Cindy, I like your home made grates for the end of your return pipes. I will have to remember that those in case I ever need something like that. I would do away with those but they do add friction to the flow of the system. Since these are DYI there are no exact measurements on these but I would guess that they are the same as 6 ft of pipe. So let's calculate the friction on your return lines. First we have water going from the drum into the 4" pipe. So we have 4 ft of the diameter of the drum and 2 ft of the 4" pipe for water to move from a larger pipe to a smaller pipe. The drum is large enough that four ft of it won't amount to any friction to worry about. But the 2 ft of 4" we will look at. Then we have a 45 elbow which is the same as 5 ft of 4" pipe. Then we also have 90 elbow which is the same as 12 ft of 4" pipe. Then we have the Ferco fitting. I am going to assume that the pipes inside the Ferco fitting are tight against each other and are in a straight line and this is the same as 4 ft of 4" pipe. Then we have the pipe expanding in the pond and this is 4 ft. of the 4" pipe and 2 ft of the diameter of the pond which will be about nothing. Then we have a 4 ft of pipe and a 3 ft of pipe. So each of the return lines are as follows: 6+2+5+12+4+4+4+3=40 ft of 4" pipe. So that short length of 7 ft of pipe is actually with fittings and changes in pipe sizes equals the same as 40 ft pipe. So the question is how much flow do we get by gravity through 40 ft of a 4" pipe with 1" of head? We actually get 3146 gph per return and we have 2 returns so the actual flow back to the pond would be 6292 gph. But I would guess that the head pressure is less than 1" so if I look at .5" head pressure we have flow for each return of 2156 or a total flow 4312 gph. So I would guess that when you actually take a good measurement of the head pressure you are going to find that it is a little more then .75 inch. .75 inch would have a flow of 5302 gph. Mike

I have mine up against the east side of the house planted beside the water faucet and a/c condensation line for moisture. It gets morning sun, then shade starting at 1:00pm. It gets about 5 feet tall in my garden, so I've put a support on it this year to keep it from leaning out toward the sunshine. I put a cutting of it out front on the southwest side surrounded by shrubs and tall perennials in the moist (when no drought) area at the bottom of a slope. I'll see if that's too hot or not. It's easy to divide once you can cut off 8" sections of root.

Diane, I grew potatoes because I have a desire to learn to grow edible crops. I don't know that I will ever have the need to live on only what I can grow, but I have a desire to be able to do that. I hope to interest my children and grandchildren in being able to do the same thing. I have read and listened to a lot of people talk about growing potatoes and wondered what book they read it out of, because it didn't always seem like they had real knowledge and experience. All over the net there are people growing in containers and grow boxes that they build themselves and claiming that the plant will form potatoes as much as 16 inches up the plant. I would like to know what variety they have found that does this, because I am not seeing that happen. In some cases, I got as many, or more, potatoes from one plant than I used to plant the entire bed, but they didn't come very far up the stalk. My stalks were well mulched, so there was room for them to come up the stem, but they didn't. My plants were way over 3 feet high, so the problem was not in growth. The plants are pretty up until the time they bloom, but after that they start a slow decline. After a while, you have a pile of straw or dirt with ugly, yellowed plants. Then the leaves fall off, eventually everything dries up so you can dig them up. I am only telling you this so you understand why I am changing my method of planting. I am going to kill out the grass in a new un-used area of my property (not the fenced garden). This is going to be my new compost pile for a few months. Next spring it is going to be my potato garden. The taste thing -- good, but IMO desn't come close to the difference in a cardboard tomato and a homegrown one. Given use of the same amount of space, I can think of a lot of things I would rather grow in the space, still I think they are worth growing. I don't plan to use my valuable fenced in garden for this crop in the future. Now, if when I dig the last little patch, I find 200 pounds, I might change my mind. LOL

I'm a complete sucker for a good hex. I love that! I'm not a tile floor person, but I could happily cook with that gorgeousness under my feet every day. How exciting! Like others, I'm anxious to see the cab installation. Good job!