Posts Tagged ‘permaculture’
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Episode-399- A New Look at Attracting "Wildlife" to Your Property [61:47m]:
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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
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Episode-398- Listener Feedback for 3-15-10 [66:07m]:
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Well we are back from Arkansas where we had a great mini vacation. We spent 4 days hiking about 5-6 miles a day and even wore out Max, the survival podcast dog, which isn’t easy to do. So today we are back with your questions and commentary on articles and other things sent in by the audience.
Tune in today as we discuss…
- New MSB supporting vendor Honeyville Grains will be given 10% off to all MSB vendors
- Social Security now has to cash in Federal IOUs, what will that mean for us
- Lessons learned from fruit trees lost during a hurricane
- What is the right rifle action to start learning with and why
- Are 0% financing programs on cars legitimate
- Do travel trailers and and RVs make a good prep item
- Are GMO producers finally being held accountable for damaging the crops of other farmers
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
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Episode-394- Nine Unusual Edible Perennial Plants :
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Today we discuss nine unusual edible perennial plants that I compare to investing. While they won’t generally produce until their 3rd - 4th year with high yields they will then produce in abundance for decades with very little input and maintenance.
Join me today as we discuss…
- Gogi Berry
- Jujube
- Nanking Bush Cherry
- Blue Honeysuckle
- High Bush Cranberry
- Elderberry
- Clumping Bamboo
- Filbert
- Primocane Blackberry
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.
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Episode-389- Ten Gardening Steps to Get Ready for Spring:
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It is March 2nd and much of the North East just got over “Snowercane 10″, heck I am in Texas and I had an inch of snow last week and over 10 inches just two weeks ago. The northern half of the country has ground that is currently still frozen and I want to talk about gardening? You bet! The thaw is coming and odds are many are already behind the power curve.
Join me today as we discuss these steps
- Draw a sketch of your property including energy patterns
- Pick a few edible perennials to get up and running this year
- Estimate and plan for your planting dates
- Set up your late frost contingency plans
- Go through your potting equipment, clean, sort, organize
- Walk your entire property with new eyes
- Plan at least one passive water harvesting project for 2010
- Plan or begin the development of predator habitat
- Identify what is growing now and learn from that
- Plan one “hard scape” project for 2010
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.
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Episode-388- Listener Feedback 3-1-10 [63:19m]:
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Today we take just a few questions and mostly discuss news stories and events sent in by listeners. We have a lot on board today, the earth quake in Chile, the tsunami warnings, guns at Starbucks, nitrogen fixing trees and more.
Tune in today to hear me discuss…
- Is gold about to drop in price in the short to intermediate term if so why
- Open carry of firearms at Starbucks, what do we learn from it
- Has science discovered a new element called “Governmentium” - a bit of humor
- Do you have a preparedness story on how TSP made your more prepared for a disaster or weather event
- What do we learn about “transition periods” and “new normals” from Chile
- How do some plants “fix nitrogen” and how does it become available to other plants
- How can you get a free college education on permaculture from NC State University (go to the iTunes store and search for HS432
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
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Episode-385- Solving Problems With Permaculture:
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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.
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Episode-384- Listener Feedback for 2-23-10 [55:15m]:
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Today we make up for skipping yesterday’s listener feedback show. Today we have questions about gun rights, taxation, socialism, fascist economics, cutting down trees, survival gardening, permaculture, bug out bags for kids and more.
Join me today as I answer the following questions…
- Is socialism necessary for “much needed progress”
- If you need a license to drive why not a license to own a gun
- Do we need taxes for some things, how much do we actually need
- What is the real role of government in the U.S.
- How does the US actually fund “socialized medicine” around the world
- Should kids have their own BOBs and where should they be stored
- What plants can you plant at a BOL when you are not able to be there often
- Thoughts on the need for backing up your data
- How to balance removing existing non productive trees with out cutting to many
- How often should you change out ammo in your carry gun
- What are some rules for keeping your carry gun functional
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.
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Episode-383- 10 Uncommon Edible Plants for Every Backyard [73:36m]:
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Today we discuss 10 edible plants that are not very common in most backyards or stores and the unique advantages they offer the modern survivalists concerned with producing their own food. Each of these plants offers unique advantages to the backyard and small homestead grower. Advantages such as good nutritional profiles, disease resistance, ease in seed saving, heat tolerance and more.
Note that the seed sources below are comprised of many sources. You can get many of these seeds from multiple providers. I just wanted the opportunity today to expose you today to a variety of solid providers of organic and non GMO seed.
Join me today as we discuss the following unusual edible plants…
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.
