they grow up
and get big enough.
I think this is amazing
and I love it.
I am very excited
to have my new chickens
and the chickens' garden.
Not only do I have a new house
for my baby chickens
but I also have laying hen
that are already
producing eggs.
This has been, like,
an amazing project for Jasper
and for him to really learn
more about chickens,
and, you know, be able
to take more ownership.
Well, I'm so happy
for you guys.
-[Misty] You guys are set.
-[Roxanne] Thank you.
Thanks.
All right, buddy.
Check this out.
Welcome to a bathhouse.
More little privacy.
This is a huge upgrade.
That spring that we uncovered,
it's coming right into here.
It'll fill this up,
it's a 119 gallons.
-Nice.
-I just measured the well,
there's about 200
or more gallons down there.
When everything's full,
you should have 370 gallons
on call.
And a flushing toilet.
[narrator] One week ago,
the Agerkop-Clark family
relied on contaminated
spring water
for their daily needs.
But after developing
a clean spring,
the family has access
to enough potable water
for years to come.
And previously,
the family suffered
from a lack of sanitation
for their bathroom needs.
But now, with clean water
and a new septic tank,
the Agerkop-Clarks
can use clean facilities
without relying
on their motorhomes.
[David] This is fast-forward
my life, like,
probably between four
to seven years.
And now,
we have everything we need
to continue forward
and have a proper homestead
with the septic system,
the bath house,
the water,
it just feels really good.
This building will be all
the difference in the world
when it comes to sanitation
and living off-grid
on this side of the mountain.
[upbeat music playing]
Okay, guys.
We did everything we could
to help you guys
to the last second,
and I wish to give you guys,
uh, not a handout
but kind of a hand-up
up this mountain.
And the future
is infinitely bright.
You guys really worked hard,
and I appreciate it.
I really do.
I know that
there's a very talented person
right here.
He's smart, he's thorough,
and he's a worker.
-And that's a--
-[Roxanne] Yes.
That's a triple threat.
Those... That kind of guys
make the perfect homesteaders.
I can see more success here
with the stuff
I've learned with Marty
because I've learned
a lot of things
that I can apply
to the homestead
that I can carry with me
into the future.
And now,
we have the infrastructure,
we have the foundation
to build upon.
It's wonderful.
From the bottom
of my heart, thank you.
Thank you again to everybody
who have stepped in
to really help us
get our basic needs met,
and it's really appreciated.
Jasper, you pioneered
the way on the homestead
to move off-grid,
and I'm really excited
for your future, and I'm...
I'll miss you a lot.
-Yeah. Me, too.
-[Misty] Aww.
Aww. Well, thank you,
thank you.
What a nice thing to say,
young man.
We're not worried
about you guys at all.
That's it.
It's time to say goodbye.
-[Steffanie] Yeah.
-[Marty] Thank you
for everything.
-Thank you so, so much.
-You're quite welcome.
A week ago,
I met three generations
of homesteaders
that truly love
these great Smoky Mountains.
Mother Nature
stopped their move
to this side of the mountain.
-See you later.
-[Misty] Thank you!
[Marty] This property
is a homestead.
Now, it's up to them.
Thank you.
[Matt] I'm impressed
that you were able
to fit it all in there, Dad.
[Marty] We got it, son.
[Steffanie] David and I
were able to move our RV
over here.
[David] Since the Raneys left,
we're 100% off-grid,
completely self-sustaining,
and it's been wonderful.
The transition's huge.
Being over here, in my house,
there's way more room.
[Steffanie] We now have clean,
reliable drinking water.
[David] Not having to haul,
not having to boil water,
not having to worry about it.
It's, wow, I mean,
we can just drink
from our faucet.
[Roxanne] The chicken tractor
works great.
They're laying right now.
We have plenty of eggs,
um, for all of us.
[Jasper] I'm building
more or less a garden,
and I also have been
watering the plants
from the greenhouse.
[Steffanie] The Raneys really
reinvigorated our dream.
Thanks, Raneys, for everything
that you did for us.
And if you wanna come
and see us...
[David] Come visit.
[country music playing]
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11x04 - Tennessee Unplugged
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City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters
City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters