Episode-2088- Lessons and Planning from the first 3/4s of 2017

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Modern Survival| 5 Comments
Episode-2088- Lessons and Planning from the first 3/4s of 2017 [ 1:23:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Timber Frame Pond – AKA “Miyagi Pond” is the Nine Mile Farm Home Run of 2017

Here are Nine Mile Farm we have pretty much settled into our selected systems on a lot of things at this point almost 5 years into the journey.  Our ducks run on a clock work like system, feeding, paddock shifting, egg collection, etc are all quite fine tuned at this point.

The trees require very little maintenance and most of our desired infrastructure is now installed.  Still we are constantly trying and testing out new things.  This year we have found some really great gems of knowledge and we have also come up with some quite refined plans for our future.

A lot of the new stuff is going to be built in winter, because here in north Texas that is the most pleasant time of year for construction work and out door projects.  Today I am going to do an old school sort of “chat with Jack” episode on what has worked well this year and where we are taking that knowledge to in the future.

Join Me Today to Discuss….

  • The aviary and aquaponics system has become a great asset in need of tweaking
  • The timber frame pond (Miyagi) is the most trouble free aquatic system I’ve built
  • Thai water spinach is an amazing and delicious plant
  • Peppers do fantastic at 60% shade here in Texas anyway
  • Tomato blight continues to be the bane of my existence
  • Elevated ponds and gardens are the way forward due to the ducks
  • Our in ground pond is pretty much a disaster, we may have to nuke it
  • Bluegill and other sunfish are about the most trouble free and economically viable protein here in Texas
  • Bullheads do not seem to be a good aquaponics option
  • A Steven Harris Battery Bank and a cooler make a great live well
  • Plans for this winter
    • Build a bigger, better Miyagi
    • Grow out koi for the Miyagi’s
    • Develop a large wicking bed system that is 100% duck proof
    • Design a planting plan for the new and old systems
    • Meat chicken run in 2018, no new ducks this time
    • Take another go at the orchard that failed
    • Duck Free Zones and an Outdoor Kitchen
    • Look to simplify systems and automate everything
  • Final thoughts

Resources for today’s show…

Sponsors of the Day

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

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Lodge 14″ Cast Iron Wok – Item of the Day

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Modern Survival| 1 Comment

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Lodge 14″ Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Wok.  I have been in the market for a new wok for a while.  Our current wok is a huge wok with one of those “stick free surfaces”.  It works okay but it is really too big (like 20 inches) and it just doesn’t really hold heat the way I would like, so it is going off to Goodwill.

In my quest for the new Spirko wok I examined two main options, the first was carbon steel and the second cast iron.  Basically I came down to the conclusion that the chief advantage to carbon steel is it is lighter and better for “tossing” stir fry.  Where as the heavy cast iron does better with great heat distribution.  However, given it comes in at 11 lbs, you are going to be “stirring” that stir fry, not tossing it.

The other advantage to the thinner carbon steel is it heats up faster, where the cast iron wok will hold the heat longer.  In the end I sat down in my kitchen and asked myself, which one is more likely to be still being used and in better shape then the day I bought it, long after I am dead.  On that thought I considered my grandmother’s old cast iron griddle that my father still has.  It was her mother’s and it was one of the few things though brought to the US from the Ukraine in the 1890s.

Well, that was that!  So I started looking at brands and I looked at thinner cast iron woks that weighed a bit less, but the reviews were abysmal and some were not actually cast iron.  Once again I thought about my own kitchen, all the cast iron I own is either old school stuff like Griswold found at flea markets and antique malls and almost all the new stuff comes from Lodge.

I have a Lodge Dutch Oven, a Lodge Griddle and quite a few other Lodge items.  So I checked out the Lodge Wok and realized it was always going to be my choice in the end.  No matter how many other ones I looked at there was one that you knew exactly what you were going to get when  you ordered it.

Lodge has been making cast iron for over 100 years right here in America, of the current manufactures they are simply the best at it.  Now I do dearly love old school “milled” cast iron, which is why I am always sniffing around antique malls, frankly it is about the only reason Dorothy can drag me into one.  But in 45 years of living I have yet to see and old school milled cast iron wok.

Buying the Lodge was a solid choice and with all the stir frying we are doing since discovering new vegetables like Thai Water Spinach which is growing far faster than we can eat it all, it was time for a new wok.  The Lodge is simply fantastic, this thing gets screaming hot, it stays that way.  I power the burner up heavy to get it pre heated but after that a low flame keeps it cooking hot and fast the way wok cooking is supposed to be.

Frankly if I had a larger kitchen I would like have this wok and a hand hammered Japanese made carbon steel wok as well, but my kitchen is rather small and any time I buy a new pan, frankly an old one has to go.  And funny enough cast iron seems to be taking over my kitchen.

So if you are in the market for a wok, and want something your great grandchildren can be using long after you are gone, check out the Lodge 14″ Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Wok today.  There are not many things left in our modern world that you can buy for under 50 dollars and yet know they will outlast you and your children, this is one of them.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop online you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

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Episode-2087- Listener Feedback for 9-18-17

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Modern Survival| 11 Comments
Episode-2087- Listener Feedback for 9-11-17 [ 1:32:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

jackspirkoToday on The Survival Podcast I take your questions on farming, fruit trees, community, guns, mint, bureaucracy and more.

Remember to be on a show like this one just pick up your phone and call 866-65-THINK.

Make sure if you submit content for a feedback show that you put something like “comment for jack”, “question for jack” or “article for jack” in the subject line to assure proper identification for my screening process.

Please understand I receive several hundred emails a day and can’t get them all on the air.

I also do put out a lot of information on Facebook from emails that I can’t fit on the program though so keep em coming.

Join Me Today As I Respond to Your Calls and Discuss…

  • An update on Grant Shultz and Versaland Farm
  • Thoughts on buying “left over” fruit trees
  • More zello community feedback
  • Thoughts on the “Police Model” 870
  • Getting rid of a patch of mint
  • What is Gun Genie and why should you care
  • On the passing of Jerry Pournelle and his Iron Law of Bureaucracy
  • Can governments really “crush cryptocurrency”
  • Another build a rifle challenge – the 600 dollar all in “mountain rifle”

Resources for today’s show…

Sponsors of the Day

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

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Porter-Cable 9-Inch Pruning Reciprocating Saw Blades – Item of the Day

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Modern Survival| 9 Comments

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Porter-Cable 9-Inch Pruning Reciprocating Saw Blade.  I have always been a fan of using Reciprocating Saws (IE Sawzalls) as a tool for pruning trees or removing small trees where a chain saw would be over kill.  It is especially nice for small trees that you want to cut off flush to the ground.  They also make a less damaging cut when pruning large branches on fruit trees.

The big thing though is safety.  I have used chain saws since I was 12 years old and thank God I have never hurt myself with one.  I have seen quite a few injuries though and they are pretty awful.  One thing I realized is that these injuries almost never happen when felling large trees, or bucking trees.  Then tend to happen when people are doing work on small trees and small slash.

The rule is simple, TWO HANDS ON THE SAW AT ALL TIME THE CHAIN IS MOVING, the end, infinity.  But when working with bushy stuff sooner or later the temptation becomes too great, a hand comes off the saw and in time sooner or later flesh and bone meet moving chain.  My grandfathers words ring true,

Moving machines and tools have no sympathy, no conscious and no respect for human beings.  They don’t care if they are cutting wood and metal or flesh and bone.  You are the one with the brain so act like it!

In that spirit many years ago I thought, wow all this little bushy crap doesn’t really need a chain saw.  Took out my sawzall and instantly was a convert.  If it can be easily cut with a reciprocating saw that is what I use.  It is lighter, quieter and safer so why not.

Over the years I tried a lot of different blades, the blade in the video below is just a stock “wood blade”.  Most left something to be desired when cutting trees.  I found a few good “specialty blades”.  They were however expensive and the best one I ever found was the T-Rex Extreme but they went out of business.  Trying to make a company on one product is pretty tough!

So one day I decided to give these a whirl and to this day they are the best, highly available and affordable pruning blade I have found.  They end up costing about $3.70 a piece and you get a LOT of cutting out of a blade before you need to switch it out.  If you look at the tooth pattern it is clear why they work so well, it is very similar to a scaled down bow saw blade.

One of the best uses for this set up is one you don’t really think about until you need to do it.  You are digging a trench for say some irrigation pipe and you come across a root, a big root, one that is really hard to cut out with a shovel or a mattock.  Are you going to shove your chainsaw down into that dirt and rock mess?  Nope but two swift cuts from a sawzall and you just pop it out and move on.

So if you own a reciprocating saw, consider picking up a set of these.  Again I have tried a lot of different blades but bang for the buck I see Porter-Cable 9-Inch Pruning Reciprocating Saw Blades as the best you can get right now.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop on Amazon you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

P.S. – If you are in the market for a reciprocating saw I truly do bleed yellow and black Dewalt blood.  This is the saw I would recommend, The Dewalt 20V MAX.  However it is a bare tool only at 107 meaning you need chargers and batteries so I only recommend it if like me you want to standardize on Dewalt.

I have to admit that the maker of these blades Porter-Cable makes damn decent tools and they have great pricing as well.  This set of a Porter-Cable Drill and Sawzall will give you a 20V Saw, a 20V Drill, a Battery and a Charger for about the same cost as the bare Dewalt saw.  Is the Dewalt a better tool?  Yes.  If I didn’t already own Dewalts and needed something for home owner level use, would I say it is that much better?  No.  Brand loyalty only goes so far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note this video is old, really old, I have lost a lot of weight
and gained a lot of gray hairs since then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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TSP Nov Workshop on Nine Mile Farm – Sold Out

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Modern Survival| Leave a comment

Once again our fall workshop sold out before it was available beyond the MSB.  If you would like to be put on a waiting list in case anyone cancels email me at jack at thesurvivalpodcast.com with TSPC Workshop in the subject line.

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Episode-2086- Expert Council Q&A for 9-15-17

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Modern Survival| 4 Comments
Episode-2086- Expert Council Q&A for 9-15-17 [ 1:30:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today its Friday so it’s time for expert council show. To ask a question for a show like this, just send an email to me at jack at thesurvivalpodcast.com with “TSPC Expert” in the subject line.

Today the expert council answers questions on vehicles, alternative health, plants, cooking, ETF investing, concealed carry, old guns and more.

In the body of your email first tell me the council member your question is for. Second ask your question concisely in one to two sentences maximum. Third any and all details after that. This is the formula to give you the best chance of getting on the air.

I do what I can to get as many of your questions as possible on the air but can’t always get to all of them. Our council is made of a wide variety of experts in everything from the tactical to the practical and everything in between.

To get more information on our Expert Council visit our “Meet the Expert Council Page” to learn more about them and their specific areas of expertise.

Join Me Today As Our Experts Discuss

  • Choosing the correct oil for an older motor – Tim Glance
  • Using DE for health reasons – Doc Bones
  • Overwintering of potted perennials – Nick Ferguson
  • Cooking with wild mushrooms – Chef Keith Snow
  • Making buy and sell decisions with a silver ETF – John Pugliano
  • Duty to inform about concealed carry with LEO contacts – Dan Ohmann
  • Hunting with old shot guns and vintage hunting/fishing gear in general – Jack

Resources for today’s show…

Websites of the Expert Council Members

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

`

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Kingbo Reflector 45W LED Grow Light – Item of the Day

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Modern Survival| 23 Comments

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Note – This is an encore item and one I am bringing around for the fourth time this year the reason is they just dropped the price to under 29 bucks.  Since I first reviewed this item over 700 of them have been purchased by TSP members and I have only had 100% positive feedback on them.  At the time in my view they are the best deal on grow lights you can find.

We are also headed into the fall and winter gardening season, time to get those greens, broccoli, etc plants started before it is too late.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Kingbo Reflector 45W LED Grow Light.  I just discussed this item yesterday on the show but I am so impressed with the value of it I am featuring it for the TspAz item of the day.

To grow well plants need full spectrum lighting and as LED technology has advanced it has become the go to choice of professionals in the indoor farming market.  Not only does it grow plants with greater vigor than florescent lighting it has a massive cost savings in electrical use and LEDs last a long longer so the longer equipment life cycle further drives down total cost.

Still the cost of quality LED grow lights has been quite high and it has held back the small time and hobby gardener for quite a while.  Recently some low cost lights have come along and worked okay but were made so cheaply that they would often fail in 90-180 days for many users.  And with that any savings was gone.

Over the past two years a company called Kingbo began producing some smaller LED grow lights and developed a good reputation with them, but they were two small to be useful to me for starting flats of seeds.  When they came out with the Kingbo Reflector 45W LED Grow Light I was pretty happy but figured I would wait a while and let others try it out and see what kind of reputation it had after some use by the market.

It has now been around about 9 months and seems to have maintained a good reputation.  I also like that they offer a full 12 month warranty and a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee.

The big thing I like is how well it works, see the video below of one youtuber who tested his on basil and watermelon.  When you hear me talk about healthy and stocky seedlings this is what I am talking about.  I like this light so much that I recently ordered 4 of them for my own seed starting this year.  I’ll be putting together my system and sharing it with you soon.

In any event if you are looking for a great grow light to start your own plants indoors, of do indoor farming with a grow tent, check this one out, at 29 dollars with 4.6 stars with over 160 reviews it is hard to beat on the current market.   I do expect over the years for this technology to continue to improve and become more affordable, but at present time the Kingbo Reflector 45W LED Grow Light is my current top choice of what is available.  I have waited long enough to adopt LED grow light technology.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop on Amazon you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

P.S. Check out these videos testing testing the Kingbo Reflector 45W LED Grow Light.

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Episode-2085- Listener Calls for 9-13-17

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Modern Survival| 26 Comments
Episode-2085- Listener Calls for 9-13-17 [ 1:34:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

jackspirkoToday on The Survival Podcast I take your calls on cell phones, dogs, investing, communications, storm preps, hunting rifles and more.

Remember to be on a show like this one just pick up your phone and call 866-65-THINK.

The best way to improve your chances of being on the air is ask your question or make your point up front, then provide details.

Also please do your best to call from a quiet area with a good connection and speak up so you can be well heard.

While I can’t put all calls on the air but I do my best to get as many of them on as I can.

Join Me Today As I Respond to Your Calls and Discuss…

  • Thoughts on a “back up” cell phone
  • Thoughts on the militarization of LEOs
  • Dealing with a dog having issues with house training
  • How to manage a life establishment fund for your kids
  • Should we select a TSP official CB channel
  • Setting up water catch for AC water drip
  • The value of storm preps during a hurricane
  • Keeping cash on hand safely for a disaster
  • Choosing a quality deer rifle set up for under 1000 dollars

Resources for today’s show…

Sponsors of the Day

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

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Weber Premium Charcoal Grill – Item of the Day

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Modern Survival| 1 Comment

bronzegrillEvery day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day the Weber Premium Charcoal Grill.  I have owned a lot of grills, both gas and charcoal and this is my all time all around favorite.  While I do appreciate the instant light and go of my gas grill if I have 30 minutes to wait for the coals to ash over I go to my Weber more times than not.

Consider the orginal Weber Kettle Grill was made from an old buoy in 1952 and in 1956 was redesigned to look much like today’s grill.  Since 56 it has had some changes here and there but it is still pretty much the same.  Folks that is 60 years!  When something is around 60 years, one must conclude it is because it works.

The grill I recommend is the mid level model, the Weber Premium Charcoal Grill and mainly due to the upgraded “one touch cleaning system”, which should be called the no touch system in my view.  No need to ever get covered with ash.  Just turn the vent handle back and forth and remove the catcher, dump and replace it, done.

I grill at both high and indirect temps with my Weber, I smoke with it, I have done skewers over strait coals, I have even cooked meat directly on the coals.  Honestly if I needed more space for grilling at 149 shipped free on prime, I would just buy a second Weber Premium Charcoal Grill and call it a day.

A word of advice, if you take care of a Weber Kettle it will last a very long time.  Meaning someday your grill may be coveted by something called a “Kettle Head”.  What is a Kettle Head?  A collector of these grills, they even have their own very active forum.  And when you see them find and restore older gills they always seem to crave anything besides black.

I am not saying your grill will become a collectable some day but if you want the ability to sell it you will find Kettle heads prefer colors like bronze and green.  Personally I got bronze because well, it just looks cool and I like to be different.

Grilling is my favorite way to cook and the simplicity of the Weber is a great way to go.  If you have been considering a charcoal grill I have to say nothing really stacks up to the Weber Premium Charcoal Grill from a value to cost ratio.  Best part is how easy to assemble it is, it is really just a one beer job.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop on online you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

P.S. – This is a special encore item, because Weber is for a limited time bringing back red in this grill.  This is one of the most sought after colors by Kettle Heads, personally I still prefer bronze, but given that the red is back (at a premium by the way) for a very short time, I decided to bring this item back around.  You can find the Red Kettle Here.

Currently you can pre order it and it will be released on Nov. 15th, Weber has not said yet how many will be released or for how long it will be available.  But it is the perfect Christmas gift for the griller in your life, I am sure the timing by Weber is to that end!

 

 

 

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TSP Fall Workshop at Nine Mile Farm Now Open For Registration.

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Modern Survival| 7 Comments

Okay guys and gals the TSP Nine Mile Farm Workshop is now open for those that want to sign up to come this fall.

To get full details and to make your deposit log into the MSB.  On the main login page the link is posted in giant bold letters on the top.

Hope to see many old and new faces this time around.

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