Hey Jack, if you’re going to be in the Destin area LMK! Would love for you to take a look at my urban garden. My husband brews beer so we’ll have lots of cold ones to share with ya!

Jack,

Your discussion at the end of the show represents some of the best work you do. So many people haven’t done the hard introspective work and really learned from it in the way that you obviously have. Plus you’re able to talk about it in a clear and effective manner. I think you’re shows on permaculture are a close second, but this is your best work and that is something to take to heart and be proud of.

Great show, Jack! I loved the end when you were introspective, trying help us get centered and back on track. I’m sure that there are a lot of 12 year olds that will be happy to reconnect with their “adult” selves.

Enjoy your real vacation. You certainly deserve it!

Jack,

Your answer to the last question had me in tears. Most people wouldn’t tackle something like that. I think we’ve all been wear that caller is, at some point in our life.

Well, I am only half way through the show and have paused it in anticipation of a big ending.

In regards to the tomato question. I believe that technically, tomatoes ripen from the inside out. If the nutrients aren’t moving normally through the fruit you can get uneven ripening or even parts that never ripen.

What can cause this?
As jack said nutrient deficiencies can affect this. Even if your soil is perfect and the plant has all the vital nutrients it is supposed to, it cans till happen. Environmental stress can restrict nutrient flow within the fruit. The culprit might be extended high temperatures or inconsistent moisture where very dry periods are interrupted by deluges of water in the form of thunderstorms.

Additionally, direct exposure to long hours of very hot direct sun can cause uneven ripening, although most I have seen is more of a top vs bottom instead of inside vs outside.

Solutions? Mulch mulch mulch, pay attention to soil moisture, and don’t prune suckers, ie lt the plant bush a bit and the extras leaves will do two things. 1. Absorb more energy t make more larger better tomatoes and 2. provide more shade for the fuit itself. The tomatoes in the inside of my bushes are always better quality (both taste and cosmetic)than the ones from the outer branches that get more direct sun.

It doesn’t sound like you issues are the following but i thought I’d toss this in as well:

In regards to the white on and in the tomatoes–
if it is “on” and spotty it is stink bug damage; the enzymes left behind by the sucking stink bug cause a hardening of the area and it never looks normal (nor feels/tastes normal.

Jack,
Concerning the electric sewers, I would suggest anyone with these identify their sewer cleanout outside the house. These are required by code and are usually lower than toilet and tub drains. In an outage situation the covers could be pulled and any sewage that backed up would spill outside, instead of inside. This is not ideal, but at least the sewage would not be in the house and there are more options to deal with it outside than in. These cleanouts are located outside the foundation, between the house and the sewer line. Usually there are two four inch cleanouts, one sweeping toward the house and one toward the main sewer line. I found mine buried six inches below gound surface in the beds in front of my house.
Love the show. I think today’s was the best yet, especially the last segment.

In regards to storage, go with the 18 gallon Rubbermaid bins, then build yourself a bed frame with 18″ clearance. You can make something rough and sturdy frame out of wood for around $100. I’ve done exactly that. I’ve now got over 40 cu ft of storage under my queen size bed (12 bins).

The bins also make moving simple and fast.

If you are broke and don’t mind some hassle when accessing your storage, you can just get 8 bins and a sheet of 5/8ths plywood for a twin size bed. Get at least 5/8ths to avoid flexing, and make sure it’s finished on both sides to avoid getting splinters in everything. It will be a little wider than the mattress, but you want the wood to touch the outside of the bins underneath for support. You can get it chopped down to 75″ at the hardware store for length.

When I was very young my grandparents, parents, and greater family of aunts, uncles, and cousins would sit arround and talk about what happens when California would split into two states. North and South California. They had some interesting debates after those family get togethers. This was the first time I remember it being called Jefferson. Interesting. Thanks for helping me remember some good times I had forgotten.

Another subject:
After my accident the medical staff trained me to take mini or minute vacations. You go there in your mind. They had me make a box to put treasures and when the pain and the stress got to very bad they encouraged me to open the treasure box and “live” there for a few minutes.
I too was so lost I didn’t know what to do. SO I started writing a story to go with the treasure box. Mind youi now, everyone that I knew had said I was too much work/trouble to deal with and didn’t want me. SO I made up a story and then when I was finially able to get out of the hospice hospital I went on to do the story. I now am living the story. THAT Said if you can’t take a big chunk of time for what ever reason, take small bits. Think of the what if not the oh nos and you will be able to do it. I think I can, I think I can….I did it.

Thanks Jack for another great show. THis one was over the top.

Dan, I’m aware of the old saw about the two wolves and one sheep. I think the numbers say it all. Is it worse to let the two wolves violate the rights of the sheep, or to let the ONE sheep violate the rights of the TWO wolves?? I’m not saying the minorities don’t have rights, but at times there is no way to satisfy both groups, and our democracy allows for a way to satisfy that . . . with an election. If the electorate passes laws that violate the rights of the minority, we have a judicial branch that can use the Constitution to undo the wrong. I agree that gerrymandering is evil – but not because it makes one group all powerful. More because it leads to a situation where Congressmen have virtual lifetime appointments and don’t have to be sensitive to the needs of all the people in their state. It’s almost impossible to get new blood into the system, and it’s rampant all over the country – not just in liberal districts, either. How else but gerrymandering could Tom DeLay have been re-elected over and over again??

I actually don’t think Jack is bigoted or anything – I’m just offended by the idea that only people who share your ideas or philosophy are “real”. Or that people who live in big cities (I don’t) are clueless. How many Southerners have been offended by “big city liberal elites” looking down their noses at them as uneducated hayseeds? Different sides of the same coin.

Love the ending. Tune out(the drone of the world) to tune in (to the real you) is great advice.

Remembering what you were all about back before you HAD to…. is a great thing.

@dan,
bring an install file over for VLC… should allow him to view those no problem..
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

@nick, Thanks I’ll give that a try.

Really enjoyed the podcast, thanks.

Obviously this is about more than just biltong, but being biltong is my thing I did want to point out something for anyone reading.

If you are making your own biltong, just make sure you are careful what recipe you go by. Some older recipes ask for “saltpeter” which isn’t really needed and has been shown to be bad for human health.