In this episode of the Permaculture Voices Podcast I have my friend Ben Kotnik of Suburban Food Farm on the show to talk about the recent presentation that he gave to a local permaculture group, 12 Months of Fresh Fruit. The first part of the presentation highlights some of the varieties that can be grown in Southern California to achieve the goal of a year round fruit harvest. While the varieties that we talk about are specific to SoCal, the theory behind how why the varieties were selected can be applied to any location. The second half of the presentation focuses on different techniques that can be used to grow more varieties of fruit in a given space. And these techniques can be applied anywhere in the world.

In this episode you will learn about:

• A variety of 13 fruits that could be grown in Southern California giving you 12 months of free fruit. The trees are specific to SoCal, but the theory is applicable anywhere.
• Ben’s favorite sweet citrus varieties.
• The beauty of the forgotten fruit, the white sapote. And why everyone should be growing it in SoCal.
• Why you should remove some of the fruit from a tree in the early years.
• Techniques for growing more fruit in a space.
• How to use dwarfing rootstocks to your advantage. -Why to prune and train your trees.
• Grafting several varieties onto one tree, multi-graft trees.
• Working with neighbors to grow more trees.

For Show Notes Visit: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/3

In this episode of the podcast I am happy to welcome Brandon Williams from Iron Edison battery company to talk about long lived nickel-iron batteries and why they are so much better than the more common lead acid batteries for off grid home power applications.  These types of batters are applicable to preppers, the average home owner, and permies who have remote homesteads or need mobile power sources.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How batteries fit into permaculture design.
• The history of nickel-iron batteries.
• The science behind nickel-iron batteries.
• General maintenance for battery systems.
• Advantages of nickel-iron over lead acid batteries - long lived, less toxic, wider temperature range of operation, greater depth of discharge.
• ROI of nickel-iron vs. lead acid.
• How the average suburban household can benefit from a battery backup system.
• Solar panel and battery system integration.
• Mobile power applications.
• The difference between mobile batteries and stationary batteries.

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/2 for show notes. 

Gasification and Wood Gas: How to Grow Your Own Energy and Get Off the Grid

Our very first episode!

In this podcast we focused on the topics of gasification and wood gas. Local experts Troy Martz and Jared Pisell of OffGridPro.com joined us to talk about their company Off Grid Pro and the line of gasifiers that they are rolling out, the future of wood gas, how gasification fits into a permie or prepper's plan, and why you should never build a fema gasifier.

For Show Notes Visit: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/1