• Home>
  • Archive: March, 2012
Monthly Archives: March 2012

Why Permaculture Folks Love Comfrey

Published 11 years ago in Permaculture , Video - 0 Comments

Comfrey may be the most talked about permaculture plant. It is commonly planted under fruit trees because it does not compete with tree roots, but it does compete with plants that do compete with tree roots. Alexia Allen of Hawthorn Farm tell us how she like using it as a poultice. We get to see […]

131 – Free Cycles

Published 11 years ago in less toxic living , missoula , Podcasts - 0 Comments

Paul Wheaton talks with Bob Giordano of Free Cycles in Missoula, where you can get a free bicycle for 4 hours of volunteering. You learn how to fish rather than just getting a fish, aka, you learn how to put together a bicycle rather than just ride one. The bike is the medium for community. […]

Tags: energy , Missoula

130 – The Beautiful Truth Movie Review

Paul Wheaton talks with Helen Atthowe after watching The Beautiful Truth. Helen paraphrases a quote of John Muir’s, saying – when you pull on a single thread in nature, you find that it is attached to everything else. The movie follows a 15 year old, homeschooled boy who is investigating health. He discovers that “science” […]

best spoon wood per skeeter

Published 11 years ago in food , less toxic living , Video , wild foods - 0 Comments

Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski, permaculture and wildcrafting instructor, talks a bit about what makes the best wood for carving a wooden spoon. This was filmed at sahale. As part of the washington state permaculture convergence. Skeeter mentions why eucaluptus would make for a terrible wooden spoon (taste). Skeeter talks about serviceberry (I have a hand carved […]

Tags: being eco , food

how to split cedar logs for rails or posts tutorial

Published 11 years ago in Video , woodland care - 0 Comments

Using wedges, mauls and sledge hammers to split rails. These started off as some really big, sick cedar trees. Useful for split rail fence. Splitting logs for several hours. This video is just a taste. Most of the split wood was used for posts. Deer fencing could use super tall posts that you just can’t […]

Tags: being eco

outdoor classroom at bullock brothers permaculture homestead

This outdoor classroom is a kind of tee-pee-ish thing. Canvas, a few poles from the hillside and some rope makes an outdoor classroom for about a hundred people. … update – the roof of this outdoor classroom might be an old parachute! Video taken during an open house at the bullock brothers permaculture homestead.

eco house – mike oehler PSP ridgetop eco

Published 11 years ago in homesteading , less toxic living , Video - 0 Comments

Author of the $50 and up underground house book is building another eco house masterpiece! This is an above ground structure on top of a steep mountain ridge in north idaho. This may be the sixth eco house built on this property. Some of Oehler’s eco structures are underground and some are underground-ish. This eco […]

129 – Frugality and Community

Published 11 years ago in Permaculture , Podcasts - 0 Comments

Paul Wheaton talks with Josiah Wallingford, who has helped Paul immensely spreading his evil empire. Josiah gives his and his wife’s update since he did his last podcast with Paul. They discuss the approach described in Early Retirement Extreme, including a waiting period in which they live very frugally. They will be moving to northern […]

Sandhill Cranes Out My Window – Montana

Published 11 years ago in homesteading , Video - 0 Comments

For a few weeks sandhill cranes kept hanging out at my house. Super early in the morning they would sing just outside my open window. Too early, too close to my window, and too loud really. Ok! I’m awake already! The music is by my friend Jimmy Pardo. To hear more of his stuff and […]

Tags: local , nature

Free Pallet House – No Trash Bash Stash House

Published 11 years ago in urban , Video - 0 Comments

This building cost nothing to build. Well, nearly nothing. It is built of mostly pallets. Used pallets. Pallets that would have been thrown in the garbage. Karen Biondo of La Biondo Farm and Kitchen tells us the story and shows us around. It’s a sturdy shed that is used for an honor system farm stand […]

ecovillage with cob, wood and outdoor classroom

Published 11 years ago in homesteading , Video - 0 Comments

A tour of “the homestead” or “the mountain homestead” ecovillage featuring some fascinating cob and wood structures and wood carving. This eco village is next door to another ecovillage: cobville. Check out the cob oven, cob buildings and there are glimpses of other structures in the ecovillage. A peek at their gardens. A peek at […]

128 – Rocket Mass Heaters, Money, and Permaculture

Paul Wheaton talks with Daniel Hatfield, an Australian permaculturalist, about rocket mass heaters. He is trying to get Ernie and Erica out to Australia to teach about rocket mass heaters, and is seeking some marketing help. Paul explains how he feels about people using his material, and mentions his blog with free stuff for folks […]

solar food dehydrator / dryer w bio-track! how to tutorial

Published 11 years ago in food , Video - 0 Comments

A solar food dehydrator / dryer made from a dead freezer. Brian Kerkvliet from Inspiration Farm in Bellingham, Washington gives us a tour of his contraption. This solar food dehydrator comes with a blackened air intake and a blackened air pull. Complete with biotracking! This is where somebody moves the dehydrator several times a day […]

127 – Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture Chapter 2 Part 3

Published 11 years ago in Permaculture , Podcasts , Sepp Holzer - 0 Comments

Paul Wheaton continues reviewing chapter 2 of Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture with Kelda Miller, this time on animal shelters. Paul compares Sepp shelters to Mike Oehler structures. Both have a thick earthen roof. They talk about quickly made, less permanent structures for pigs. They talk about different woods you could use. These shelters can be used […]

cob rumford fireplace in outdoor classroom

Published 11 years ago in homesteading , Video - 0 Comments

This is an outdoor rumford fireplace made from cob at “the homestead” or “the mountain homestead” ecovillage designed to replace a campfire. The idea is that with a rumford fireplace people can circle around, not get smoke in their eyes and stay dry and warm even when it is raining. There is another rumford fireplace […]

126 – Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture Chapter 2 Part 2

Published 11 years ago in chickens , Permaculture , Podcasts , Sepp Holzer - 0 Comments

Paul Wheaton continues reviewing chapter 2 of Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture with Kelda Miller, which is talking about birds and poultry. Sepp talks about the loss of natural habitat and bird diversity. Kelda talks about addressing urban sprawl, and taking out asphalt. The two of them address population growth, and the use of cars. Paul shares […]

125 – Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture Chapter 2

Published 11 years ago in Permaculture , Podcasts , Sepp Holzer - 0 Comments

Paul Wheaton continues reviewing Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture with Kelda Miller, reading chapter 2 on alternative way to keep livestock. Sepp likes old pig breeds, and talks about using pigs around fruit trees and how grazing animals help biodiversity. Paul shares about doing the paddock shift sytem with his pigs. He mentions Allan Savory‘s wagon wheel method, and how he prefers using […]

greenhouse construction + rocket mass heater

Greenhouse construction with a rocket mas heater, including an excellent demonstration of the rocket mass heater sideways burn. The greenhouse construction class is taught by Ernie and Erica Wisner, featuring the rocket mass heater techniques of Ianto Evans (of cob cottage company fame). I cannot think of a better approach to greenhouse heating. This is […]

>