So I was able to put the lift back together. I can get people to stand on it. Now it's filled with water and I don't know what to do.

I think I might have it figured out ... need to wait for rain.

I know you are probably going to cry at this, but...

You have to make sure that the person is standing on the lift ALL the time whilst the lift is rising up. Best use a chief for this. Leave them on there all day or just be quick when it starts to rain.

And don't take them off the lift while they are going up. They won't be able to get beck up.

The water should disappear from your lift soon so don't worry!

You can't just "leave a villager on the lift all day." They will get bored after a few minutes and walk away. You must either make sure to monitor the villager on the lift and return them to it when they walk away, or take immediate action when it starts to rain.

so that's what I was doing, leaving them on the lift until it rained again. It rained ... and they got off the lift all by themselves. I didn't even touch him!!

Argh - and I'm low on food.

I was patient long enough and figured it out. 3rd times the charm. Now just to wait for more fruit. Hopefully I can get a lot more seeds.

How many villagers can get on the lift at once? I keep trying to get 2 but they keep making babies - which is NOT what I need right now.

Only one person can go on the lift at a time, it's all you need.

You can only plant two pieces of fruit (besides the first one you get given anyway at the start of the game), after the second piece they just deposit the fruit in the food bin.

Leave the person on the lift when it rains and watch the lift rise up. Then you'll see a piece of fruit fall down - then just get your villager to pick it up and plant it (Don't disturb them while their planting!)

The trees take a while to grow though!

I don't put a villager on the lift until it actually starts raining. They are better employed elsewhere, rather than standing around. As soon as I see the first spots fall I'll pop a villager on the platform.

If the villager hits their "I'm bored" limit while on the lift, they'll even get off in mid-air. It's best to wait for it to rain, then drop everything to get a villager on it.

I haven't had any walk off unless they weren't on it right in the first place. It has to be all the way to the ground and they give a bit of a message saying they are getting on the lift otherwise it won't work. That is except maybe once when it didnt rain long enough. I put mine on as soon as I see a bit of sprinkles.

Ok but after it rains and after they get the seed how do you get the lift back down? The buckets still filled with water.

It will go back down as the water "evaporates". You don't have to do anything.