Jason is the Self Sufficient Gardener. You can find him here:
All posts in Gardening
Episode 19 -First Year Gardener Commentary
Announcements
- The Survival Channel is in the works
- SOS 2.0
- Lots more coming … so stay tuned!!
News from the Homestead
- Why you should never completely trust any guru. Use your head.
- Bee Keeping Mentor – An important thing if you want to keep bees
- How to trim grape vines going into year 2
- Why I think chicken tractors are swell
First Year Garden
Enhanced fruit growth decimates my plum tree
- I’m ok with buying soil your first year if that is what you want.
- Square foot garden is a highly accessible method for year one gardeners. It is great for getting people to catch the bug.
- How my corn was a failure
- Pole bean madness… wrapped around everything
- How an acorn squash plant killed about 1/3 of my crops
- and more…
Free eBook Giveaway! Limited time offer (Valid through 11:59PM 3/16)
I’m going into promo mode here, to support a really great guy putting out an awesome product. Since I am a Food Security Knowledge Pack subscriber I’ve already gotten my copy of Jason’s new ebook and I want to share with you how you can get yours!
Download the sample PDF to get a sneak peak
Jason Akers over at the self sufficient gardener has just released a new eBook entitled “The Process Oriented Gardener” which is an 8MB 80+ page book which cuts to the chase and gives you the straight story on getting things done in the garden. No hype or hoopla just essential gardening knowledge such as
- Starting seeds with soil cubes
- Composting
- Selecting varieties
- Rain barrel system
- poultry and chickens
- and so MUCH MORE
Download the sample PDF to get a sneak peak
For a limited time you can get this book for free when you purchase the Food Security Knowledge Pack for $7.99
For those of you who don’t know the food security knowledge pack is a crazy cheap package of information that Jason has put together. You get a novel of homesteading information about hunting, fishing, gardening, permaculture and more along with years worth of audio content that Jason has produced.
After 3/16/2011 the process oriented gardener will only be sold separately for $7.99
Click Here and purchase a copy of the Food Security Knowledge Pack and Jason will personally email you an exclusive download link to get your copy of “The Process Oriented Gardener”
Planting beans from the grocery store
This could be a great way to use some of that long term food storage this spring, and to build your long term storage moving forward! Has anyone tried this? lets hear about the results in the comments
A continuous flow vermicomposting system
The finished product. Mine would probably go outside
I was reading the blog over at Red Worm Composting and I saw a product called The Worm Inn – A continuous flow vermicomposting system.
The reported benefits are the breathable fabric makes sure that you won’t produce any anaerobic much at the bottom of your bin. As the worms travel up the system you can easily harvest the compost through a drawstring tightening system.
So I thought this was pretty slick setup, however I thought that this would also be a pretty easy DIY project.
Sure enough I went over to one of my favorite websites instructables.com and did a quick search for “worm bin” and the first result was this: Worm bin bag.
I would improve this excellent design by not purchasing new wood, but instead using pallet wood for your frame OR build the frame from the cheap PVC electrical conduit which is less than $1 for an 8 foot length.
I’m still evaluating all of my “worm” options for the upcoming season, but this design is topping my list right now.
Episode 15: Bio-intensive Gardening – Book Review
The Biointensive Gardening Method - book reivew! [ 24:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1372)Today I review a book, some consider THE book, on bio-intensive gardening. The book is called How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons.
The bio-intensive method is a way to plant your garden beds to create a “living mulch” of densely planted crops, the goal is to maximize yields while minimizing inputs and labor. Square foot gardening is one example of one particular type of bio-intensive planting method.
This video sums up the method very well:
How To Grow More Vegetables differs from Square Foot Gardening in that you start and maintain your garden beds using your own soil which you prepare using the “double dig” method which is outlined in the book.
PVC seed starting tray
With spring fast approaching my thoughts are consumed with garden planning. My south facing windows are all covered with a row of conifers so I have to start my seeds indoors with grow lights.
Jason Akers over at http://theselfsufficientgardener.com has but together a simple seed starting system. Check it out
Episode 13: Beneficial Garden Pollinators – the Mason Bees!
Today’s episode brought to you by : Directive21.com – the best deals on Berkey Water Filters
Mason bees are a great garden friend and their needs are minimal. They just need you to plant some nice herbs to pollinate and make a basic house to live in.
Today we talk about:
- Great for people who can’t have honey bees, and also for those that do!
- They don’t sting!
- Great in cold climates
- Order through mail or attract them from the wild
- How to setup a mason bee house
- How to build a mason bee house
- Mason Bee House Plans using natural logs
Build a worm tower to fertilize your garden
While I was researching aquaponics I stumbled across this concept of building a worm tower. Basically you bury some pipe and fill it with compost worms and kitchen scraps, etc. The worms will crawl through your garden and leave their castings behind. It’s a pretty cool concept, one which I will be experimenting with this spring.
Here is a great source for composting worms. Red Worm Composting. I’ve been planning to make a few worm bins this year also.
Episode 11 – Growing Mushrooms indoors and outdoors and more!
For today’s podcast I covered a few different topics from vitamin C mega doses to more beekeeping tips and more. I hope you enjoy the podcast.
I switched to the iPhone for recording the podcast, let me know if the audio quality is finally up to par.
Oyster Mushrooms
Mushroom Kit in a bin
Sponsor of the day
Show Outline
- Mother Earth news fair on Sept 24-25 in Seven Spring Pennsylvania. I hope to see you there! General Information about the fair.
- Mega-doses of vitamin C – I plan to address this in a future podcast
- Bee Keeping Tips For Today
- Barefoot Beekeeper digital version
- Try buying some brood frame from a local bee keeper if you are going to start with a package
- Lawn Mower – Not as big a problem as I would have suspected
- Choose a location in full sun for your bees if your climate is similar to Pennsylvania. Consult your bee keeping mentor (You don’t have one yet?? Shame on you!)
- Growing Mushrooms
- http://www.fieldforest.net
- Oysters could be the easiest to grow… good place to start
- Indoor kits come in plastic bags, put them inside a plastic tote filled with waterlogged sand for better results
- Grow mushrooms on toilet paper
- Grow mushrooms outdoors on logs
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