Today we stick to the economic and political shifts occurring and accelerating right now. Society is continuing to fracture along all class/race lines, the big fish are eating the little fish, money printing continues and we are indeed at the the end of not just a cycle but a mega cycle of civilization.
If you want to submit content or questions for a show like today’s the best thing to do is send an email about your topic or question to jack at thesurvivalpodcast.com with TSPC in the subject line. Ask your question up front in one sentence or do the same with your point. Then provide any additional details, references, links, etc. after that. This is the best way to get though my show screening process.
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
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As of this writing, they’re 5X-funded. They gave me a sneak peak of the movie, and it is outstanding. That, coupled with all the project plans that come with the different rewards tiers makes this one a no-brainer. There really is something for every member of the TSP community.
Last night, they reached the stretch goal for the Greenwood Apprenticeship Course, which now gets piled on top of everything else for anyone who backs at $100 or more. Probably by the time you read this, they will have reached the next stretch goal, giving the Soil-First Gardening movie to all those backers, too.
As Awesome as the Movies is What if You Could be there in Person?
But another aspect of this thing that I want to remind you about is that the event that produced this film, the Permaculture Technology Jamboree, is turning into one of the can’t-miss events of the year for a community like ours. A lot of you come out to my place every year, and for good reason – I bring out the best instructors and we have a blast.
But if there’s one other event that holds a candle to my yearly throw-down, it’s the Permaculture Technology Jamboree at Wheaton Labs. This is the event that turned into the Low Tech Laboratory Movie that the kickstarter is all about.
If you watched the video on the kickstarter page, you know you don’t want to miss it. Regular ticket prices are $1650, but Paul has extended the Earlybird pricing to use for a little while longer so you all can have a chance to capitalize.
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 Urban Worm Bag Composting Bin. Many of you know I have been looking for a way to do worm composting on my property that would not be invaded almost instantly and colonized by fire ants. I believe I have not only found that but that I have found a superior way to compost with worms over many designs with this “bag system”.
Innovative Design and Ant Resistant by Proxy
The design is the type of thing where simple meets innovative. This model is the second the inventor has put out. It has an improved bottom that I think makes a ton of sense. The metal frame (despite claims to the contrary by some in reviews) is very sold and sturdy as are the nylon corner brackets that you use to assemble it.
Assembly is a 5 minute and zero beer operation. Seriously if you want a beer drink one and admire your 3 minutes of handy work after you put it together, if you really think that rates a beer. The beauty of this system is for my situation is it is suspended and all zipped up, there is one vector of entry for ants and it is where the zippers on the top come together. They do leave a small gap, as of yet I have had no issues but if it becomes a problem I will plug the hole with same some petroleum jelly after closing. Lubed zippers and stuck ants, done.
The over all design though is not really anti ant, it is more pro air flow. The bag is very well built and durable, think rip stop nylon on the best tactical bag brands. Solid double stitching everywhere but it breathes. This allows good airflow at all times, good airflow is happy worms.
I quickly figured out that there are two real keys to this worm farm, the first is you don’t need as much moisture as you think you do. Damp is all you need and remember almost everything we feed to worms is wet and lets go a lot of water. I cover problems next but most stem as you will see from people using too much water and not enough bedding. I watched a ton of youtube videos on this and everyone that is really happy says the same thing, not too wet and good bedding.
For bedding you can used shredded paper, coco coir, prepared bedding, etc. but you should be adding bedding in addition to food, not every time but say weekly may be every other week. Let me say I really like the Frabill Product for a prepared bedding for initial set up. I use paper and coir after initial set up though. You really just need to keep an eye on stuff, if it seems really wet, add some bedding and stop feeding for a bit.
You should not have worm juice dripping from your bag, ever. With this system that is way to wet and I think the desire some have for it, is a source of trouble for many people. If you want worm tea, put some castings in a big “tea bag”, set that in a 5 gallon bucket and pump air into it for 24 hours. That will do more then leached fluid ever could hope to anyway.
When ready to harvest you remove the bottom pouch, open the bottom draw string and take out as much of the castings as you want, then close it back up and keep going. I am sure some worms will come along for the ride, you can just sort them (most anyway) and return them to the top.
The Negative Reviews and Why the Problems Exist
I am not going to say that the negative people in this one are “God’s special children” likely some are but mostly I think it is one small assembly error and again adding too much water. Let’s start with the assembly error.
I should of video’d this before putting it together but when assembling I noticed that the brackets do have a right and a wrong way to go together. You will notice two of the three holes have a stop in them, one goes deeper. The deeper hole is for the vertical arms, the more shallow for the horizontal. I noticed this instantly but get how the less mechanically inclined may not, the instructions on this one could use a bit of an upgrade.
Simply put though if someone does this wrong; assembly will become very difficult near the end and the angle will never be square. You might even break a bracket or bend a frame piece if you never workout what is wrong and try to force stuff. So don’t do that. My video below will make it pretty clear what I am talking about if you don’t quite follow what I am saying here.
Next is the wetness factor, one reviewer actually said, “Staining When Too Wet” and included a picture with a large puddle at the bottom. Okay how about, IDK, not making it too wet? They also complained it “doesn’t keep mites in”, um okay not even sure how to respond to that. Again this is not a bath tub bin you are going to harvest worm tea from it isn’t designed that way.
Next there is an excellent video available in the product listing by the inventor and he states that it is “important that it be installed on level ground” because the bin and stand are designed to support vertical force not side shear. That bit about side shear are my words, he didn’t say it that way but it is the logical conclusion.
Something bigger is at work here though, yes I am sure some “special people” set it on a 30 degree hill but you know where you don’t have 30 degree hills? Inside a building. Unless you are on some hell scape version of Hoarders anyway. And while I am sure a hill is bad, I think outside especially without over head cover is worse.
Let’s start with the obvious, sun on a worm farm is bad, m’kay. Sun on material like ripstop nylon and resin brackets in time is also bad. Going to say right out of the gate this belongs in a garage, out building, shed, etc. If not at minimum somewhere sun never hits directly and a roof of some kind blocks all rain. I am back to wet but this time wet equalling weight.
It is a bag, if it sits in rain even though nylon like this is great at shedding water to a degree it will accumulate on the lid, form a pond and then really seep into the interior. Simple question would you rather carry a 5 gallon bucket filled with lightly moist soil or one with very wet soil in it. The dry one right? Because at 8.3 lbs a gallon water is heavy.
What I noticed if that almost every picture of a structural failure was outside on a lawn and such. The stand is designed to support the weight of a full bin with damp material, not even a 75% full one with waterlogged material. I think that is easy enough to understand. In other words one way or another I think more that 90% of people who have had issues with this product simply got it too wet. So don’t do that and I expect you will love it.
Final Thoughts
Honestly while as I said my great battle over 10 years on this property with the fire ant plague is what made me try this, I just think it is a better way to vermicompost. If I have enough success I will likely buy a second one to up production further. With the addition of biochar on our homestead adding it to our new worm bins is a natural fit. And, while I have no designs on selling worms, I do have another reason for creating a worm surplus.
As many of you know I have developed a method I call “Johnson-Su Lite” composting with a simplified version of the Johnson-Su bioreactor. The people behind the original deign add 2 pounds of worms to a batch to finish it. Their batches are much larger than mine so half a pound to a pound will likely be enough for mine. I am unwilling to pay for worms for this purpose due to the fact that again the dang ants sooner or later invade and kill them, but I don’t mind if the worms are essentially free.
Anyway for me the Urban Worm Bag Composting Bin closes a loop I have had open since I moved to our little farmstead in 2013, but for everyone again I think this is a better way to compost so check it out today. I also wanted to point out if you want to build your own stand you can buy just the bag. I don’t really think you can save money this way but you could over build your stand or may be put it on castors if you plan to keep it in a building with a hard floor.
There other way I can see this working is if you wanted to do a “rack stand” that may be holds multiple bags, but I think most will do bet just buying the full kit and putting it together correctly as described here. Again see my video below for clarity on that.
Lastly while I encourage you to watch my video and by all means check out some of the YouTube videos by happy users, really watch the video on the product page. You will find it at the top where you can view the various images, there are two videos. The second longer one is by the owner and it shows me a guy that helps his customers and cares about the quality of his product. The kind of guy I want to do business with.
Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on politics, legal tender, economic collapse, power tools, parenting, investing, solar power, chemical disasters, wealth assurance and more.
Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following….
Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com
Put TSPC Expert in the subject line
Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence
Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary
Following that procedure makes it about 100X more likely your question will get though screening and sent on to one of our experts. All expert council members can be found on the Meet the Expert Council Page.
Join Me Today As I Respond to Your Calls and Discuss…
In the Ron Paul Liberty Highlights
IDK what crypto really is, but repeal legal tender laws – Ron Paul
China brokered peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia while we caused wars – Dan McAdams
Fake economies can’t last forever – Chris Rossini
Choosing a battery eco system when selecting a tool line – Tim “Tool Man” Cook
Teaching children to set their own deadlines and hold themselves to them – Amy Dingman
Diversification of investments outside of the stock market – John Pugliano
Building a small solar with battery bank system for a small barn or building – Shawn Mills
Dealing with a chemical emergency like the derailment in Palestine, OH – Doc Bones
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
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Time to pop up our heads and see what is really going on out there. In some ways today we are continuing some of what we started on Monday’s show. More of what I speculated about is surfacing in regard to the bank collapses. The Credit Suisse Bank appears to be ready to crap the bed, stock trading on European Banks had trading halted and a famous billionaire said on Fox News this morning, “we no longer need regional banks”.
We will look at some other things and also talk about more typical TSP topics, storing eggs long term, a clarification on biochar, expanding garden production on small lots and beds, pressure cookers and more.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame just called for the end of regional banks on Fox News – link
Credit Suisse just crapped the bed, BTW if you didn’t know it is a “Swiss National Bank” – link
The contagion that doesn’t exist was so bad that trading on several European banks was halted – link
Regional banks have the least risk in many ways, but everyone is F’d in some other ways (read past this headline) – link
An “Instant PBS Documentary” that uses truth to sell lies in an impressive way – link
A real tank head into a fake battle for Ukraine propaganda, folks everything is a lie – link
Why bitcoin, silver/gold, income systems, tools, skills, productive systems, “getting out of shitty areas” etc. are the only real moves right now
A great way to store eggs safely for 12-18 months, may be more with zero refrigeration (liming eggs) – link
Some confusion I want to clear up and a misspeak I made about using it from a listener (blood sugar not pressure)
Increasing production on existing garden beds and using fences, etc. by going vertical
Cooking with pressure cookers or slow cookers and not losing flavor, also how sous vide fits in (Sous Vide Cookers option one and option two)
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 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.
Special Note– This is one of the best incubators I have ever owned. It is easy to set up, it works wonderfully well and it is on sale for only 160. Given it is still on sale I am bringing it around one more time before peak hatching season is over. Chickens take 22 weeks to lay, if you want new layers in peak molt for old birds now is the time. 22 weeks from today is Aug. 17th, I typically the molt in my birds begin just before mid August and peak a couple weeks after that.
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 IncuView All-In-One Automatic Egg Incubator. This is the absolute best incubator I have found without spending a fortune. We have used it for hatching both chickens and ducks, with chickens our results were outstanding. How about three batches of 26 eggs with a total number of hatched eggs of 76, that is 76 out of 78!
What I love about this incubator is everything is automated. All you really need to do is keep an eye on humidity and add a bit of water when necessary. You program the duration of incubation and the machine knows when to stop turning, you can also set how many times a day the machine turns the eggs. And don’t let the word “program” scare you if you if you are a techniphobe, I hate programming “gadgets” but this thing is really easy. The instructions are on one page front and back.
We have successfully incubated goose eggs in it and others have told us they use if for quail with great success. Due to how the turner works, one turner works for everything. It has a digitally controlled thermostat, so when you set it for say 99.5, that is what you get all the time.
There are cheaper incubators but then don’t have all these features. They certainly do not hold temperature as well. In my reptile breeding days I hatched literally hundreds of eggs in the well known Hova-Bator Incubator, yes it works, and it costs less, but is is a fiddly pain in the ass. In fact since I got my IncuView, the only thing I use my Hova-Bator Incubator for is starting seeds in cold weather.
If I wanted to hatch say 75 – 100 eggs a batch, I would honestly buy three of these before I would buy an expensive large commercial incubator. Like most products I settle on, this one just works, it always works and that is what wins my endorsement.
I would also like to suggest the following, this thing is kind of light weight, it is durable and ships well. It is not something most people would use all year long. So some of you may form groups and do a share with this item, either locally or by shipping it back and forth as needed. I personally sent mine to Nicholas Ferguson, he hatched duck and chickens with it and then shipped it back USPS Priority Mail for like 10 bucks. Just a thought.
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
Today long time listener Andy McCann joins us to discuss simply giving the things we talk about all the time on TSPC a shot. How some will work for your personal lifestyle design and some won’t & how that is okay. It is the path to finding your personal path.
Andy learned early to find fixes as he pursued an engineering degree while struggling with dyslexia. Finding work-arounds for that as well as the engineering mindset has led to becoming a fan of implementing ideas and solutions that make sense. He has been listening to TSP since near the beginning and has tried many of Jack’s suggestions. Some have gone well and others were a bust.
He joins us today in his words, “to motivate people toward self sufficiency and liberty, to take action towards living that good life if times get bad or even if they don’t”.
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 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.
I told you last week about Paul Wheaton’s upcoming kickstarter for his Low Tech Laboratory Movie. I gave you a sneak peak of the ridiculous pile of goods that he gives to every single backer, even at just $1.
Well it went live yesterday meaning as of right now (3-15-23) you have about 24 hours to become a backer at at least 1 buck and get over 100 bucks in free goodies. Let me tell you though you are going to want to back it a little bit higher because you are going to want to get your hands on this information.
This is going to be the very best one ever, it is so good it already more then DOUBLE SMASHED the initial goal though, here is a screen shot as of 10:40 AM CST today. I bet if you check it right now it has already climbed a bit, may be a lot.
Here is the thing though, I know Paul and I know the stretch goals will be coming and coming hard. Get in on this one. Rather than continue to tell you how great this is, just go check it out, watch the 3 minute video and check out the backing options for yourself. I just can’t wait to get my hands on this information and I bet you won’t be able to either.
Today Oscar Merry, CEO and co-founder of Fountain.fm joins us to discuss podcasting 2.0 and Fountain.fm value for value role in the Podcasting ecosystem.
We will discuss the founding and value prop of Fountain, podcast clips, the value signal, social media, new Podcasting 2.0 features, making it simple to acquire your first bitcoin, building community among listeners, new lightning network features and more.
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 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.
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 JB Weld WaterWeld Underwater Epoxy Putty. I personally think this is an item that everyone should have a few tubes of at all times. Let’s start out with why to choose underwater epoxy paste?
Simple really, WaterWeld will work on wet surfaces, IF USED PROPERLY and it will also work on dry surfaces. I am a person that likes to standardize, it makes everything easier. So instead of go grab me a tube of X epoxy putty, it is just epoxy putty that does all jobs such a putty can do wet or dry.
And it usually ends up being that when something needs fixing it ends up being wet! Even if it is something that isn’t usually wet. Translation stuff tends to break when it rains and snows! So by choosing an underwater product it always works, every time.
Let’s talk a bit about proper use, if you read the reviews you will see a lot of very happy people, they used it right and you will see a lot of “doesn’t work at all, doesn’t stick to anything, does not work in water” etc. Those people used it wrong.
First this stuff comes in a tube, it is two parts and if you look at the end you will see it has a light color and a dark color with one on the outside and one on the inside. You cut as much off the tube as you need and mix it. And you have to mix it fully, it should all be one color when done and it should smell like stale pee. Yep, stale urine smell is a good thing here, I am serious.
Next if fully cures in about 20-30 minutes but it begins to set in about 7-10. So if you are fixing an active leak or applying it under water, you have to hold it in place with pressure for about 10 minutes until it starts to cure. Then it will hold and fully cure. If you just stick it on something wet and leave it alone it will likely fail, may be even fall off.
Also the surface needs to be cleaned, no oil, no grease. And if it is a smooth surface, a bit of roughing up isn’t always needed but it is always helpful. In the end though this stuff can save your bacon in so many ways. One of the most labor saving uses of this stuff I have ever had was a conversion to one of my aquatic systems. My top tank was plumbed to my bottom tank with 3/4 inch pipe, it was a constant point of failure for many reasons but mostly because the return pipe at 3/4th of an inch was too small.
The solution was to install a 2 inch bulkhead in to the tank and plumb in a 2 inch return line. Problem was this left a 3/4 inch line that could end up draining the tank and over flowing the lower one. To fix that both tanks would need to be dug up as the factory bulkheads were on the bottom, the pipe fittings removed and then plugs installed. This meant a lot of work and draining the tanks, not good.
Solution was simple, I mixed up some WaterWeld, formed a plug and plugged the hole with it in the top tank. I then made a flat disc with the rest of the putty and capped it on top of the plug that was pushed into the pipe. I held this in place for about 10 minutes, done. Problem solved and the new system is running. So about 5 dollars in epoxy saved me about 6 hours of work and draining tanks that were full of fish! Just one example of how great this stuff is.
There are a few options when buying it on Amazon, first you can get a single tube or you can choose various muti packs as you see fit. I think this is a good prep so having a few tubes around is not a bad idea. I keep one in each vehicle kit and some around the house and shop at all times.
It will last damn near forever if you don’t mix it and keep it sealed up. So you can stock up a bit on this stuff and always have it on hand.
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – Pro tip while you can make it stick to wet stock, dry is better and this leads to something. When forming it onto stock it wants to stick to your fingers. Make your fingers damp and it will stick to the stock and not to you.
P.S.S. – I wanted to let you guys know about the latest use I had for this item. This was a big problem and took two full tubes to do. I have some large tanks made of fiberglass that I use for various aquatic projects. In a recent install one had a crack about 8 inches long along the side and wrapping to the bottom. When leak tested the water seeped rapidly along the entire crack and the pressure (about 250 gallons, 2,000 lbs) made it visibly weak at the spot when near full.
It was the last one I had so I tried a Hail Mary pass. I took two tubes and fully mixed both. Made a snake out of them and one on the inside and one on the outside pressed them over the crack. I then thinned out the epoxy like working bondo on a car. Going about 2 inches on all sides of the crack. I set the tank against the fence and gave it a day to cure.
It is now in one of my systems and has held perfectly for about a year now. It isn’t magic, it won’t do everything but for 6 bucks a tube it can seem like magic at times. One tip if you are going to mix up more than a pinch I would consider wearing some sort of toss away gloves. I ended up having to clean my hands with gasoline after making this repair.
