Stu Horton

@Dan Boone

Why did you describe the show as "crypto" permie  homesteaders?  Just thinking about this now and wondering why you used the word "crypto."

Dan Boone wrote:

There's a new-to-me (just started its second season) show on the National Geographic Channel called Live Free Or Die.  It has my attention because, without using the word "permaculture", it features a couple who are building a permaculture homestead on 1.5 acres in South Carolina.  The episode guide that I first noticed mentioned making sycamore syrup, and in the two episodes I've viewed so far, Tony And Amelia have built a temporary rocket stove for sugaring, made their syrup, and have put the finishing touches on a small rocket mass heater in their cabin (including going under the cabin to shore it up with a telephone pole after the floor began to sag).  What's more, Tony has talked about his ambition to grow a food forest.  I can't believe they haven't used the word permaculture to the producers -- they must have -- but at least so far, I haven't seen it.

Fair warning, though, there are at least three other people featured on the show -- an aging Georgia trapper and swamp rat, a Colorado mountain-man primitive blacksmith who is the world's worst muleskinner, and a dude called "Thorn" who showed us how to build a coracle (skin boat) and then (presumably to please the producers) paddled it so far down a rapidly-flowing river that there's no hope he'll ever get it back upstream again without a pickup truck.  They are all back-to-the-landers of one kind or another, and the show focuses on showing us them practicing skills for homesteading and/or primitive living, but the overall permie interest may be low.   Like most such shows it's fairly foolish, jumps around too much, has heavy-handed narration that tries to inject drama into fundamentally undramatic living, and features people doing stuff that is obviously "showing off for the camera" more than the actual reality of their life.  Some of the editing is implausible, too; there was a storyline about cold baby rabbits wrapped around the mass heater project, and they made it appear that the project went from mixing morter for the bricks in the mass bench all the way through to a fired-up warm room in a single day, even after taking time out to go salvage a telephone pole and shore up their cabin.  

So I'm not really recommending the show, just calling it out because it has people doing permaculture in it, plus a lot of stuff that will be interesting to homesteaders, primitive-living enthusiasts, and back-to-the-landers.

I know this is an old thread but this seemed like the right place for a horseradish question.

I have recently discovered the stuff relieves my allergies and have been going through a lot of the store bought mixes. I've tried a number of brands but the one that starts with a K is far more spicy/ potent than all the others I've tried. If I was putting it on food I might want something a little mellower but I'm not. I'm looking for sinus clearing eye watering stuff..  finally my question.

What makes that brand so potent. Considering the ingredients amongst all brands are very similar I'm under the impression it's the variety of horseradish? Am I wrong? If I'm right what are the spicier varieties? If I'm wrong what's the secret to strong horseradish? Is it the recipe? The growing conditions?

Thanks for any input, links, any info whatsoever.

Thank you all for the great information.  While I appreciate all the great tips for finding land, my biggest obstacle in this area is price, what I'm really looking for in this thread is more along the lines of an order of operations, like Redhawk suggested the first step of.

An order of operations and sources that address the operations in a systematic way.  

Thank you again for the suggestions and any help.

If this isn't in the best place for it to be please don't hesitate to move it.

This is about growing but indirectly.

Background:
I've been lurking here for awhile.  A couple posts here and there... I'm close to buying a few acres.  I want to do a permaculture orchard, small market/ annual garden, and a greenhouse for microgreens and season extension of the stuff will use or profit from.  I want to use permaculture techniques.  I understand the very basics from lurking and other research but not very confident about anything yet.  I have a degree in horticulture and have worked in the field off and on for years but mostly in ornamentals or turf.  Gotta pay the bills.  My personal studies and interests have focused on food and organics.

Ive watched a bunch of permaculture videos on youtube but they seem to be very low on content... void of most methods and explanations at least.  They seem more like an advertisement for design courses or a, "Hey look what we did!"  Which is very inspiring but not exactly what I'm looking for.

Question:
I want a permaculture lesson plan for myself that focuses on these topics.  I don't want a design certification or anything like that.  It's not in the budget.  I want a list and order of a the books I should read and the movies I should watch.  Ideally things I can get from the library but I'll spend a few bucks if you convince me.  So if you can suggest a book list and order to read them I'd greatly appreciate it.  

Oh and I'm in NJ.  Zone 7.

Devin Lavign wrote:

Chris Griffin wrote:The show producers influence a lot of what Tony and Amelia do. This season's trip to the coast for salt made the couple look ignorant in my opinion. I live near and in the same climate as the couple, I know that they travelled about 250 miles to the coast to collect their sea salt. The deer meat was left where? Our winter was super mild when that was filmed. Deer meat, venison, is safer canned than cured or smoked. Tony and Amelia are very intelligent people, but gave in to the producers need to show "drama". I just wanted to blow off a little steam in regards to the " show"...

I have little doubt that Tony and Amelia know what they are doing and have some control of what is happening in the show. By this I mean they are barterers, and so likely are getting something for every silly drama thing they do for the show. My guess is they get some grace on pushing some information point that they want to share but the production thinks is too boring when ever they do some silly unreality show drama thing.

Couldn't agree more Devin. I'm not sure if the sequence was portrayed accurately but I had a huge problem with tiny and Amelia harvesting a deer but being to build a dehydrator and go to the beach to get salt AFTER the fact! I know they're smarter than that and would have found a way to barter for salt or build the dehydrator first.

Terri Matthews wrote:Permaculture is not tapping on a metal bowl while you chant. Permaculture is tonight's blackberry pie, made from berries that I grew, and it will follow a dinner of the fish that I caught. Mowing a lawn and planting herbs can be called Permaculture: chanting while tapping a bowl is not!!!

Hi. I respect your opinion but the site isn't about permaculture. Some of the people on the show use some permaculture like techniques. I'm sure some people that do permaculture ride a bike, go to church, do yoga, collect stamps, whatever.

Jack,
Thanks for the detailed response.  I have a bit of experience with older backhoes and a good deal with skid steers.  Not thousands of hours but a few hundred.  I appreciate you easing my mind about cutting down trees.  It just rarely feels like the right thing to do but I know sometimes it must be done for the greater good.  Thanks for the suggestions.

SuBa,

Ah the tomatoes.  Come October I can't bring myself to eat a tomato for months because they taste like cardboard.  I will look into the pineland regulations.  I'm actually looking at the northern border of them.  I'd prefer a more deciduous and slightly less lyme tick area.  If only at 18 I knew what was going on.  I would have invested in land for the future.

Devin,

Thanks for easing my mind.  That's probably true about 99.9% of this area.  I spoke to a local organic farmer and he told me he paid 10K per acre to have an area cleared in 94. I imagine it's double that now.  He said he sold all the maple out of it but he didn't mention if it put a good dent in the cost.

Thanks to all 3 of you for the encouragement and I apologize for the delay in my response.

I'm in central nj. Closer to the coast than Philly. I'm looking at land within an hour of where I am. I've been looking for a long time b/c land is expensive and harder to find around here. Yes, moving would be great but for family and employment reasons it just isn't possible. The area is known as the pine barrens. Most lots are wooded and that leads me to my question.

Should I consider a wooded lot? I've ignored them for a long time. I have dreams of a small orchard, garden, permaculture, few small animals, already have the 3 kids and dog...

The task of clearing land seems expensive, time consuming, and extremely environmentally irresponsible.

Any ideas or experiences will be appreciated. I'm not getting any younger and neither are the kids.

Thanks