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[bobf <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

So, the rainwatwer from the roof of the house was enough for their water 
needs?

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--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Homesteading on the beach?
> To: bobford79 AT yahoo.com, homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 11:34 AM
> Someone on another list started a thread talking about
> rainwater
> harvesting. (Sorry for those on both lists.) I thought
> I'd copy my
> response here since we had touched on that:
> 
> I grew up near the Gamble Plantation in Ellenton, Fl. I
> remember the
> cistern. Water was like someone mentioned in the Bahamas,
> like gold. I
> remember that the cistern had plants, minnows and frogs
> growing in it.
> I think that is how they deal with mosquitoes and stuff
> like that. It
> was still functioning in the late 1970s. It is like a pool
> with a roof
> with the bottom and sides made of a sort of cement with
> sand and
> coquina shells.
> 
> I googled it and found two pictures:
> 
> http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/gambleplantation.html
> (2nd picture down)
> 
> http://goflorida.about.com/od/floridastateparks/ss/sp_gamble_2.htm
> (you can just see it to the right of the house in the
> picture)
> 
> I've always thought that this was a good idea for how
> to do a cistern.
> The plants, fish and frogs keep the water alive and clean.
> If the
> cistern was a little higher level than your garden a siphon
> hose would
> get the water out and to the garden.