Episode-69- Start Seeds With Soil Blocks For Easy Planting

Less than 3 weeks until the last spring frost. Feels like it may have already passed but I'm not taking any chances. Still using April 20 for northern Virginia. What's been sowed in soil blocks so far: green onions (lots of them), parsley, chives, tomatoes, hot peppers, asters, four o'clocks, marigold, thyme, oregano, okra, chamomile, spider flower, Swiss chard, endive, and basil. What's...

Episode-68- Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies – Book Review

What I learned from Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies  How to conduct my own home energy audit Inspections focused on searching out moisture, air leaks, water leaks and unused plugged in items How to turn a home into a producer not a consumer What’s really good about this book How it described the steps necessary to fix the audit findings without spending too much time or money The part on...

Episode-67- Save Water And Money With Easy Leaky Toilet Fix

           Someday New Fix It Yourself Manual 1. Toilet Water Facts Running or leaky toilet can cost up to 4,000 gallons of water per year. For me that's about $32 per year per leaky toilet 2. Toilet parts 3. Ways to save water and money with the toilet Put a brick or some large rocks in the tank to take up some of the extra volume and thus cut down on water. 4. Fixing the...

Episode-66- Spring Into Action With Honeybees, Gardening And Cherry Blossoms

This is one of the 61% of the years that Punxsutawney Phil is WRONG! And I'm loving it. Busy as all get out with the honeybees and trying to keep them at home to make a honey harvest. Not sure what will happen but if I did read Mother Nature's early signs of spring correctly then all this work will be worth. Well actually it will be worth it regardless what happens. Spring is here and it's...

Episode-65- Bug Out Quickly And Safely With The Keeper Cargo Bag

This video is a follow up to Episode-14 in which I described a trip to the Shenandoah mountains revealed how some of our preparations were lacking in the event of a real emergency. Today’s video provides a demonstration of how to attach the Keeper Cargo Bag to the top of an SUV. Going to the woods made us realize how dangerous it was to drive a vehicle with no rear view.  Watch and learn...

Episode-64- Smart Phones And Dumb Decisions

    Disclaimer: This is just a story of trying to get a renewed dumb phone contract. Any resemblance to anything else is purely coincidental. Smart Phones And Dumb Decisions Smart phone questions: What will it produce for you today? How much will it cost you today in time and money? Is your life better than before your Smart phone? 6 Question Pre-Purchase Program Do I need it? Does anything I...

Episode-63- Pave The Way To A Better Life And Stay Out Of The Mud

     Problems posed if left ignored: sliding, rain runoff, more mud Tasks considered and carried out: slow down water flow with a straw filled swale along north side of the walkway landscape edging on both sides - real easy to work with and strong build up south side with top soil, peat moss, potting soil, hummus/manure to make the gulley more level Sowing the soil with winter rye and white...

Episode-62- How To Design Gardens From Patterns For Beauty And Production

 Permaculture is a theory of ecological design which seeks to develop sustainable human settlements and agricultural systems, by attempting to model them on natural ecosystems. Permaculture principle #7 Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.  My yard's...