Building a “food forest”

Posted: October 13, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 3. Food Security | Tags: , | Comments Off on Building a “food forest”

We’re creating our version 1.0 food forest. It’s a system of food crops arranged to mimic a natural’s forest ecosystem. Our fruit trees are the top canopy, berry bushes the mid-canopy, with normal vegetables making up the remaining forest layers.

It’s been fun to build, although quite a bit of work and I blew my budget by a factor of 3X. Several times during the construction I wondered if this was my version of a mid-life crisis. It probably is. Oh well, it least a food forest is more productive for my family than a little red sports car.

We started with this sketch of an existing site on our property where I had installed deer fencing and drip irrigation already for 15 fruit trees and a handful of raised beds. I had already chipped rough stairs out of our heavy clay soil. We laid out the pathways between the existing two year old fruit trees with tape. We then brought in 30 yards of compost/dirt to build the new mounded beds.

This is the second of two loads. The first 15 yards of compost/dirt only made three beds (you can see them in the background). We could probably use a third load, but I’m *really* tired of hauling dirt up and down this hill. We’ll expand next spring for version 2.0.

Note to self: a truck containing 15 yards of moist compost/dirt is pretty darn heavy. Heavy enough that it will snap any irrigation piping in the ground that it rolls over. Oops. This one only cost me $4 to fix, but several hours of digging to find the broken pipe.

Next up, planting the mid-canopy berry bushes for the food forest and lining the paths with wood chips.

First eggs

Posted: October 12, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 3. Food Security | Tags: , | Comments Off on First eggs


Ah, the joys of “maiden eggs” (as Joel Salatin brands these small pullet eggs). We finally get to enjoy the benefits of the chicken tractor investment.

Two double yolks so far!

Permaculture expert

Posted: September 30, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 3. Food Security | Tags: , | Comments Off on Permaculture expert


I mentioned a “food forest” we’re working in several posts. Here’s a bit of background and an image to explain what that is….

After reading a few permaculture books (Gaia’s Garden was the best of the bunch), we hired a local expert who lives in our town to come over and discuss specific ways to implement permaculture in our yard. One of his interns created a nifty set of drawings like this one of a food forest to provide guidance.

Not a bad investment of $250 for several hours of their time, ideas, and delivered sketches. We’re using an area in which I already had deer-proof fencing and irrigation piping.

Growing your own

Posted: September 29, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 3. Food Security | Tags: , | Comments Off on Growing your own

 

Feeling good about your work to become more self-sufficient? As I am building out our food forest (photos soon), I was feeling a bit smug about it actually. Until I took the time to think through the 100 foot challenge. Yikes. We’ve got a long way to go.

But growing your own food is worthwhile, and it is radical. One of my new favorite quotes is from Jules Dervaes, the urban farmer and founder of Path to Freedom.

“Growing food in one of the most dangerous occupations on the face of this earth, because you are in danger of becoming free.”

An experiment in simplicity

Posted: September 27, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: , | Comments Off on An experiment in simplicity

For an interesting, first-hand analysis of what an economic collapse in the US might look like in comparison to what happened to Russia a few years ago, pick up a copy of Dmitry Orlov’s book Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects at your local library.

You can also head over to the Energy Bulletin website to read through his slide presentation on this topic. Strangely enough, he’s made a dire topic actually enjoyable to read about.

Simplicity certainly plays a large role in this new Emergency Planning world, whether it is forced (as described in Orlov’s descriptions of Russia) or voluntary (back-to-the-land folks).

In other realms, I’ve experimented with forms of voluntary simplicity, usually related to technology since I’m a computer geek. A year ago I switched to Macs for the first time in my life. Definitely a more streamlined user interface reflecting Steve Job’s passion for “less is more”. I’m using only the standard “out of the box” applications for most of my productivity (Mac Mail, Address Book, iCal, etc).

More recently, I’ve begun using a smart phone (iPhone 3GS) instead of laptop to run my company (and most of the rest of my life). It certainly makes business travel simpler and multi-tasking easier (e.g. weeding my vegetable garden while talking to my salespeople after reviewing a spreadsheet).

I certainly hope we can retain the “simple life” as a voluntary experiment, rather than a forced scenario.

Protecting your cash assets from hyperinflation

Posted: September 25, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 8. Wealth Management | Tags: , | Comments Off on Protecting your cash assets from hyperinflation

For a great summary on how we got into the mess we’re in, check out the NPR podcast “Return to the Giant Pool of Money“. If you don’t use iTunes, do a search for episode #390 of the This American Life show from Chicago Public Radio from just a few weeks ago.

In the podcast, they mark the anniversary of the economic collapse: recapping some of the original episode and finding out what’s happened to the folks featured in the story in the year since.

My main takeaway: the economic collapse was not something They did, but something We did. We (you and I) are the global pool of money. This is not something we can blame on Wall Street, but on basic human greed, seen at a catastrophic global scale.

And while we’re talking about money, you might look into just how secure (or not) your bank account is. Use this tool and go for B+ or higher rated bank.

Testing your bicycle awareness

Posted: September 24, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 5. Alt Transportation | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Testing your bicycle awareness

A humorous (and effective) reminder to pass along to your non-bicyclist friends. Be sure to remind them that with Peak Oil, they will likely become bicyclists in the not-too-distant future. Whether they want to or not.


A new martial arts teacher and perspective

Posted: September 20, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 7. Physical Security | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on A new martial arts teacher and perspective

Re-engaged with a new (old) teacher for physical security training recently. I’ve known this fellow for years, trained under him awhile ago, and trust him to teach me these potentially deadly techniques with the correct mindset. Specifically, one of being positive and solution-focused.

He was open to contracting with me for private lessons in a customized format, makes my dojo commute time only 15 minutes (by bicycle) each way, and meets with me during my lunch break. Cool.

We’re studying the same practical topics as krav maga (unarmed defense against chokes, strikes, kicks, knife, and gun), but from an aikido perspective. Aikido is known as the only martial art that is non-aggressive. While I appreciate that fact because I believe in seeking harmony, it also leads to criticisms of the art.

We are attempting to remedy these critiques by bringing in portions of other disciplines, such as Brazilian ju-jitsu (ground work/escape), Wing Chun (close combat), and Muay Thai (striking/kicking distance), with a focus on simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers.

Because all aikido-based techniques wait until the other person attempts to do something negative to you before responding, it is great for diffusing potentially negative situations. But in case they can’t be diffused, I’ve added weapons training to my sessions for the jo, kubotan, and stick fighting. Why those specific weapons? Because I already carry them every day.
  • A jo is basically a long stick. Between hiking sticks and garden tools, I spend a fair amount of my day with something like a jo already in my hand.
  • A kubotan can be any small cylindrical object. For me, that’s the space pen, small tactical flashlight (during travel) , or pocket multitool (not during travel) that are always in my pockets.
  • The fighting sticks are martial arts version of a policeman’s baton. I keep a collapsible ASP baton attached to my bedside so I can sleep better.

And why weapons training at all? Because a recent discussion with my wife made it clear to me that I will never be allowed to store guns in our house, loaded or unloaded. Scratch that, once the local coyotes and raccoons started attacking our chickens, guns made it onto the approved list. But this logic still applies for those (many) times when I am not armed. I can usually find something nearby to serve as a stick.

I do not disagree with any of her arguments; I could make all the same arguments myself. But it convinced me of one thing. If I cannot have a “weapon” in the house (e.g. a gun), then I need to become the weapon myself.

Which is going to take *alot* of work.

How to get your spouse involved

Posted: September 17, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: , | Comments Off on How to get your spouse involved

I distinctly remember when I finally had the Big Talk with my wife about emergency preparedness after months of research and reading. I was waiting for the right time and (luckily) hit it. The good news was that she did not think I was insane.

I asked her to list the possible emergencies for which she would want us prepared. Her exact reply:
  1. Earthquakes
  2. War
  3. Food/Water shortages
  4. Looting

I expanded each of these with her to include the areas you see here and launched this blog to document our successes and failures preparing for each of these scenarios in order to encourage others to opt out en masse as well.

As for failures, here’s my first major one: I stopped communicating with my wife immediately after the above-mentioned conversation. I just went head down into preparation planning and execution.

While I subscribed her to this blog, I never bothered to ask if she would actually want to read it. It turns out, she doesn’t. Her time on the computer is so limited by our current life stage (two young active kids) that she barely has enough time to stay current with friends via email.

Blogs? Facebook? Are you kidding? These don’t even make it onto her radar. Oops.

She watches me read through emergency prep books each evening. She hears me on the phone with contractors getting bids. She talks to me while I’m cutting paths into our steep hillside to make more room for vegetable beds. But through all this, I did not actually communicate with her.

I failed to communicate the Big Picture of what we as a family are preparing for and its cost implications. When viewed individually, the costs can actually be quite alarming. She was recently balancing our checkbook when it came to a head.

“You spent $600 on wheat?!?”

But when you realize (e.g. discuss) that we normally spend $1200 a year on wheat, then a one time hit of $600 for that same amount of wheat begins to make sense financially. It makes you feel good and wise having that amount of food in storage for a rainy day. But only if you talk about it.

Lesson learned. Whether the project is harvesting our rainwater from the roof into food grade tanks or building out a permaculture-style “food forest”, I’m going to communicate with my wife more frequently in her preferred medium – an actual conversation.

🙂

Physical security training begins

Posted: September 17, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 7. Physical Security | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Physical security training begins

This part of my Physical Security task overlaps with my Personal Training task. Much of physical security is centered on hardening my home to burglars and would-be home invaders, but a portion of this task is the hardening of myself.

I’ll also (selectively) begin hardening my family. I want my wife to know how to physically defend herself and escape an attack should I be traveling for work. And I think it is one of my fatherly duties to raise children who know how to responsibly defend themselves and their friends, and to encourage others to think peacefully. As my young son said the other day, “Dad, I think there are alot of unfriendly kids in the world.”

Like many other parts of the Personal Training task, I’m now making up for items I wish I had learned as a youth or young adult. Things like how to solder, how to use a plumb line, or how to disable a person(s) attempting to hurt someone I love. It’s this last item for which I’ve started conditioning recently. I’m now studying martial arts for the first time in a focused, supervised manner at a local dojo.

My primary focus is how *not* to get in a fight; how to deescalate any situation that might cause someone to physically attack you. But part of martial arts is also focused on how to efficiently and effectively disable someone threatening yourself or your family.

Even though we train at speeds well below full speed, I’m going to be lucky to get through this training without breaking my nose at least once.
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