Episode-659- Listener Calls 5-6-11
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It’s Friday and time for another round of your calls to 866-65-THINK, today we have calls on pest control, organic gardening, dogs as a survival asset, water storage, saving money, aquaponics and more.
Join me today as we discuss…
- Two parts to the concept of GMO infected organic foods
- Ways to repel pests and attract beneficials to your garden
- Thoughts on drums that used to contain chemicals
- Aquaponics ideas on a commerical level
- Thoughts on a career in corrections of social working
- Straw bale gardening
- Don’t over think storing water
- How herbicides get into your compost
- Different ways of seeing dogs as defense
- Evaluation of water safety for consuming fish
- Evacuation planning
- Ants as an asset in the garden
- Free stuff on bulk pick up trash day
Additional Resources for Today’s Show
- Members Support Brigade
- TSP Gear Shop
- Safecastle Royal – (sponsor of the day)
- Fortress Self Defense Consultants – (sponsor of the day)
- GMOs In Your Organic Foods
- One Example of Herbicides in Compost
- More on herbicide laden compost
- Aquaponics eBook by Keith Cutbert (free in the MSB if you are a member)
- The Aquaponic Gardening Community
- Back Yard Aquaponics Forum – AWESOME COMMUNITY
- Episode of TSP with Tawnya Sawyer on Aquaponics
- Great Site on Straw Bale Gardens
- Members Support Brigade
- Ron Hood’s Survival.com Magazine
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.
RE: The very first caller’s question about organic GMO
Jack, I think you might have misunderstood what the first caller was asking. He was not referring to a Time magazine article. He was referring to a Popular Science magazine article.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/second-green-revolution-alliance-organic-farmers-and-genetic-engineers
In this article, some organic farmers are shown forming a partnership with GMO scientists to grow “better” food. So the question is: how can a food undergo “genetic modificaion” yet still be called “organic”
Re: the idea of storeing chemicals for purifing water. Only do this for *dry* chemicals. There are a number of people that talk about using bleach for water purification. Honestly don’t. Just don’t. Most bleaches are not intended to be able to used internaly, ( funny that) and they also denature over time. that means there will be less active ingreant after you have stored it for a while. This in turn means you need more, and any contaminant exposure is increased.
To be clear, i would be worried about non-biological contamination.
RE: The prevailing notion that bottled water needs some kind of additive to keep it from spoiling
I knew a real jokester of a guy who told me a story from his college days. He said he and another jokester got together to pull a fast one over on this third guy who wasn’t too bright. They told this third guy about a new product called “instant water.” They said all you had to do was add water. They said it was a brilliant new invention. Perfect for when you’re camping and you want to travel light.
The jokester who told me this story said he and the second jokester had the third guy going for quite a while. Every now and then the third guy would pause and say “Yeah, but….” However, the two of them always managed to head off any doubt and steer him back toward being a believer.
After half an hour they finally broke it to him and told him it was all total crap.
Re: the collection of bulk rubbish items. Like the caller, I have also picked up a spapool/hot tub, that was to be otherwise disposed off, and I am ( when I finished getting it set up) going to be using it as a “swirl” stage clarifier for a DWC aquaponics set up. This is entirely viable, and infact you can get several hundred dollars worth of savings from this.
With this, I am also able to do a neat trick with getting the particulate to automaticaly funnel it’self to a collection point to be piped into the digester stage as well, saving both time and maintance effort.
It’s alway been my understanding that deer won’t jump if they can’t see where they will land. We have some hedges and so far so good. For the rabbits we have beagles works for the deer too.
@roundabouts,
If that works a filbert hedge fence inter-planted with rosa rugusa would do triple duty.
Jack, Pesticides are any poison used in agriculture. Insecticides kill bugs, herbicides kill plants, but both are pesticides. This is a common misconception. I’m a certified pesticide applicator, but I try to avoid using them if possible. As for biodegradable pesticides, they are broken down by bacteria in the soil, but it can take years to totally break down.
Jack, I would like to add to you comments about working in a correctional facility. I am a correctional officer in a state prison. I have been at this for a little over 4 years now. I find that the topic of conversation when I am having casual conversation with inmates can be a powerful thing. These men are much like army recruits in basic, as they have been broken down and are very malleable. Simply by doing things like taking a bag of dehydrated fruit with my lunch can strike up a conversation that leads to lessons of responsibility and taking charge of your life. Its amazing, really, how much they will listen to you, if you take the time to talk. I work in a minimum security setting, and I know I differ much from other CO’s, but our work with farming, livestock, horticulture, fabrication, and general education seem to make huge strides in preparing these men for re-entry into our society. I am very proud of my work, and will stick my neck out anytime I have the opportunity to sit on a board or advise on a project, that will help spread the message of modern survival, even if it is hidden very well.
Dogs can fail as alarms. We had an incident of vandalism, guys pulled into our driveway, dogs never made a peep, one ran up to a vehicle and smashed the windshield with a rock, ran back to the vehicle, backed out and left. I saw them pull in, thought they were just turning around, never figured out what was going down until they roared off. Dumb on my part, but late at night, not a word from a couple small dogs who go ballistic at anyone walking by, any other dogs in the vicinity.
I’m told by locals who have put cow manure on their gardens from cows feed on fields treated with Grazon, an herbicide, are seeing their plants (esp tomatoes) wither and die as the garden plants attempt to grow.
To the guy looking for a plan to get out of LA OnPoint Tactical teaches a course in Urban Escape and Evasion. BTW, Jack, I think Kevin Reeve who owns OnPoint Tactical would be an interesting interview sometime. Reeve was featured on the History Channel’s show After Armageddon
Thanks for your comments about dogs.
We had a lab/shepherd mix when I was growing up that was a big baby! He loved kids and never EVER tried to bite anyone for years. Then one day I was playing outside with one of my cousins- his older brother came up and kicked over a sand castle we were building. When the sand hit my eyes, I screamed.. our lab appeared from beneath the hedges with hair bristled and teeth showing and put himself between me and the other kid. Of course my Dad was closeby and put a stop to it very quickly, but we learned that day that our sweet dog had the instinct to protect the family if he felt we were being threatened. He was a loving pet for 16 years and never had another episode like this, but then again, no one ever threatened us in that time either.
On the flipside, our neighbors dog is a a big yellow lab and is afraid of his own shadow. I’m not depending on him saving my life anytime soon. 🙂
Re: Mercury in fish
Anyone concerned about this issue should read this, http://goo.gl/LL9bE
Great article on the subject. Basically, mercury isn’t the only story.
RE: storing potable water in containers
I recently bought several food-grade 55 gallon drums from the Kalil bottling company in my hometown. They originally had soda syrup in them so my driveway smelled like grape soda and Dr. Pepper for weeks as I cleaned and aired them out. Cost? $13 per barrel (bung-top). All it took was some elbow grease and a hose and some patience and now I’m comfortable storing drinking water in them. Check around.
While I agree that its silly to add chemicals to water for the purpose of storing, and its probably unnecessary to do anything to it….
Why not can/pressure can the water just like food? This would guarantee that no pathogens were in the water when you shelved it, vacuum seal it so nothing can get it, and if you use half-gallon glass mason jars eliminate any flavoring from metal or plastic.
I’m sure it’s unnecessary, but this could provide a solution for those that just have to do something.
Jack, in the call about ants, you mentioned an organic fire ant control product, but I can’t quite make out the product name. Can you post that here?
I have a new colony of fire ants that have taken up residence in my compost bin. I have had worsening reactions to their stings, so I want them gone. As I mentioned, they are in
my compost, so I don’t want to use chemicals.
Thanks!
@climberaxe It sounded like Jack said the name of that ant killer was en fuego, but when I googled en fuego ant a product called Anti Fuego came up, said it was an organic ant killer, pretty sure it’s what he was talking about.
Thanks, Lucas, I’ll check it out.