Tag Archives: gardening

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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Episode-601- Sam Benowitz of Raintree Nursery on Unusual Edible Plants

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Modern Survival| 8 Comments
Episode-601- Sam Benowitz of Raintree Nursery on Unusual Edible Plants [ 1:09:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Edible Dogwood - Just One of Many Unique Fruits Available at Raintree

Today we have Sam Benowitz founder of Raintree Nursery with us to discuss unique and unusual plants and trees from all over the world and the work Raintree does to rediscover lost plant varieties.  I promise you that if sit down with a Raintree Catalog you will find plant varieties you can grow that you probably never even knew existed.   You can request the Raintree Catalog at this link.

When I asked Sam the first question I was literally blown away at the commonalities between the mission of Raintree and The Survival Podcast community, it literally sounded at times that he was quoting from “The Revolution is You”.

It also turns out that Sam and I share a common Ukrainian heritage and that many of the plants Raintree sells originally come from the Ukraine where my family immigrated from around the turn of the 19th Century.

Join Us Today to Learn…

  • What makes growing food a revolutionary act
  • The mission of Raintree Nursery
  • The importance of knowledge about the needs of the plants you grow
  • Cross pollination requirements for various plants
  • Extending your season by staggering early, late and ever bearing varities
  • Primocane vs floricane berries
  • Ordering live plants at the right time of the year and shipping issues
  • Maximizing small properties with compact highly productive vines

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-600- An Interview with Soil Cube Creator Clayton Jacobs

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Modern Survival| 15 Comments
Episode-600- An Interview with Soil Cube Creator Clayton Jacobs [ 1:01:16 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Check Out The Soil Cube Today

Today we have Clayton Jacobs who is the creator of “The Soil Cube” with us for an interview.  The Soil Cube Tool makes small 2″ cubes of soil that you sow your seeds into and grow them into seedlings before putting them out in the garden.

Soil blocks for seed starting are actually a very ancient technology practiced by native in the Central and South American region.  By using soil cubes, you will be able to control the early plant development, move them to the garden when ready, and have no consequence for having done so.

The seedlings will thrive and have you will have a dramatic increase in viable plants in contrast to one who is planting seed directly into the prepared garden beds or rows.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • What makes soil blocking superior to starting in any type of pot
  • What is root pruning and how does it lead to healthier plants
  • Starting plants vs direct sowing
  • Why with blocks you can start plants that generally don’t transplant well
  • Using cover crops to open up compacted soil
  • An awesome free eBook  originally written the 1800s
  • An amazing way to heat raised beds and grow year round

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-575- Planning 2011s Gardening and Homesteading Activities

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Modern Survival| 13 Comments
Episode-575- Planning 2011s Gardening and Homesteading Activities [ 1:05:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I thought this would be a great subject for today.  Over the past few weeks many of my seed catalogs have come in, the garden is now producing only greens and other frost hardy crops and today is the Winter Solstice which is the longest night of the year.  In other words we are about to go into the Christmas holiday and the first day of winter has just fallen upon us.  We now have a long cold winter ahead which will not officially end until March 21st.  To me winter is a time of planning, contemplation and evaluation.

Join me today as we discuss..

  • Winter has begun but the coldest days lie ahead
  • The first step is to review your successes and failures of 2010
  • Do you reattempt or abandon your failures
  • What do you want to add to your production in 2011
  • Determine your average last frost date and counting backwards
  • Time to build that cold frame, greenhouse or both
  • Is 2011 the year you add livestock, if so what
  • If  you are going to start keeping bees now is the time to order
  • Seed and Orchard Catalogs – Knowledge and Shopping All In One
  • Evaluational goals for 2011
  • Irrigation System Planning for 2011
  • Setting realistic time lines and priorities
  • Some of my goals for 2011
    • Sell the old house and move
    • Install Garden Beds
    • Install Irrigation Systems
    • Develop Extensive Herb Gardens
    • Install Out Buildings
    • Develop Orchard Plan, Irrigation, Swales, etc.
    • Install small ponds
    • Build and install greenhouse and aquaponics system
    • Continue to develop our mason bee population
    • Evaluate small live stock choices
    • Install fencing
    • Develop Composting and Mulch Systems
    • Encourage Local Wildlife
    • Install Gun Range

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-557- Surviving Thankgiving with Chef Keith Snow

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Modern Survival| 7 Comments
Episode-557- Surviving Thankgiving with Chef Keith Snow Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tune in today for a special edition of The Survival Podcast with Chef Keith Snow.  Keith is the creator of HarvestEating.com which focuses on eating seasonally and cooking with food you can grow in your backyard of obtain locally.  He is also a daily listener to our show and shares many common ideals with the Survival Podcast audience.  So I thought who better to bring on the air in preparation for Thanksgiving then Chef Keith.   Whether you are going though having the “in laws” or just want to have the best Thanksgiving meal you ever cooked, today’s show is for you.

Let me tell you folks you are going to want a pen and paper for note taking on today’s episode!

We are also doing a Thanksgiving sale on MSB, use coupon code “turkey” and get your first year for only 35 dollars, now through November 30th.

Tune in today to learn…

  • The simple steps to perfect turkey
  • Gravy that doesn’t come from an envelope or a jar
  • Three variations on stuffing that will blow your family away
  • Simple cranberry sauce that doesn’t come from a can
  • A duck for Thanksgiving with an amazing spice blend
  • Using chestnuts and pecans for a great taste twist
  • How to properly cook stand alone drumsticks for extra dark meat
  • A way to make squash something special instead of sweet baby food
  • Mashed potatoes that won’t believe until you try them
  • Wine selections for Turkey Day
  • A desert that is so simple to make but totally amazing and unexpected

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-520- Chef Keith Snow Joins Us To Discuss Harvest Eating

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Modern Survival| 7 Comments
Episode-520- Chef Keith Snow Joins Us To Discuss Harvest Eating [ 59:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today on The Survival Podcast we are joined by Chef Keith Snow to discuss what he calls “Harvest Eating”.  Harvest eating is right up the alley of the TSP audience because it is about cooking with food growing in your own back yard or acquired from local sources, it is about cooking seasonally the way everyone did before global systems made eating food from Argentina and Australia routine for Americans.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • How Keith found happiness by going from Executive Chef to cooking in a barn
  • What exactly is Harvest Eating all about
  • What makes the Harvest Eating website different
  • Why preppers and modern survivalists should learn about Harvest Eating
  • How gardening fits into healthy eating habits
  • The role of herbs in gardening and cooking
  • Cooking with items you don’t find in stores
  • Why you should NOT try to directly emulate restaurant food
  • A few tips to change up your cooking that are simply amazing
  • Making a pan sauce, stop throwing away your best ingreedents
  • Making stock from left overs
  • Some simple and awesome recipes you can start making today
  • Canning, dehydrating and preserving the harvest
  • Why local eating should be part of the prepper lifestyle

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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New Youtube Video on Harvesting Amaranth Grain

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Modern Survival| 6 Comments

I have had a lot of questions about harvesting amaranth grain so I knocked out this video for you guys today.  This is really more about harvesting just a bit for seed for the next planting.  I will do a more “brutal” version for lack of a better term when the next seed heads are available.

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Growing Wild Edibles and the Transitional to a Fall Garden

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Modern Survival| 11 Comments

This is a tour of our garden which is currently in a transitional stage, it also covers a few of the species I mentioned in yesterday’s show that we have harvested from the wild and now are cultivating in our garden such as purslane, lambs-quarter’s, amaranth and ground cherries.

There is kind of a moment at the end were as I am speaking I really come into touch with the fact that we will be leaving this house behind this winter when we move.  While I am very excited to move out of the city it did hit me just a bit that after all the years here of working and making this place into something special it will soon be turned over to someone else, someone who might remove my garden and plant good old civilized grass!  While I hope not it is up to the new home owner to either value or devalue the nitrogen rich organic soil we built.

Like I say at the end though, do it even if you will leave at some point, learn, gain the knowledge and make the place better than the way you found it.  While I will miss the place I don’t regret one second of the work we put into it or the countless meals that had something we grew for ourselves as part of them.

I am at the BOL today but there will be a show tomorrow it is already prerecorded and ready to go via the magic of automation and the wordpress blog platform,

Jack

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Episode-484- 12 Plants for the Fall Garden

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Modern Survival| 7 Comments
Episode-484- 12 Plants for the Fall Garden [ 48:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Well I am on the road today on my way to Norther Tennessee for some vacation and RV time.  Let’s face it, it is HOT right now, it is 4 days until the dog days of August begin but that actually means fall is bearing down on us all like a freight train.  Only about 40 days from now many of us will be standing in the dove fields with shot guns in hand, kids will be back in school and archers will be scouting for the coming deer season.  The days will shorten, the leaves will turn and summer will become a memory.  The ants will be going made getting prepped for winter and many gardens will “shut down” until next spring.

There is no reason to shut down garden operations in fall, it can be and often is the best time of the year for many crops.  While the peppers may die in the first freeze and even a mild frost will take out the green beans there are a lot of things that can tolerate frost or can be container grown and sheltered at least from the first few frosts.  Add a bit of frost protecting and you can have garden free salad on Thanksgiving day.

Join me today as we discuss my favorite fall crops an how to get them going before the cold air they loves is available.

  • Starting seeds indoors isn’t just for spring
  • My favorite 12 fall garden veggies
    • Lettuce, red, green, speckled and more
    • Spinach
    • Broccoli
    • Cabbage
    • Beets
    • Kale
    • Orach
    • Vegetable Amaranth
    • Carrots
    • Garlic
    • Fava Beans – YUM!
    • Turnips
  • Why even hardy plants need a start in the warm periods
  • The mini green house tricks that cost little money and tiny effort
  • Break out the containers
  • Time for a green house?
  • Spring is a long way off – too long for me

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-481- Call In Friday 7-23-10

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Modern Survival| 16 Comments
Episode-481- Survival Podcast Call In Friday 7-23-10 [ 1:05:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s Friday again and we are back with more of your questions called into 866-65-THINK, we have some really great stuff today, lots on gardening, choosing a new generator, leveraging a skill set, dealing with visual impairment, prepping in an apartment and more.

Join me today as I answer your questions on…

  • Getting a garden plot ready for next season
  • Gardening when you are on the road
  • Prepping for truckers, what to carry
  • Dealing with unproductive peppers
  • Tomato blight has defeated many of us in the south
  • Square foot vs. bio-intensive gardening what is the difference
  • How do you leverage a hobby or skill to increase your preps
  • How can you set up remote monitoring of your BOL
  • A tip for keeping stuff cold in the freezer during a power outage
  • How to choose a good generator for your needs
  • When if ever do you borrow from a 401K
  • How do the vision impaired prep effectively
  • What guns really need to be a left handed version for a lefty shooter
  • What do you do when you run out of prep space in an apartment

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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