podcast topic requests/questions

So this thread is for requesting topics, or for presenting questions to be asked as part of a podcast.

Raising and eating pigs
Azolla, Duckweed, Ellodea, Lilly pads,and other plants for the water.

black soldier flies, worms, hugelkulture (sp?)

shadow maps, practical DIY projects

DIY space heaters or portable rocket stoves

interviews with community members

root cellaring

composting, compost heat

just shooting from the hip here... I'm new to permaculture so I don't really know what sorts of topics fit.

overwintering chickens, (this might have been in the podcast i didn't listen to yet)

Hi Wheaton,
I appreciate your humor. Makes me laugh, which I like to do.

I want to respond to the land in California Valley.
My 18 year old son and I like permaculture. We have been friends with Quailsprings for several years. He took the permaculture design course 2 times.He is smart and thinks of attending SLO college after May. He is now in Woolman semester studying Peace, Social justice and Environment.
Can we come and visit the land ? Maybe Friday or Thursday?

I am an acupuncturist and dream of a perma farm where people can come and stay to recover and experience a  more meaningful lifestyle to combat depression, overweight etc. Of course first need a core of mature stable people.
lack of water would make it too rough maybe.
I grew a lot of vegetables and trees with little watering. But I still had some running water.
I love designing ecologically and always studying more or asking people. We live in Ojai and " too little activity" for me.

Hello, formerly Charlie Charles here, as per your request Paul, Im now fully exposed as Jesse Tack. I really have been digging the wave of excitement around you doing podcasting regularly. This is a great move and will greatly expand your influence/ideas! That is exciting.

Ideas:

Large scale permaculture and funding large scale permaculture as a matter of species survival/sanity. Ideally this would be a recurring topic for the podcast including Paul Staments and other large scale thinkers.

Fruit tree madness. Where the goal is to focus on fruit trees and fruit tree guilds with Toby Heminway or some such. Just riff and riff on fruit tree guilds and let us relative newbies soak it in.

Brad Lancaster on water harvesting.

Bill Mollison series where you simply riff on his history and experiences. Kind of archive his story. If you can nab him for a few hours every month or so, you could have a tome in no time.

Geoff Lawton on anything.

Sepp Sepp Sepp!

Darrin Daughty on timber reserves.

Bollack Brothers series.

Basically I think doing groups of interviews or series' of interviews is a great way to go, no one hour conversation can even begin to tap the depth of knowledge and experience that many of those above, including yourself, and others have to share.

Bye for now

I second:

Over wintering chickens, and water fowl.

Raising and eating pigs - I know you have experience.



I would also be interested in hearing what you have to say about.

Building soil from scratch. 
-My wife and I are reclaiming a gravel pit, and building from mostly dead landscape with very little organic matter.  Any thoughts on the best way to improve from the negative.  At least its not laced with herbicides.

Food Forests in Montana.
-Good Legumes, Cover Crops, and Nitrogen fixing trees for Montana.

Water Harvesting, Ponds, and swales, terraces

Starting/Growing Perennials on the cheap


Thanks for all your hard work Paul.  It is greatly appreciated.

No one has "obnixious rants" with content and humor like you do.  Keep up the good work.

Philosophy

more specifically, how people should be treating each other, what activities are helpful, destructive, maybe get into culture issues.

(just listened to your 'beyond organic' podcast, you got into the fact that most people consume informational material instead of participating/sharing it.... has me thinking about what other things are customary/second-nature that are not very good.  I have a feeling you have thought about these things already)

Topic - Permaculture and weeds

I have only been able to find limited info on weeds and their possible reparative functions to the landscape.

Also info on why weeds grow in certain areas, and the clues they can give to the soil structure, compisition and lack of specific elements.

A show on specific weeds and plants would be a great topic that has not discussed in much detail.

effing rad that you are spewing your brain in digital format.  I am doing my best to link to your vids and articles in an effort to make sure that can keep spraying your perma knowledge and opinions on the interweb machine in an audible form. 

I love it.  thanks.  I like the recorded versions of your presentation too. 

thanks again. 

julian

I'm back helping Paul compile his podcast topics, and it does make a BIG difference if you're using first name (space) last name as your permies.com identity.

(I'm an intermittent helper due to my work schedule, which has been a bit crazy lately.)

First name (space) last name. I've been using my name for a while now and it's simple and safe to do.

I am not shakey about using my name at all, I am just not in that habbit.  you want more socials, routing numbers the swiss bank, and a map to find an x to dig up?

jokes, jokes. 

I followed the instructions on the link you provided, I hope this works. 

thanks julian

Looks great, Julian - nice to meet you!

Thank you so much for doing the podcast.  I recently had a 7 hour drive and listened to all of them.  Although I couldn't immediately follow-through with linking to them, I'm in the process of doing that now.

I had a podcast topic request that I've been spending a lot of time thinking about for the past several months..................companion planting!!

-Companion planting for vegetables and fruit-producing shrubs and/or trees. Not only for raised bed gardening in zone 1, but also more larger-scale, zone 2 or zone 3 systems.   

-What sorts of vegetables, flowers, and shrubs produce a +,+ symbiotic relationship for:  long-term sustainability, no till, attracting pollinators, encouraging a harmonious blend of insect life, and finally yield?  I know that the mighty, glorious, amazing, and powerful Sepp Holzer uses a self-developed blend of companions, but exactly what is he using, and how is he using those species? 

-can you recommend any good resources for learning more about this topic?

-Finally I wonder if companion planting can be taken to the next level with hugelkultur--there's the visible/above-bed companions, but what about fungi?  So as we are setting up our hugelkultur bed, what if we innoculated the logs with a specific fungus?


Thanks for considering the topic,
joe pacelli

Paul, Love your podcasts etc.  I would like a "where do I start" podcast.  I have ten acres and don't know where to begin.  Everything I know about permaculture I learned on TSP.  That's where I heard you the first time. 

This might be a type 1 error, but I would like to hear about increasing the food productivity of a mixed temperate forest. What to do with the timber, what to plant to get more mast, etc.

I got a notification that somebody wanted to get a copy of this thread somewhere else so they can talk about it.  I would like to suggest that a lot of this stuff already has threads.  And you can always copy something from here and put it in a quote block in any post. 

Jocelyn usually organizes this sort of thing, and she had everything worked out so that we would do an episode on pigs as we drove to a farm - only there was an accident at the farm so we ended up not doing that. 

But I know that she is picking through this thread and making plans!

Caleb Larson wrote:
I second:
Over wintering chickens, and water fowl.

saveourskills wrote:
overwintering chickens, (this might have been in the podcast i didn't listen to yet)

Caleb and saveourskills, Podcast 3 - chickens covers over wintering.

saveourskills - we're hoping folks will use first name (space) last name as per this thread, and are trying to give priority to questions from folks who do so.

Caleb Larson wrote:
Raising and eating pigs - I know you have experience.

The pigs podcast has been made and is coming soon!

pigs podcast will be up by wensday morning

We made a podcast tonight to answer questions from:
- Jesse Tack
- Caleb Larson
- Brian Gallimore
- Joe Pacelli
- Brian Nichols.

There are a bunch of podcasts in the hopper, so I don't know exactly when this one will come out. I think it will be an excellent mixed bag of info!

If we missed a question, ask or re-phrase it here, and we'll circle back around. Again, it helps if you have first name last name as your handle here on permies - it helps foster the permies community.

Cheers!

Brice Moss wrote:
pigs podcast will be up by wensday morning

Cool! 

Awesome!! Thanks guys.

Heck yeah! Thanks Jocelyn, Paul and everyone!

IDK if this is a full podcast episode or not but I would love to hear your "Essential Books" list, Paul. I heard the story of you buying and reading like 100 gardening books in one year or something like that and wonder what are the books you would consider essential. Any topic be it; gardening, soil, wildlife, permaculture, field guides, foraging, etc.

I love the podcasts and site and recommend it to all my friends!

Take care, and keep on working hard!

jesse tack wrote:
Heck yeah! Thanks Jocelyn, Paul and everyone!

You (and the others here on permies) are a big part of the reason Paul does this, stuff, Jesse! (Well that and because he has this compulsion to share is obnoxious opinions!)

jesse tack wrote:
IDK if this is a full podcast episode or not but I would love to hear your "Essential Books" list, Paul. I heard the story of you buying and reading like 100 gardening books in one year or something like that and wonder what are the books you would consider essential. Any topic be it; gardening, soil, wildlife, permaculture, field guides, foraging, etc.

You can find a lot of them through the Amazon links at the bottom of the page, though I'm sure we can at the very least tack on a bit about books in a podcast.

jesse tack wrote:
I love the podcasts and site and recommend it to all my friends!

Yay!

Thanks so much

I wanted to make a podcast about a certain movie and Jocelyn expressed that she felt I should focus more on permaculture topics and less on the movie reviews. 

I know that jocelyn actually listens to podcasts.  I don't. 

I thought it would be good to put it out to the folks here:  are the movie review podcasts not your cup of tea?  Maybe it would help to get some feedback like "I listened to 1 though 9 and my favorite was ___"

do one with skeeter.

The five below have been my favorites (in no order). 

30 Tinkers
Making Big Bucks
Maddy Harland Interview
Pigs
Chickens

oops sorry, I have to give honorable mention for cast iron pans, because that's the one I've really gone out there and applied ( I hope to be a permaculturist some day, but I'm currently just an apartment dweller in Turkey with a dream.)

Paul and Jocelyn, everything you've done so far has just been awesome.  The movie reviews are not my favorites, and I don't think they're your best work, BUT, it's quality content, with good thoughts.  I watched food matters and intend to watch the bees movie and Dirt.  I think the four styles of shows you're doing (interviews + movie reviews + Paul's public talks + discussions in the car with Joscelyn on a topic) make up a really good mix, and I definitely enjoy them all. I'm continually being brainwashed and just can't wait to have my own little piece of land to do something with. 

I'd enjoy more real life testimonial style interviews; like people doing permaculture telling step by step interview style how they got to where they are.  That's actually one part that I really enjoyed about the interview with the Permaculature Magazine gal.

That's my two cents (from a guy who's listened to all of them)

Jake Olson wrote:
The movie reviews are not my favorites, and I don't think they're your best work, BUT, it's quality content, with good thoughts. 

My thoughts, too, Jake - the movie reviews are not my favorites.

Jake Olson wrote:
I'd enjoy more real life testimonial style interviews; like people doing permaculture telling step by step interview style how they got to where they are.

Oh, I think this this is an **excellent** idea!

My favorite so far are the ones with Helen. I think that the discussion format on specific topics ends up being very rich in quality info.  I have listened to these several times.

I honestly like them all though.  I just finished listening to most of them again on a trip to Seattle and back.

The only one that was a little long was the one with Ernie and Erica, and I think it was mainly because of the audio quality. They were really hard to hear and understand because of the audio.  However it was still a great podcast.

I thought that the movie reviews were great.  They brought out some good discussions.

Keep up the good work!!  I really appreciate the knowledge you share.

I would really like to hear a show on benificial "weeds" and soil building too.

I've listened to all of the podcasts to date.  My favorites are:

Chickens
Pigs
How to make the big bucks
Rocket mass heaters

I tend to like the "how to" podcasts better than the movie commentary, but I'm not complaining.

I think "companion planting / guilds" and "starting a food forest" would be good podcast topics.

I've listened to all of the podcasts and like them all.

Pigs/chickens/Helen/bees are my favorites.

I like the movie reviews just fine. I noticed a future podcast might be a review of the Soils videos of Geoff Lawton. Perhaps reviews of permaculture videos and books would be cool.

All in all, the podcasts will amount to a wealth of 'free' knowledge archives! So that's pretty cool huh?

jesse tack wrote:
I noticed a future podcast might be a review of the Soils videos of Geoff Lawton.

Yup, that one's in the hopper already!

jesse tack wrote:
Perhaps reviews of permaculture videos and books would be cool.

Others have asked for similar and I think it's a great idea. Paul has researched and read VOLUMES of this stuff as only a software engineer/geek would do.

Glad you like them, jesse! 

Suzy bean has stepped in to improve the podcast flow. 

I kinda feel like I will eventually get to the part where I have said all the stuff that is in my head and will stop.  So now I feel like I wanna hurry up and get it out there.  After all, if people know where I am at on lots of stuff, then we talk about growing (collectively) past that knowledge set.  Plus it just feels good to have expressed myself and been heard.

I think that the movie reviews are good to cover a topic.  Or to help prime the pump on a topic.  For most of the movies, I think the movies are painfully ignorant of permaculture stuff, so the podcast format helps me to ... uh .... enhance the movie.  And these are movies that i feel like i should watch anyway.  Plus, it is flattering when the movie people send me free movies. 

I know that I want to do one on intentional communities soon.  I think that is an important part of permaculture. 

I like the idea that we get caught up on podcasts so we can be a bit more interactive:  have a shorter span of time between questions and responses.

I agree that the quicker interactions lead to a better communities and inspiration.

As you start to feel more like, 'um i've said all I wanted to say' would you consider interviewing the Toby's and Salatin's and Santoyo's of the world? That would be a huge hit amongst people just learning about permaculture, especially the youth and thats like the future, right?

IT is probably a lot of work arranging schedules and all, but i think with podcasts generally being an extremely popular form of self-education, that these interviews would soon become THE place to go when the interest of permaculture is piqued. 

Thus helping your evil empire...

I would agree about the interview route. This site seems like a good mashup of the newbie and the old-guy, so maybe the podcasts can reflect the same. Introductory stuff mixed in amongst musings on the established.

You know, the podcasts, as they are, have been great. I really wouldn't change anything. And let the rants just flow, you don't seem like someone overly concerned about what people think about what you have to say. Just say it. That is more community-forming than we all might realize. The divides come when people believe you have to think the same way you do and there is no room for conversation.

You are doing a great job and you are doing a service to my world, and I am sure many others as well. I recommend this site to many people I know, I just wish I knew more people.

peace

Paul,
I have to tell you that I appreciate all your podcasts. I've listened to all of them and seen all your videos. I have been listening to podcasts now for about 9 months or so, and I average about 2 hours of podcast listening per day.
So, that said, I get great info from most of your podcasts. I can't actually remember one that I came away thinking that I had wasted my time, and that is a good thing.

So feel free to make podcasts on whatever you wish.

My favorites:
Pigs, Your permie talks at the library, Big Bucks.

My least favorite format is the car ride, because it is hard to drive and rant at the same time.
Still, better in the car, than no Wheaton at all.

Topics I'd like to hear:
Permiculture ability to create food
Permiculture design concepts.
Diversity within permiculture
locating your homestead - rural versus near urban, north vs south states that make it easy from a govt. point of view.
Food forest - how to plant, how much to plant, how to choose trees, and bushes.
Marketing your produce.
annuals in the permiculture paradigm

Paul,

I have loved listening to your podcasts.  The ones I have enjoyed the most are#15-Helen Atthowe, #14 Chickens, also #20 about pigs.

I like hearing about practical applications to problems even though they may not pertain to my particular situation.  I live in the mountain west.  It is great to hear about the thought processes of other regions to get my brain working.

How about more in depth to the ideas you have.  People like specifics and not broad generalities like raising pigs naturally.  It sounds like a great idea.  What did you feed? how often?  Did you have to supplement?  How so?  Were there any legal problems like Salatin had?  Or did your customers even care?  Why pigs? why not cattle? why not all vegetables?  A method to the madness helps all of us who are on level 9 or 10 understand a little more.

Maybe how are you going to start your place up in Montana when you get the land.  What are you going to do first? why? how are you going to do it?

I am less interested in movies.  I am more interested your opinion of the doing of permaculture.  Maybe some permaculture things you do not like that you see people doing.  What are things that you consider good but maybe not permaculture.  You had mentioned rain barrels as not permaculture, but are they something to consider?

I agree with the above that your rants are what make you "you".  Rants are great just try to stay on topic.

My land is dry where do I start?
My land is wet where do I start?
Hugelkultur is great, what if I have grassland?  Do I haul in the wood or use what I have?
Guilds?Good species of trees to plant in a mountain area? wet? dry? coastal?
Permaculture trends
Where do you stray from the PC mainstream?  Why?
More economically viable ideas?
Your ideas on time vs. money.  The pallet fence was great but how much more time was involved by getting 5 pallets at a time(?) vs. using an electric fence once.


All of these are tropics which can become a podcast or an interview.

Love the great job you are doing and all the hard work you put into the site.

I just helped Paul record a podcast on intentional communities and permaculture - which should be published in a week or two. I think it touches on or overlaps with the following requests:

Brian Nichols wrote:
I tend to like the "how to" podcasts better than the movie commentary, but I'm not complaining.

The podcast has a rather specific community design model with lots of "how Paul would do it" "how to's!"

Richard Hasting wrote:
Topics I'd like to hear:
<snip>
Permiculture design concepts.
Diversity within permiculture
<snip>

Intentional community takes quite a bit of design for resilience, works best with diversity (some basic examples are in the podcast) and Paul does have a diverse/divergent opinion in this area!

Ric Bruce wrote:
Maybe how are you going to start your place up in Montana when you get the land.  What are you going to do first? why? how are you going to do it?
<snip>
Permaculture trends
Where do you stray from the PC mainstream?  Why?
More economically viable ideas?

Paul's ideas about IC are part of his Montana vision, they are different from PC mainstream and I also think they offer some economically viable solutions. So maybe not exactly what you were looking for Ric, but touches pieces of these things.

I'll circle back later to compile more of these really awesome requests after Paul gets through a few more podcasts. More requests, comments and feedback welcome!