Tag Archives: gardening

Episode-699- Marjory Wildcraft on Producing Your Own Food

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Modern Survival| 21 Comments
Episode-699- Marjory Wildcraft on Producing Your Own Food [ 1:15:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note – Today’s show was originally supposed to air on Wednesday last week.  Due to an error it is airing today, so the episode numbers and dates in the audio won’t match.  Today’s show though is now officially Episode 699.  We will do a listener calls show tomorrow and a feedback show on Wednesday to make up for last weeks missed shows.

Today Marjory Wildcraft of Back Yard Food Production joins us to discuss taking control of your own food supply with home growing, small livestock and community building.

Not long ago humans fed themselves, provided for their on needs and were largely self sufficient. They knew how to feed themselves, how to take care of animals, what to plant and what to do when something went wrong. Marjory’s DVD, “Food Production Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm” is your guide to recapturing that lost knowledge.

Marjory is a nationally recognized expert in organic backyard food production.  She is the creator of a widely acclaimed video tutorial titled Food Production Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm.  Marjory teaches people with no gardening or agricultural experience, how to successfully grow healthy, vibrant, life-giving nutritious food.

Her DVD is endorsed and carried by such notables as The Permaculture Activist, Acre’s USA, John Jeavons and Ecology Action’s premier seed and tool company Bountiful Gardens, SurvivalBlog.com and The Weston-Price Nutrition Foundation.

She has been featured as a guest on a diversity of national radio shows such as Coast to Coast AM, “The Power Hour” with Joyce Riley, and the Patrick Timpone show.

Join us today as we discuss…

  • Getting started from zero with food production
  • Growing herbs
  • Composting
  • Rabbits vs chicken for meat production
  • The “secret to a green thumb”
  • Guns and gardening
  • How hard times are on the way but you don’t have to participate

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

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Episode-658- Converting Raw Land into Fertile Land

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Modern Survival| 9 Comments
Episode-658- Converting Raw Land into Fertile Land [ 1:14:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So yesterday we discussed finding a remote piece of land as a get away retreat/BOL or even as a low cost place to live full time.  Whether you are working with such a piece of land or even a larger homestead most affordable land isn’t ideal for agricultural pursuits.

So today we discuss how to take arid, rocky, steep or any otherwise non agricultural land and convert into a fertile and productive landscape.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • Okay I screwed up the military discount it is now fixed
  • We made the first of two server moves all is well
  • The initial land assessment is all about slope and sun
  • The secondary assessment is what is already there and doing well
  • “Hardscaping comes first” applied to permaculture
  • Permaculture’s key with water is make it take the longest and slowest path
  • Design in totality and a foot at a time
  • Think in guilds vs. crops
  • Consider the Permaculture layers
    • Canopy
    • Sub Canopy
    • Shrub
    • Herbaceous
    • Soil Surface
    • Vertical Climbers
    • Rhizosphere
  • Think natural growing systems not “organic”
  • Don’t force round pegs into square holes
  • Naturalist vs. Monoculturist vs. Permaculturist

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

Photo Credit Above to planet a.

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Episode-647- 12 Methods of Individual Food Production

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Modern Survival| 23 Comments
Episode-647- 12 Methods of Individual Food Production [ 59:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today I think we need to really begin to think about individual food production.  I 100% meant what I said yesterday about fearing future food shortages and as a result skyrocketing food prices.  America was once a “nation of farmers”, yet I think that statement gets misunderstood.

In our nation of farmer, yes, there were many true farmers in the way we generally think of the word.  Families who farmed more than 100 acres and literally earned their living from their land.  Yet at the same time countless men were tradesman and professionals as a primary source of income but still maintained a “farm” from a few to a few dozen acres.

These farms fed their families and raised additional income by selling surplus.  They also preserved much of the harvest to deal with winter shortages and other hard times.  Somewhere along the way the time clock and next promotion began to bury the small farms in the new reality of suburbia.  Yet even in the initial stages of suburbia the spirit lived on for a while.   Today we must continue to rekindle our roots as producers of food.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • What became of our “nation of farmers”
  • Methods of individual food production
    1. Conventional gardening
    2. Guerrilla gardening
    3. Foraging
    4. Hunting
    5. Fishing
    6. Trapping
    7. Plant and forget
    8. Small Livestock
    9. Permaculture
    10. Aquaponics
    11. Container Gardening
    12. Food preservation

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-631- Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen from RootSimple.com

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Modern Survival| 27 Comments
Episode-631- Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen from RootSimple.com [ 52:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Erik and Kelly from RootSimple.com

Erik and Kelly from RootSimple.com

Today we are joined by Erkik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne of RootSimple.com to discuss urban homesteading (go ahead Dervaes Family, my lawyer can beat up your lawyer because my lawyer has an IQ with 3 digits) and how to convert your home from a consumer to producer.

Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen are the authors of The Urban Homestead and Making It and founded the blog RootSimple.com, which was formerly known as Homegrown Evolution, in 2006.

They live in the heart of Los Angeles, in a little bungalow set on a 1/12 acre lot where almost all of their land is devoted to growing edible or otherwise useful plants and trees. Their obsessions include bees, bikes, beer, chickens, dogs, healthy cities, healing herbs, simple living and good food.

Join Erik, Kelly and I Today as we Discuss…

  • How to make the most of any land you you
  • Replacing grass with useful and edible plantings
  • Jacks totally maintenance free lawn, built by doing nothing
  • The “militant view” on building mini orchards
  • The advantages of perennials over annuals
  • Kelly burns beans right in the middle of the interview (classic)
  • Companion planting for optimal production
  • Tepary beans and other dry climate plantings (my source of Tepary beans)
  • So what is spigarello
  • Growing luffa sponge gourds
  • Keeping chickens in the city
  • All natural bee keeping and capturing wild swarms

Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-623- An Interview with Jason Akers “The Self Sufficient Gardener”

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Modern Survival| 10 Comments
Episode-623- An Interview with Jason Akers "The Self Sufficient Gardener" [ 1:18:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jason Akers of TheSelfSufficientGardener.com

Today I wrap up the 4 part interview series that began on Wednesday the 9th by interviewing Jason Akers of TheSelfSufficientGardener.com Jason is well known for his articles in magazines such as Backwoods Home and Self Reliance Illustrated along with his podcast called of course “The Self Sufficient Gardener Podcast”

Jason joins us on TSP today to discuss a variety of subjects including plant histories of brassicas and tomatoes, why he does not practice raised bed gardening, why he teaches gardening based on efficiency, responsibility and sustainability and more.

Jason is a long time TSP listener and a supporter of the MSB both as a member and by donating his eBook, (Planting Trees The Low Cost Easy Way) which MSB members will find in the “Download” section of their MSB accounts.  He also has another website with a podcast he does about once a week called “Hunt, Gather, Grow, Eat” which focuses more on wild foraging, hunting and other sources of gathering and using wild foods.

Join Jason and I today as we discuss…

  • Thoughts on gardening with efficiency, responsibility, and sustainability
  • How permaculture ethics incorporate with self sufficient gardening
  • Why getting a return of surplus is critical to self sufficiency
  • Providing your gardens nutrients with composting and vermicompost
  • The use of rain water harvesting for irrigation
  • The quail tractor an alternative to those with restrictions on chickens
  • The wisdom of growing or raising things you can’t generally buy
  • The shocking history of the tomato and the belief that it was poisonous
  • The history of all brassicas and how they were developed from a single plant
  • Japanese beetle, pest or the perfect chicken food
  • Toads the ultimate predator of the garden
  • Training chickens to eat slugs
  • Why Jason specifically does not use raised beds or do square foot gardening

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

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Episode-622- Tawnya Sawyer on Aquaponics

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Modern Survival| 18 Comments
Episode-622- Tawnya Sawyer on Aquaponics [ 1:20:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tawyna Sawyer of Colorado Aquaponics

Today we are joined by Tawnya Sawyer of Colorado Aquaponics.  Tawnya is a Colorado native who grew up in the mountains raising plants and animals for food.

Tawnya is passionate about changing both the quality of the food available and the demands placed on natural resources for food production.

Colorado Aquaponics grows local food, designs and builds aquaponics systems, provides project management services and delivers educational programs.  They provide services to individuals, families and communities who want to take charge of their own sustainable food production.

Join Tawnya and I Today as we discuss…

  • How aquaponics differs from aquaculture and hydroponics
  • How aquaponics moves you closer to a “closed loop system”
  • Species of fish to consider for your aquaponics system
  • Timer based vs flush and drain systems
  • The need for back up systems to prevent fish loss
  • The advantages of fish as a protein source over small mammals
  • Using aquaponics for backyard and hobby producers
  • Heating options for fish that require it such as tilapia
  • Acquiring fish from a hatchery vs. breeding your own
  • Self provided food options such as duckweed, worms and black solider larva

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-616- The How, Why and What of Starting Plants from Seed

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Modern Survival| 17 Comments
Episode-616- The How, Why and What of Starting Plants from Seed [ 1:12:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Photo Credit to Chiot's Run

I have gotten a lot of questions from people who are looking to start plants from seeds vs. buying plants at the nursery.

Many people struggle with seed starting for a variety of reasons so I am dedicating most of today’s show to help you master the skill of taking tiny seeds and turning them into food and medicine producing plants.

Today’s show competes sort of an informal weekly series on Monday we discusses the dangers of GMOs and the differences between GMO, Hybrid, Open Pollinated and Heirloom varieties.  Then on Tuesday we covered saving seeds for sustainability, today we complete the series but discussing how to get those seeds up and off to a good start for a successful gardening season.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • Understanding how seeds germinate in the wild (this answers so many questions)
  • What are the needs of a seed
  • Cube, pots, paper and peat
  • Why starting indoors is a good idea
  • You need light, window light generally won’t cut it
  • Building a simple grow light
  • Mist watering and watering from the bottom
  • Creating constant temperatures
  • Culling and “pricking out”
  • Starting seeds in pots that are generally considered “direct sow”
  • Seeds that should almost always be direct sowed
  • Hardening off seeds
  • Potting up the why and how
  • Holding back in ground planting until you are sure
  • Mulch is your friend

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-614- Seed Saving, Seed Banks & Seed Storage

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Modern Survival| 15 Comments
Episode-614- Seed Saving, Seed Banks and Seed Storage [ 1:25:16 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Photo credit to tonrulkens

So yesterday I did a show one could only call alarming about GMOs and the problems they are creating for society in the name of science and supposedly feeding the world.  Though one wonders how putting round up resistant bent grass on golf courses will fee anything?

Today true to the TSP mission I turn to one of the personal solutions to this problem, preserving the genetic diversity of our existing seed stocks.

There is also a ton of confusion in the seed marketplace today about exactly what a GMO is, what a hybrid is and what an “heirloom” seed is.  Without an understanding of this you are vulnerable to a lot of misinformation campaigns designed to sell you things you don’t need or keep you from using some seeds that may really be beneficial to you.

For instance some hybrids may be resistant to a disease that is rampant in your region or allow you to get an earlier start in a region with a short growing season.  Additionally you do want to avoid GMOs and GMO containing foods whenever you can but the risk to seeds used by home gardeners at this time is greatly over exaggerated by those with something to sell you.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • Understanding Seed Storage and Seed Types
    • What is a GMO vs. what is a hybrid
    • What is an heirloom vs. what is an open pollinated variety
    • What is the purpose of a commercial seed bank, the positives and negatives
    • Do seeds ever “go bad” or is it not quite that simple
    • What are the enemies to a seeds vitality, what makes for good storage
  • Saving You Own Seeds
    • Selecting fruit/seeds for saving
    • Separation distances and cross pollination
    • Succession planting to avoid cross pollination/hybrid crossing
    • Manual pollination and isolation to ensure purity
    • Resource for specific seed types
  • Building Personal Seed Vaults
    • Remember the enemies of seed storage (light, heat, moisture)
    • Oxygen free is NOT the way to be
    • Ziplock vs. mylar vs. containers vs. envelopes
    • Consider how long you really need to store seeds
    • Focus on what grows fast and what provides calories
    • Remember some seeds are food and some food is seed
    • Buying seeds is a good investment – Start with out supporters
    • Trading is another great way to add stock and diversity (local rocks)
    • Why you should join Seed Savers Exchange

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Emergency Seed Banks and Open Pollinated vs Hybrid vs GMO

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Modern Survival| 17 Comments

In this video I don’t just review the emergency seed bank from Directive21.com I dispel many myths about GMOs vs. Hybrid Variety seeds.  Emergency seed vaults are in my view an outstanding addition to your long term preps but the hype in the emergency seed industry is really misleading.  Tune into this video for hard and somewhat harsh facts about emergency seed products and the real reasons to invest in them vs. the fear based marketing of many other manufactures.

Having seeds is a vital part of preparation and survival. One really great seed bank is the seed bank that comes with 37,000 seeds or 1.4 Lbs of Non-Hybrid seeds, sealed in an airtight military grade Seed Vault from Directive21.com  You can find this seed bank at www.directive21.com/emergencyseedbank.html

The Seed Bank Contains

  • Beans, Kentucky Wonder brown Pole – 580 seeds
  • Beets, Detroit Dark Red – 1350 Seeds
  • Broccoli, Waltham 29 -­ 950 Seeds
  • Cabbage, Golden Acre – 3100 Seeds
  • Cantaloupe, Hale’s Best – 250 Seeds
  • Carrot, Scarlet Nantes – 10330 Seeds
  • Corn, Golden Bantam – 675 Seeds
  • Cucumber, Straight 8 – 460 Seeds
  • Onion, Utah Sweet Spanish – 4200 Seeds
  • Pea, Lincoln – 640 Seeds
  • Pepper, Yolo Wonder – 1250 Seeds
  • Spinach, Bloomsdale Longstanding – 800 Seeds
  • Squash Zucchini, Black Beauty – 130 seeds
  • Swiss Chard, Lucullus – 870 Seeds
  • Tomato, Rutgers – 1750 Seeds
  • Parsnip, Harris Model – 1250 Seeds
  • Winter Squash, Waltham Butternut – 260 Seeds
  • Winter Squash, Pink Banana Jumbo – 45 Seeds
  • Radish, Champion – 1420 Seeds
  • Lettuce Leaf, Black Seeded Simpson – 3000 Seeds
  • Lettuce Romaine, Paris Island – 3000 Seeds
  • Pepper, Jalapeno – 1500 Seeds
  • Watermelon, Crimson Sweet Jumbo – 185 Seeds
  • (Seed counts are approximate based on weight)

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Episode-606- Permaculture Design Considerations

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Modern Survival| 5 Comments
http://www.survivalpodcast.net/audio/2011/2-11/epi-00606-permaculture-design-considerations.mp3 [ 1:21:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today we look at 11 design considerations when designing a permaculture food system. Honestly though permaculture or not these considerations really should be considered with all landscape development. Unfortunately they are largely ignored or misunderstood in America today.

By taking these 11 components into consideration you will see your property in a new light whether it is 1/10 of an acre, 10 acres or a 1000 acres. Of course there are more considerations and interactions than these 11 but by considering these factors in your design you will end up with a functional, productive and sustainable design.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • Climate
  • Slope
  • Energy Patterns
  • Total Land Area
  • Desired Output
  • Wildlife Interactions
  • Zones
  • Layers
  • Time to Develop
  • Time to Maintain
  • Water Availability

Resources for Today’s Show

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 and you might hear yourself on the air.

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