Natural Pool, A New Project
Here on Two Oaks Farmstead, we have recently embarked on a new project! We are building a natural pool and we’re very excited about it! This is a project that I’ve been studying and researching for about 15 or so years and have been designing for about the past 6 months. I’ve made promises that I will make every attempt to blog every step that I possibly can so this will be the first of a few posts in this particular series.
Natural Pool
A natural pool can be created in a variety of ways, but generally speaking, it is a swimming pool that is filtered and cleaned by plant life–no chemicals. There are quite a few websites where you can see some really beautiful examples and get some great basic information. And there are a few books out there that give some great in-depth information, however most of them are written with Europe in mind, as that is where natural pools are really huge. Since I am smack dab in Southern Oklahoma, I had to do some modification based on my area during my design phase, which brings me to phase 1.
(If you would like to see some examples of natural pools, skip on over to my Pinterest and search ‘natural pools’. You will be amazed at the results!)
Planning
I spent a considerable amount of time designing the pool. You’ve heard the old adage “Measure twice, cut once”, well, it plays well here too! You want to take several things into account when designing your pool; placement, elevation, obstructions and so many other things! Once I created an initial design, I measured and marked the layout on the ground and then we lived with it for a while; walking around with it, making sure that it would work for us. We tweaked the initial design here and there and then when we were ready, we started digging!!!!
Digging In
We used an Excavator to dig and a tractor to move dirt. This is where I’ll stop and say that Oklahoma is a wonderful place to live…we just happen to have horrible dirt. Pure clay all over the place, (Ugh) which didn’t make the digging easy, but my husband is a boss!
It ended up taking 22 excavator hours to get the rough hole dug for the whole natural pool and we all got in on the action. My husband sat on the excavator carefully carving out the hole. I sat on the tractor, taking bucket after bucket full of dirt away and dumping it. Then after the rough hole was complete, came the hand shaping and shoveling. (ugh) The boys jumped in and helped a little there as well.
Having a digging plan was also essential. My husband came up with a plan on exactly how he was going to dig from start to finish in order to be able to dig himself out of the area while still being able to reach everything. He ended up perched on a little peninsula at the end and digging while he backed out.
After some small amounts of hand shaping, came the job of bucketing all of the loose elements out of the whole pool….and that was a lot of shoveling! (at this point I am quite sick of shoveling!) Since the deep end is so deep, my husband devised a plan for us to get the stuff out a little easier. He put a couple of 4x4s together and made a rack for us to raise a loaded bucket out of the hole without spilling. So I shoveled and filled, and he lifted and dumped. Back-breaking work, but we got it handled! One step closer!
Video–See the progress for yourself!
I’m adding several video clips to show the actual progress as it went along. It also explains some of what was going on during the process. (Bear in mind that some of these clips were ones that I took to send to my mother and sister to keep them updated, so they are very informal ;-).
Our next update on the progress of the natural pool project will be coming soon! Don’t forget to come back and check it out or just make it easy and subscribe to our blog!
If you would like to have a look at any of our other construction projects here on the Farmstead, don’t miss these: Barn Construction Project Greenhouse Construction part 1 Greenhouse Construction part 2 Raised Garden Beds
NEVER MISS A THING!!
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We also, as a homesteading family, have three additional blogs that might interest you. A Life on the Farm focuses on the more personal side of the homesteading life. We discuss subjects like family, parenting, relationships, homeschooling, cooking, canning and so much more.
Farm Raised Family is basically a hub for everything under the Two Oaks Farmstead umbrella. You can learn a great deal about all parts of the farmstead there. The Farm Raised Family blog focuses on financial matters such as budgeting, saving, and more and on current events affecting families.
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Farm Life and Freedom is the new podcast we are in the process of launching! It is going to be so much fun! You could also check in with our Farm Life and Family Youtube Channel.
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