Josh Evans

Welp, here i am expecting nothing, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask. My family and I moved at the end of last year and it's been crazy since so I'm guess I missed something here.
My permie email is the same as my kickstarter email. Today I tried clicking on a link and was denied access to the secret inner forum (which i have trouble finding for some reason). I haven't submitted my vimeo info (not sure if that's in the secret inner circle) and would still like to see the awesome micro documentary as I was just a basic $1 supporter this time.
I'm sorry to trouble you. I have no complaints because you all do an amazing amount of work. Thank you for everything.

I can't speak more highly of this endeavor. I've taken classes from both of these gentlemen before, and I'm currently taking an advanced course taught by them together. Their understanding and knowledge of this matter is quite deep which is reflected in this project's uniqueness and originality within the permaculture/stewardship community. It's a niche that needs to be filled and a wisdom that needs to be regained and rediscovered. Please help support if you can.

? for Chris or anyone else. I live in the eastern US and so much of the land has been chopped up and turned into small parcels. Therefore, I'm mostly interested in the scaling down of sustainable systems to use and promote now but can also act as a bridge to a future that will hopefully look very different. So my question is this: With any grazing animal/ruminant, what is the smallest known/observed/achieved rotational hayless no-import system that you know of? At this point, for millions of people to change, they'll need an accessible methodology to mimic and get them motivated to learn and get their hands dirty. Since each animal has some sort of baseline in terms of nutritional needs, I realize that there's a limit somewhere, but since I hear either a lot of theory or large scale examples, it's hard for me to decipher and translate. I'm thinking space, rotations, and head count here, sqft. or acres. Also, I realize that variables will come into play, case-study wise, such as latitude, solar exposure, soil quality/depth, etc. Thanks.

Hey Paul,
This might be out of the scope of this podcast focus, but I would like to hear more from You and Brandon about the small-scale permie style raising of pigs with minimal to no imports into the system, at least keeping it within the Bioregion. Similarly, I would like to hear the potentially different advice about a pasture based methodology of raising pork versus a silvipasture/forest based scenario of raising the pigs.
I'm moving to a land trust with mostly forest but a bit of meadow and am just dying to incorporate pigs into our permaculture homestead learning and education in the next couple years. One of the questions I have is of course, how much land can you sustainably raise a pig on without imports with the right amount of grown crops (obviously fruit and nut trees would be helpful, but that will take a while, so in addition i'm thinking of the more immediate annual perennial fodder crops where you can rotate/paddock shift them through.
I haven't seen Pigs in a Day yet but have heard the podcast on it. Any other recommended resources would be great. thanks guys and I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope the kickstarter is succesful Brandon. I was completely floored by the beauty, integrity, and honor depicted in Anatomy of Thrift and it (you) continues to be one of my primary inspirations for good food, living true connections, community, love of animals in life and death, and of course raising raising, harvesting, curing/preparing/cooking pigs. i'll be supporting you, just trying to figure out how much!

Ernie and Erica, thanks for your work and willingness to share and teach. I have watched all the videos I could find, read the book on RMH's, listened to the podcasts, but have only found the time to read some of the threads here, partially because there just are so many. I have wanted to ask yours, or anyone else's, opinion on attempting to build an all-masonry RMH. I'm a DIY kind of guy and love the affordability and accessibility of the 'barrel rocket heater' approach. But I also really like the idea of finding a more longer-term durable design using masonry materials, as I believe was suggested at one point in one of the podcasts. I know that there are now shippable core designs out there (with manufacturing in the works) which I'm very excited about, but they are probably still designed to be used with the barrel approach...I could be wrong.
So I think what I'm asking are 2 things:
1. What do you envision being the most responsible/cost-effective design approach that uses all masonry or all brick, etc? I'm still assuming that the metal duct for the horizontal run and exhaust could be used of course. Essentially, what's in between the RMH barrel designs and full blown $5-10,000 Masonry heaters?

2. I'm pretty sure you know about Larsmith217's All-brick RMH design on YouTube, which is a google sketch-up design that he sells. What do you think of his design and dimensions? Have you purchased or has anyone else offered to purchase one from Lars for you to take a look at. It looks well done, but I see all these things as benefitting from communal efforts and perspectives and by no means want to discredit any of the work that Lars has done. He discusses the dimensions on the video I believe. Any possible improvements? What would keep this design from code approval? It it still the lack of a UL approval stamp even though fire brick is a standard well known building material?


thanks again and sorry if this has already been addressed before. I can't wait to see your RMH DVD and the 4 DVD Rocket Stove workshop with Paul. Of course I supported them both.

Yes, I too am interested in this. I'm not experienced but have followed plans to build top bar hives before. A big question was whether to put a regular flat bottom board on (to allow the hive to keep a more stable temperature in the winter especially) OR to keep the bottom a small diameter screen (as stated for mite cleaning and housekeeping purposes)? Is this the same or similar question as above? thanks so much.

Hi Gail. Selling seed balls and ingredients, what a great idea and service. My home is the East Coast and I like a lot of what's been said already (especially the seed guilds but for edible forest gardens I'm guessing they should be separate balls for the larger species, but more practically they would be the low herbaceous and groundcover guilds). Here are some of my thoughts and ideas. Hope they help!

I do think focusing on plant function and species requirements will help generate new ideas and interest. An example of a function-based seed mix would be "Soil building" with stuff that cover crops often do, combining a nitrogen fixer with a biomass accumulator like Vetch and Rye. Below is a summary of ideas and potentials.
Functions:
Soil Building - mimicking some cover crop combos (ex vetch and rye) to include both nitrogen fixers, mineral accumulators, and biomass accumulators. Clovers, Vetches, Lupines, etc.
Self Mulching - this is another way of saying what Hans already described.
would include species that are sown in fall (winter annuals) that grow and then die in the heat leaving an organic mat that protects the soil and slowly releases nutrients.
Natural Tillers - tap root stuff Ex. Diakon Radish, queen anne's, etc (Preferably these could break up a hard-pan, grow big and fleshy, then die back leaving pockets of nutrients and water pathways.
Trample-proof Groundcover - for walk areas, could include low growing tough species (help people go from mowing and maintenance to minimal requirements to maintain walkway/path)
Grains - just like Fukuoka instead of Rice
Wild Salad - mixture of leafy, green, delicious weeds that are either perennial or self-seeding (chickweed, purslane, lambsquarters, nettles, cress, plantain, etc)
Beneficial insectary mix

I would also love to see an all-native wildflower mix (first to the lower 48, then getting more specific - one mix for the West Coast natives, and one mix of the East coast natives)

With these ideas and a ton more research, priorities can be made based on a Permaculture-like value system.
1. First, choose species that are Wild, self-seeding/perennial, Native and Edible (ex We have native clovers (buffalo and carolina) and plantains)
2. Then Native and Useful (functional, medicinal, etc)
3. Non-native naturalized wild, self-seeding/perennial, Edible
4 Non-native introduced, edible and highly useful species

I'd be curious to hear what others think of this prioritization. I know it can be better, both in clarity and content.

I realize the 2 biggest challenges moving in these directions are:
1. the time and resources to research the species for the mixes/balls
2. actually finding sources for the seed of the species chosen

Something that might help a lot is taking a look at the seed mixes offered by some organizations and seed companies out there.
Bountiful Gardens Seed Mixes and Seed Collections (great ideas)
Johnny's Seed Mixes
Also, the USDA Plants Database is amazing for finding out Native Regions and doing advanced searches with specific criteria. the more I poke around the more I realize I can do there.

Lastly, I do believe this is my first post to permies. Hello and Thanks to Paul, Adrien, Jocelyn, the whole team, and all my permie neighbors for contributing this invaluable network of support and knowledge. i can't believe it's taken me 2 years to speak up.