Fri, 27 December 2013
Curtis Stone of Green City Acres joins me to talk about his experience as a SPIN Farmer. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/26
Direct download: PVP026-12272013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,farming,SPIN Farming -- posted at: 9:00am PST |
Fri, 20 December 2013
John Kitsteiner of Temperate Climate Permaculture joins me to discuss his series of blog posts, The Myth of the Perfect Job. So many of us are stuck in the rat race. We want to be farmers, homesteaders, or something else that involves working closer to home, and not for the man. But we never end up doing that. Why? I think people are either afraid to take a risk and start, or they don't know where to start. This podcast should start to address both of those issues and at least get you thinking. Key Takeaways from this Episode: Be careful of the danger of just pursuing your passion. At the end of the day you have to make a living and get some sort of yield for your work. Balance: Biological, physical, social, spiritual health. Most people focus on one or two areas, not all. Consider this when pursuing a career path. Start looking for a career where your passion and skills overlap. Then start adding in what does the world need (will they pay for it) and does it have meaning to your own life. Think about if a new career is sustainable. Could you do it every day all day for the next 1, 2, 5, 10 years? Along with all of the side baggage that goes with it - accounting, marketing, legal, etc.. A lot of marketing is driven to you to consume more stuff. Often times that consumption is fueled by debt and is filling a void to pursue happiness. Forcing kids into careers. How many people were "forced" down a career path by parents, counselors, and teachers because it "was a good career path." And the you could parlay that career into a life of "success with a big house, nice car, and a whole bunch of bills. Embrace the idea of having a few primary careers, and multiple secondary careers. That creates resiliency and helps to eliminate boredom and burnout. Permie examples - think: Paul Wheaton, Joel Salatin, Darren Doherty, Rob Avis. Permaculture Principle 10: Use and value diversity. "Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which is resides." [permacultureprinciples.com] Apply this thought to careers and finances. Embrace the diversity to meet your needs and become more resilient. Money is the excuse, but fear it the reality. It doesn't take a lot to get our needs met. But it takes courage to step away from the rat race. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/25 |
Fri, 13 December 2013
Owen Hablutzel joins me to talk about patterns in permaculture and the power of setting a goal. Key Takeaways from this Episode: Patterns are the shorthand of nature. They take a large complex system of forces and processes and simplifies it down. What is the long term vision of the project? A lot of designs fall apart on the social impact side of the project. Take the time to set and write down a goal. That process greatly increases the likelihood that something will happen in the direction of your goal. Think about setting a Holistic Goal. "If you can understand patterns and what causes them to become the way they are, you can tell an awful lot about the processes that created it. And if you understand that, then you can create a design pattern that is going to best work with those forces." "Begin with the end in mind." "Without a goal it's tough to know exactly what you are designing for." "If it's not written down then it is not likely to happen, or much less likely to happen." "Don't buy the suit to match the tie." Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/24 |
Mon, 9 December 2013
This is replay of the webinar that was recorded on December 5, 2013 with Rebecca Krassnoski. Attendees submitted their questions about raising hogs and Rebecca answered them. the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main weekly show. This is content that I have that is worth sharing, but it will be a little more raw, unedited, and no show notes. The b reels can come out at anytime, while the main weekly interview based version of the podcast will always come out on Friday. These episodes are part experiment, so hopefully they give you as the listener some valuable information. Especially for the listener who just can't get enough permaculture in their life. Enjoy the show, and go out and be a part of the positive change. And let me know what you think, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening and thanks for support us, and permaculture. www.permaculturevoices.com
Direct download: b003-12092013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,farming -- posted at: 6:07am PST |
Fri, 6 December 2013
Joey Delia of Tipuana Farm joins me to talk about overstory trees in permaculture systems. We touch on species of overstory trees that grow in our area and the benefits of those trees to a system. Dealing with too much shade. Finding fast growing species and other thoughts that we have on the subject. the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main weekly show. This is content that I have that is worth sharing, but it will be a little more raw, unedited, and no show notes. The b reels can come out at anytime, while the main weekly interview based version of the podcast will always come out on Friday. These episodes are part experiment, so hopefully they give you as the listener some valuable information. Especially for the listener who just can't get enough permaculture in their life. Enjoy the show, and go out and be a part of the positive change. And let me know what you think, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening and thanks for support us, and permaculture. www.permaculturevoices.com
Direct download: b002_-_Overstory_Trees_with_Joey_Delia.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 9:54am PST |
Fri, 6 December 2013
Michael Pollan joins me to talk about GMOs, organic food, the industrial agriculture, and his new book Cooked. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/23
Direct download: PVP023-12062013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,farming -- posted at: 6:40am PST |
Fri, 29 November 2013
Joey Delia of EvokeHope.org joins me to recap the recent Darren Doherty Regrarian Open Consultancy, talk about the Dehesa system of Spain, and an upcoming PDC at the new PRI Tipuana Farm. Use roads as catchment. Often times roads are permitable, water harvesting is not. Roads have a lot of surface area to harvest water. Use it to your advantage. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/22 |
Fri, 22 November 2013
Stefan Sebkowiak of Miracle Farms joins me to talk about the what's lacking in organic systems - biodiversity. And why organic is good, but creating a polyculture is a lot better. Stefan started out his journey purchasing a conventional non-organic orchard. He worked on converting it over to organic and realized that something wasn't right, something was missing. The system was lacking the biodiversity that you see in nature. So Stefan converted over his organic orchard into a permaculture, polyculture based system. He removed a lot of apple trees and replaced them with other fruit trees and support species. He added more diversity to the system giving him more products to sell, more wildlife, and ultimate a healthier, more resilient system. A lot of commercial orchardists say that polyculture won't work. Stefan has show that on a tree by tree basis he is getting as much yield as a conventional orchard. He is out there trying to prove that you gross $1.00 per square foot in a polyculture system that value adds from multiple yields - poultry, fruit, vegetables, herbs, etc. "You can read a lot, but you need to go out and test things." Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/21
Direct download: PVP021-11222013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,fruit trees, orchard -- posted at: 6:54am PST |
Fri, 15 November 2013
David Barmon of Fiddlehead Landscape Design joins me to talk about urban lumber. We discuss how we can start thinking about urban trees as not just a source of beauty, but as a valuable, sustainable resource. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/20
Direct download: PVP020-11152013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,lumber,woodworking -- posted at: 7:31am PST |
Fri, 8 November 2013
019 - Joel Salatin on Ecologically Profitable Farming - How New Farmers Can Get In and How Existing Farmers Can Convert.
Joel talks a lot about how young people can get into farming by establishing synergistic relationships with older farmers as he tries to dispel the big belief that you need land to farm. This episode of the podcast is the audio from an interview that I did with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm back on May 22, 2013 in Big Bear Lake, CA. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/19 |
Fri, 1 November 2013
What do you do with 350,000 gallons of rainwater runoff that enters your property with a high velocity causing erosion? One option is to harvest that water, slow it down, and take away the erosion by constructing some permaculture earthworks. Alden Hough of the Sky Mountain Institute joins me to talk about some earthworks that were constructed on his 7 acre property last March during a Paul Wheaton earthworks workshop.He will also talk about some of the upcoming events at the 2013 Fall San Diego Permaculture Convergence that will expand these earthworks. Joey Delia of Evoke Hope and Tipuana Farm also joins the conversation to talk about the plant systems that were put in place after the earthworks construction. During the workshop last March we constructed a pond and a long swale to capture the 350,000 gallons of storm water that were running off of the road onto Alden's property, causing a lot of erosion in the process. The dam was constructed at the highest part of the property allowing Alden to gravity feed the water down-slope and zig zag the water across and down the property through a series of swales decreasing its erosive qualities and hydrating the landscape in the process. The earthworks have turned the problem (high velocity, high volume water) into a solution; providing water to grow native habit and food in a winter rainfall area, where water isn't cheap. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/18 |
Thu, 24 October 2013
Rebecca Krossnoski of Nature Delivered Farm joins me to talk about her passion for pigs. Rebecca left her job as a construction estimator 6 years ago to start pasture raising pigs. She realized that her old job wasn't going to be there forever so she began the transition into the farming business while she was still working at her old job. She had no prior farming experience when she embarked on the venture, learning along the way from her grandfather's notes, other farmers, and books, then building on that book knowledge with real world trial and error. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/17 |
Fri, 18 October 2013
016 - Darren Doherty Talks The Keyline Design Process and the Importance of Building Soil in the Landscape.
Darren Doherty of Heenan Doherty and Regrarians joins me from Australia to fill in some of the gaps surrounding Keyline design. |
Fri, 11 October 2013
015 - Joel Salatin On The Next Generation of Farmers. Starting Out, Interning, Mentoring, and Partnering with Existing Farmers.
Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm joins me to talk about his new book Fields of Farmers which focuses on the next generation of farmers.How young people can work with existing farmers to transition into farming. He talks about young people can do today to take advantage of the huge opportunity that is out there. Topics range from leasing land to forming synergistic, non-competitive enterprises on existing farms. The whole key is that you have to start. Movement creates movement. This episode also has a very heavy entrepreneurial component. Hopefully it will motivate some people to get out there, stop thinking about farming, and actually start farming. You don't have to own land to farm. Look for land to lease. Look to add another enterprise onto an existing farm. Focus on mobile infrastructure. Insource carbon instead of outsource carbon. So many farmers start out bringing in fertilizer at the beginning.Start building up your soils at the beginning to lower your long term input costs. Grow what you like to eat. You may have to eat through your inventory. Be willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. That might mean putting in a lot of hours, making a lot of sacrifices, cutting expenses, and taking some odds jobs. Make use of what you have first. Don't buy anything. So many people want to run out and buy things when they first start out. Access what you have, use that, and only buy what you absolutely need. Better to become 80% self reliant that get analysis paralysis and not doing anything while trying to become 100% self reliant. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Stack multiple enterprises on a single land base whenever possible. |
Thu, 3 October 2013
John Backes of Circle B Ranch joins me to talk about raising pastured hogs on 90 acres in Missouri. John didn't come from a farming background. He transitioned into farming in 2009 with his wife Marina after leaving a career in mechanical contracting. They set out to produce high quality food while focusing on the welfare and humane treatment of their hogs. -Pick a spouse that is a good compliment to your skills as a farm. It’s a team effort. -Stress affects meat quality. So try to minimize the animal’s stress. -Maintain good relationships with the hogs. Keep them calm because ultimately they are big and you want them working with you. |
Fri, 27 September 2013
Darren Doherty of Heenan Doherty and Regrarians joins me from Australia to talk about the regrarian philosophy that he has put together and how it can be used to regenerate landscapes and farming enterprises. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/13 |
Thu, 19 September 2013
Building Soil, Healing the Land and Raising High Quality Food with Rotational Grazing f. Doniga Markegard (PVP012)
Doniga Markegard of Markegard Family Grass-Fed comes on the show to talk about ranching, permaculture, and the regenerative power of rotational livestock grazing.She is a real life rancher, who is out there successfully doing things the right way. On her ranch she is using cattle, sheep, and pigs to build the soil and supply the San Fransisco Bay area with high quality food.Doniga discusses why traditional ranching methods often fail and lead to degenerative cycles with the soil; and how a more holistic, permaculture approach can actually repair landscapes. She talks about how they use permaculture on their ranch to increase species diversity and to increase the water holding capacity of the soil. She touches on how to get into ranching, the advantages of small herd dairy, and the importance of leasing land.
-The healing power of using proper livestock rotational management on a landscape is tremendous. Doniga often sees the benefits after just one or two rotations. The disturbance created by the livestock starts to build organic matter in the soil, sequester carbon, increase water infiltration, and that then leads to increased species diversity. Visit www.permaculturevoices.com/12 for show notes. |
Wed, 11 September 2013
011 - Permaculture Based Business. Growing Mushrooms, Building Soil, and Shooting to Gross $100,000 Per Acre.
What if you could gross $100,000 per acre in a small sustainable agriculture operation? You could make a good living and/or you could afford to pay someone a decent wage. If you can gross roughly $2.50 per square foot, per year, then that translates into a gross revenue of $100,000 per acre, per year. How can permaculture techniques be used to accomplish that goal? Chris Young of SoCal Shrooms and Closing the Loop joins me to talk about just that. His goal is to show that you can gross that $100k so you can hire one person to work an acre of land and pay them a good wage to work it. He aims to achieve this by reducing input costs and stacking revenue generators, all while improving the quality of the land and producing a high quality product. Key Takeaways from this Episode: -If possible tap into an existing distribution network. This gets you contacts right out of the gate. -Get more out of the same amount of land. Property taxes will go up the future, water costs will go up in the future, and more and more land is being developed away from farmland. So try to be more productive on the same amount of land while improving the quality of that land. -Consider the cost of your own time in the business. And pay yourself. -You have to do the real numbers for you business.Don't fudge them. The numbers won't lie. If something isn't working, then look at the numbers and see where you can start making changes to make the numbers work. When you have exhausted all possibilities, then it is time to move on. -Start broad and control your risk at the beginning. Then look at the numbers and refine down overtime to optimize each system or business. -Celebrate the small victories. There is a lot of drudgery that goes along with business and farming, so enjoy the good times. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/11 |
Tue, 3 September 2013
Cathy Payne of Broad River Pastures joins me to talk about heritage breed livestock and her journey into farming that began in her mid-50's.
Show Notes: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/10
Direct download: PVP010-09032013.mp3
Category:permaculture,agriculture,farming -- posted at: 9:03am PST |
Fri, 30 August 2013
Joey D'Elia joins me in this episode to talk about why people are afraid of embracing the order that comes in the "disorder of nature." We also ask why should anyone even care about food forests. Along the way we touch on embracing the "messiness" of permaculture and the importance of over-stacking the system with pioneer species early on. This saves time and adds resiliency. Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/9 for show notes. |
Fri, 23 August 2013
Paul Greive of Primal Pastures joins me to talk about being a grass farming entrepreneur. He talks about how the thought of Primal Pastures went from an idea to a reality one weekend while sitting around with his in-laws. This small step was the catalyst that helped develop Primal Pastures into a thriving beyond-sustainable meat business. Today they are continuing to grow the farm, their community, and the soil, but this isn't without its challenges. Paul discusses these challenges, and successes that he encounters on a daily basis as new farmer entrepreneur. He stresses the importance of connecting with your customer via Social Media, the advantages to starting out in the pastured poultry business, and the big advantages of leasing land over purchasing it. Episode Takeaways: -Don't undervalue and underestimate the value of connecting with your customers. Visit www.permaculturevoices.com/8 for show notes. |
Mon, 5 August 2013
Sarah Aubrey of Prosperity Consulting joins me to talk about being an entrepreneur, starting a business, and her journey. Like many entrepreneurs she started her "career" in the corporate world and quickly realized that life wasn't for her. So she took her skills from the corporate world and applied them to a business that she could stand behind.
Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/7 for show notes. H |
Wed, 17 July 2013
Want to be a farmer? Always dreamed about having your own farm? Lessons from a family farmer who has gone from grassroots to prosperity in 8 years. If you are young and thinking about starting your own farm, then this podcast is a must listen.
Adam Klaus of Bella Farm joins me in this episode to talk about his journey into the small farm business. Learn how he bought an abandoned apple orchard with his wife at age 25, and in 8 years they have turned 12 acres into a thriving small family farm that raises dairy cattle, a market garden, chickens, and multiple tree crops. Adam definitely brings it in this episode. It is absolutely jammed with knowledge and tidbits that you can use to improve your existing farm or plan your journey into the world of small farming. He keeps it real, and he might shatter some people’s romanticized views of farming with his emphasis on how much work it will require and the possibility of a big change in lifestyle. But he might also motivate some people to change their lives. It is hard to not feel the happiness when he talks about his farm and his lifestyle. I think that a lot of people will listen to this and think “I don’t talk about my job that way. What he is doing sounds pretty awesome. I want to live more like that.” And we all can by just focusing more on really matters the most to each of us. At the heart of Adam’s story is the biggest benefit of running a small family farm, his family and going through life with them. He is a living a life that he wants to live, working his land with his wife and kids, and to him that is what being rich is all about. If you enjoy this podcast with Adam, you can see more of him next year at the Permaculture Voices Conference. Adam will be giving two talks, one on small farm dairy and one on biodynamic farming. Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/6 for show notes. |
Fri, 12 July 2013
'Building a better world, one permaculture brick at a time.' The full and complete audio from Paul Wheaton's standing ovation keynote presentation at the Southern California Permaculture Convergence on March 9, 2013 in San Diego, CA. "Most folks that want change tell a dozen people how bad people should stop being bad. Over a ten year span of time, they may have told 100 people about which bad people to be angry at. I believe that conflict come from difference of knowledge set. I play the long game: hundreds of tidbits of knowledge spread out over many years If I say “permaculture” after each tidbit, then eventually a person might think “I keep hearing this word associated with cool things” and then search for more permaculture stuff on their own. This is my strategy for world domination." Paul Wheaton Paul presents 72 different permaculture based strategies for changing the world. Some of these strategies are big and some are small. Some can be done very quickly, some will require a significant amount of time. Odds are that some of the permaculture strategies will resonate with everyone. If each person just does a few of them, then we are all changing the world. "Rather than being angry at bad guys, I want to share a thousand bricks for building a better world." Paul Wheaton Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/5 for show notes. |
Thu, 11 July 2013
How do we get more food forests into suburban yards? We can start by planting a legume anytime that plant a fruit tree. Then what? Joey D'Elia joins me in this episode to discuss just that. How can people start down the path of building their own food forest in their suburban backyard. What are some easy ways to identify trees that will work in your system? How to not get caught up in the design phase forever and start planting now. This will be the first episode in a multi-part series about permaculture food forests. In this episode of the podcast we ask - If food forests are the coolest thing in permaculture, why aren't there more of them? And what strategies could anyone do to start planning their food forest today. Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/4 for show notes. |
Fri, 28 June 2013
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:
For Show Notes Visit: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/3
|
Fri, 21 June 2013
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:
Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/2 for show notes. |
Wed, 5 June 2013
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 |