Tag Archives: land management

Episode-399- A New Look at Attracting “Wildlife” to Your Property

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Modern Survival| 10 Comments
Episode-399- A New Look at Attracting "Wildlife" to Your Property [ 1:01:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From the urban homesteader to the person with 100 acres in the sticks most of us value wildlife for many reasons.  They are of course a source of protein either as “game” or during an emergency by what ever works yet they do a lot more to improve the quality of our homesteads.

When most folks think about “attracting wildlife” they begin with song birds, squirrels and rabbits and if in the right location then move up to things like deer, turkey and perhaps water fowl.  Today we are going to start at a much lower trophic level.

Join me today as we discuss…

  • Why we want “wild things” around us and the need to observe
  • In a way all animals are herbivores and solar collectors (really its true)
  • Most life is dependent upon soil with very few exceptions
  • Soil is dependent upon “soil wildlife” to be sustained
  • You never feed plants you feed the soil
  • Imagine 1,000,000 or more unpaid employees – think worms
  • Water features improve every aspect of any and all property
  • Bats are your friends, give them a home – and protect them
  • Almost no “pest insects” are attracted by flowering herbs
  • Many small herb gardens have a greater effect than one big one
  • There is room for at least a patch of “wilderness” on all property
  • Frogs and toads are the princes of your garden, give them a palace
  • Lizards, geckos and even snakes are good to have around
  • Squirrels need food, shelter, cover and water
  • Want rabbits?  Protect them from dogs and cats and plant clover
  • Bird feeders work great, bird habitat works better
  • The magic of the “bird perch”

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

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Episode-385- Solving Problems With Permaculture

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Modern Survival| 5 Comments
Episode-385- Solving Problems With Permaculture [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the Army I was a heavy wheeled diesel mechanic.  While I did not realize it as a young man the most valuable skill that job taught me was “trouble shooting”.  As a trouble shooter you look at a problem and dissect it logically down to component parts, evaluate and implement a solution.

I believe this is why I have so embraced Permaculture, as at its core it is trouble shooting for the problems we face in feeding, housing and providing energy for ourselves.  So today I will take some common problems those attempting to grow their own food face and give you permaculture style principles for solving them.

Join me today as we discuss problems such as…

  • Dealing with steep and rocky land
  • Dealing with cold climates and short growing seasons
  • Hot summers that drive up electric bills
  • Dealing with low lying areas that get too swampy
  • Dealing with excessive shade with out cutting everything down
  • Growing a decent amount of food in very small areas
  • Dealing with depleted soils with minimal off site organic matter
  • Dealing with swings in climate conditions
  • Dealing with deer
  • Not all holes, look like holes

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-214- Survival Podcast Audience Questions 6-05-09

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Modern Survival| 12 Comments
Episode-214- Survival Podcast Audience Questions 6-05-09 [ 56:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We are continuing a series of listener questions today.   Since it was done from the “mobile studio” there are no call ins or anything.  These are all questions sent in by email, asked in comments, asked on the survival forum, etc.

I would like to continue doing this type of show often so if you want to have a question answered send me an email to jack@thesurvivalpodcast.com with the subject line “question for Jack”

Tune in to hear me answer these questions today…

  • Are there advantages to bugging in for surburbanites?
  • What is a cheap way to get into a BOL?
  • Is there a real threat of global government with no foil hats required?
  • Would Texas leave the union if  we signed up for a real global government?
  • What does the “carbon tax” have to do with global government?
  • What are some good options for “natural fencing” that produce food?  (note – I forgot to mention clumping bamboo)
  • If you have made 50% gains on the market this year should you pull out now?
  • Are we looking at a “dead cat bounce” in the stock market?
  • Can you make a useful back up solar system for say 200 bucks?
  • If you miss your planting window is it still a good idea to build beds for next year, this year?
  • What are common mistakes first time buyers make with real estate -land-residential-BOL?
  • How does a bug out bag help you even if times don’t get tough?

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.

You also now can call in questions or comments for the host at 866-65-THINK, (866-658-4465) please read the suggestions for calling in before you do for the best chance of getting your comments on the air.

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Episode-196- Permaculture Intoduction to Layers and Zones

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Modern Survival| 12 Comments
Episode-196- Permaculture Intoduction to Layers and Zones [ 37:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today you will get to hear me almost rear ended on the highway right at about 29:44 into the show.  Rest assured I was not harmed nor was my vehicle damaged!  I edited out a bit particularly my use of the F word.

On the subject the first 10 minutes are mostly a follow up from yesterday’s discussion on libertarian principles and how you can explain the common objection about “the things government has done right”.  I will also let you know about the interview I did with Lew Rockwell and a new working relationship between LewRockwell.com and TSP.

I then go into an introduction to permaculture principles and explain the 7 layer system of

  1. Canopy
  2. Low Trees
  3. Shrubs
  4. Herbaceous
  5. Rhizosphere (root crops)
  6. Soil Surface (cover crops)
  7. Vertical (climbing vines)

From there I explain the 5 zones of permaculture beginning in zone one (closest to human habitation) and progressing to zone 5 (wild forest).

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.

You also now can call in questions or comments for the host at 866-65-THINK, (866-658-4465) please read the suggestions for calling in before you do for the best chance of getting your comments on the air.

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Episode-53- Attracting Wildlife to Your Property

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Modern Survival| 4 Comments
Episode-53- Attracting Wildlife to Your Property [ 43:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today we discuss different methods for attracting wildlife to your property such as providing feed, shelter and water sources that appeal to various game animals.  With proper management native wild life can become part of your permaculture efforts.

There is also a stern warning for South Texans threatened by Hurricane Ike and a lesson about listening to your inner voice when it warns you to take action.

Tune in today to learn…

  • Methods of provideing shelter and cover that attract wild life
  • Different options for nesting boxes and other shelters
  • Methods to provide water including ponds, steams and tanks
  • Advice on using feeders and a cool squirrel feeder
  • Advice for building brush piles and staying safe when doing so
  • Different hard mast trees that attract wild life
  • What you can do on land from 1 acre to 100 acres
  • Balancing attraction of wild life with crop protection
  • Harvesting wild life as part of permaculture efforts
  • Advice on preserving hard mast trees on your property

Links for this Podcast

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.

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Episode-44- Thoughts on the Differences between Permaculture and Agriculture

Posted on August 29, 2008 by Modern Survival| 5 Comments
Episode-44- Thoughts on the Differences between Permaculture and Agriculture [ 34:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In today’s show we talk about land stewardship and permaculture as a true form of investing for the future. I also do a brief bit on politics today. A simple question, “how does Barak Obama define middle class income?”, as in give us a number. Second a bit on on John McCain’s pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his V.P. running mate.

Please Note - I made a correction on today’s show in audio and spliced it in but it will also be repeated here. For some reason I referred to Governor Palin as “Kathryn Palin” which of course is a mistake, her name is actually Sarah Palin. The fact that I podcast while in traffic during a commute sometimes may result in such errors, when I catch them I always make every attempt to correct them.

Tune in today and here my thoughts on…

Briefly on the Election

  • What’s up Obama, please give us an income figure for the term middle class
  • Hey you too McCain, no politician should be able to say, “lower income”, “middle class”, etc with out numbers to go with them
  • How the selection of Sarah Palin could almost guarantee a woman president in 2012

On the Main Subject

  • The main difference between permaculture and agriculture
  • Ideas for permaculture beyound tress and bushes
  • Where wild game fits into your permaculture plan
  • Handing down a family legacy with permaculture
  • Growing grapes for sale to local wine makers
  • Using permaculture crops to improve the quality of land

Resources for Today’s Show

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