Tag Archives: swales

Six Inches of Rain and Almost Empty Swales – What Happened?

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

We just got a blessing.  6 inches of slow soaking rains over about 5 days, breaking a zero rain drought that began on May 30th.  Our mid swale with all the hard catchment that funnels into it, therefore took on over 96,000 gallons of rain from mostly hard catchments. To put things in perspective we took 6 inches and the swales themselves are only 11 inches deep but almost all the water is gone.  So where did it go?  Was this a good thing or a bad thing?  Tune in to find out.  

Continue reading →

TSP Homestead First Year in Review on Video

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

So it seems crazy but we have been on our new homestead about a year at this point.  In that time we lost our friend Blackie and gained an incredible new one “Charlie Daniels Spirko“.  We ran our first ever internship program and were so lucky to have chosen Josiah Wallingford as our intern who has become part of the family. As to our property for our first year we focused mostly on infrastructure design.  Right now we have over 100 fruit and nut trees in damp sand waiting for our April planting workshop with a hundreds more on order.   … Continue reading →

Episode-903- Water in The Landscape

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.1MB)

Water is so critical to our lives, it is one of the five primary survival needs along with food, shelter, energy and security.  It provides for irrigation, hydration, fire suppression, cooking, sanitation and more.  Yet have you noticed 99% of suburban landscapes are devoid of water other than swimming pools and sprinkler systems. We have lost on of the key pieces of what water can do for us do to this.  Did you know that water can move nutrients and fertility around your property?  In doing this it can actually catch and rebound energy before it atrophies off your property.   … Continue reading →

Episode-629- Paul Wheaton on the Elimination of Irrigation

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (22.3MB)

Yes you read the title correctly, elimination, not alternative, not creative, elimination.    Can irrigation truly be eliminated?  In my view absolutely, at least in many instances and one of our all time most popular guests Paul Wheaton returns to TSP to discuss exactly how to do it. Join us today as we discuss swales, key line systems, terraces, hugelkultur, and over a dozen other ways plants get water in natural systems. Irrigation is one of the most costly components of modern agriculture, it is also depleting one of most precious life giving resources, water.  Yet think about it, there are … Continue reading →

Episode-343- Listener Feedback 12-23-09

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (29.4MB)

Today I am at home and wanted to take the opportunity to do another listener feedback episode.  We discuss some political things today like China’s role in global government and the new health care bill that just came out of the senate.  We also discuss some more traditional topics like firearms selection and training, using swales for permaculture and we even get to read another “hate email” to me. We also make a few announcements today that include our awesome new survival forum theme designed by SisterWolf who is also one of the forces behind the TSP Gear Shop. Join … Continue reading →