Small Scale Life

Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Introduction - HELP 1 This is Episode 1 of our new weekly Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Drew Sample from the Sample Hour Podcast and I are both a weight loss journey and want to live healthier lifestyles.  We decided that doing a weekly accountability podcast together will be fun and keep us on track with our goals. In this podcast, we discuss the following topics: Kicking off the Podcast Baseline Information: How did we get here? Our Goals and Drew's Weight Loss Challenge at Work Plan for the Week Mid-Week Motivation The Mid-Week Motivation is: [tweetthis]It is said that weight loss starts in the kitchen. Garbage in = garbage out.[/tweetthis] Links Drew and I talked about the following links during this podcast: Drew Sample from The Sample Hour Workout and Diet Plan for the Week of 8/21/16 - Tom's Workout and Diet Program How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams The Whole 30 Program - Drew's Program for Changing his Relationship with Food DDP Yoga - Drew's Fitness Program Here is a DDP Yoga Beginners Workout on Diamond Dallas Page's YouTube Channel. Check it out! https://youtu.be/shPjl0R5kHo?list=PLuCbs2zxfj7pvtNMu2qB2Roaw-NBkLeeU   Friends of Healthy Lifestyle Podcast I am always happy to show some of my friends some love.  This week's friends of the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Condo to Compound Blog – Jay Dolan’s journey from an urban/suburban life to a rural life. Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming – Drew Sample and Scott Hebert’s weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Garden Update Podcast - Week of 8/15/16 - S1E14 As I discussed in my most recent Workout Plan Update, I am changing how I am rolling out posts and podcasts for Small Scale Life.  I am going to post Workout Plan Updates at the end of the week (looking forward to the next week) and Garden posts at the front end of the week.  I will post podcasts in the middle of the week.  Other posts will pop up as I write them.  Since I haven't posted an update in a month, I am posting a Garden Update Podcast, post and videos.  It is time to talk about success, failures, pests and blight.  It has been a learning year in 2016! I outline what is happening in each garden bed below, so if you want to hear the podcast, skip ahead to the very end of the article! Garden Bed 1 [caption id="attachment_930" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Garden Bed 1 continues to be the flagship raised bed in the main garden - 8/14/16[/caption] Garden Bed 1 has four varieties of tomatoes, red onions, basil and cucumbers in it.  This is my longest bed, and it has traditionally been my tomato planter.  Below is an assessment of the plants in this raised bed.  Plant Assessment  Opalka Roma Tomatoes 3 of the 4 plants are doing VERY well with a lot of fruit I removed the 4th plant since it was not showing any fruit I added a volunteer that was hiding in the parsley in Bed 4 to replace the unproductive plant Amish Paste Tomatoes These plants are growing tall and strong Two are over 8 feet tall and have several tomatoes on them San Marzano Roma Tomatoes Plants are growing taller and showing several tomatoes Cherry Tomatoes Showing several tomatoes and growing taller Good production for being in the shade Basil Removed all plants on 8/14/16 due to Downy Mildew Cucumbers These plants are growing and starting to bear cucumbers Not as productive as the cucumbers in the wicking bed Red Onions Critters have devastated my red onion crop. I have learned to install fencing on my beds for the future Garden Bed 2 [caption id="attachment_931" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Garden Bed 2 is an exercise in chaos thanks to some pole beans that were mixed with the bush bean seeds - 8/14/16[/caption] Garden Bed 2 is a mish-mash of climbing plants.  It wasn't supposed to be that way.  This bed was supposed to be sugar snap peas and bush beans. Unfortunately, some pole bean seeds were mixed in with the bush beans, and the pole beans are going crazy. I also added two extra tomato plants to the bed as well.  Below is a summary of this garden bed.  Plant Assessment  Bush Beans The bush beans have been productive They are being choked out by the pole bean plants Harvest tomorrow Pole Beans These plants arte starting to fade in the late summer heat They have been productive due to screening and shade from the pole beans Harvest tomorrow Cherry Tomato Plant is growing taller Starting to show fruit San Marzano Roma Tomatoes Planted late in the season Starting to show fruit Garden Bed 3 [caption id="attachment_932" align="aligncenter" width="514"] Garden Bed 3 should be brimming with onions and garlic this year. Note: should be....8/14/16[/caption] Garden Bed 3 is my 3'x8' bed.  I grew potatoes in this bed last year, and this year it was going to be my garlic and onion box.  It started out splendidly, but as of mid-August, it has not performed as I anticipated.  Here is a summary of the plants and performance of this garden bed.  The bottom line is that this bed needs a fence! Plant   Assessment   Garlic Garlic was transplanted into this bed early in the season Garlic grew in the spring and early summer Most garlic was harvested; small heads Two garlic plants remain in the bed Yellow Onions Critters have been digging in this bed this season Yellow onions have been dug up as the animals dig Remaining yellow onions do look good Peppers Transplanted late after the garlic was harvested Rabbits have eaten most of the leaves on these plants Garden Bed 4 and 5 and Vertical Garden [caption id="attachment_935" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Garden Bed 4 and 5 with the Vertical Garden in happier and healthier times - 7/21/16[/caption] Between the vertical garden and Garden Bed 4, I had about 150 basil plants in my garden.  I harvested about 9 gallons of basil and created a ton of pesto and pasta/soup starts. Unfortunately, I did not notice early warning signs of downy mildew as I harvested the basil.  We had some big rain storms, and when I looked at the garden last week, I noticed that many of the plants were suffering from the mildew.  I removed the plants on 8/14/16 and salvaged what I could.  The crop was almost a complete loss. Meanwhile, the parsley is healthy and simply awesome! Plant   Assessment   Parsley Plants are extemely productive and healthy Basil   Basil has been infected by Downy Mildew All basil has been removed from the garden Guerrilla Garden [caption id="attachment_933" align="aligncenter" width="600"] I added compost around the zucchini plant stems in hopes of root formation - 8/15/16[/caption] I have three zucchini plants in the guerrilla garden.  The plants looked pretty healthy this season, and I have been taking pictures of the flowers all season.  Unfortunately, I needed to keep my eye on the stalks. I noticed on 8/14/16 that the stalks were ripped apart.  Further exploration revealed that my plants had been attacked by squash borers.  I will be writing an article about this in the near future.  Here is a summary of the three zucchini plants in the guerrilla garden. Plants  Assessment  Zucchini Three plants planted in this space Squash borers detected and removed on 8/14/16 Added compost around the stalks on 8/15/16 in an effort to assist the zucchini to grow new roots Wicking Beds and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems [caption id="attachment_936" align="aligncenter" width="600"] This is an older photo; the cucumbers are almost to the top of the trellis - 8/2/16[/caption] The wicking bed and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System (HRGGS) are both showing their value and abilities.  I have a great crop of peppers, cucumbers and jalapenos coming from these two systems.  The plants in the wicking bed are VERY healthy and producing a bumper crop of green peppers and cucumbers! Posts will be coming in the near future with my thoughts on each system and how to build these systems. A summary of each system is provided below.  System Plant Assessment HRGGS  Jalapenos The surviving jalapenos are really productive Many blossoms and fruit already HRGGS Green Peppers Green peppers have struggled in the HRGGS due to soil conditions Plants are growing and are starting to bear fruit Not as healthy or productive as the wicking bed HRGGS Dill Rabbit ate the seedlings down Dill has rebounded nicely and is growing rapidly Wicking Bed Cucumbers Cucumbers are simply loving the wicking bed Plants are growing rapidly and almost as tall as the trellis Each plant has blossoms Harvested two 6" cucumbers already Wicking Bed Green Peppers Green peppers are growing rapidly (almost 4' tall) Several plants have multiple peppers on them Growing the largest pepper I have ever grown with this system Watch If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then a video showing the gardens are worth millions. I have posted two videos on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel (which you should subscribe to and share with your friends), but you can watch them right here. Garden Update https://youtu.be/3mFledD3efc     Wicking Bed/Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System Update https://youtu.be/2lMrk8Z-ngM Listen You can listen to the Garden Update Podcast by clicking on the player below.  You can also use the following link to listen to the Garden Update Podcast on iTunes. If you are using iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Charles Hugh Smith - S1E13 In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Charles Hugh Smith.  He is an entrepreneur, author, blogger, podcaster and gardener.  Charles started the Of Two Minds blog in 2005, and his "side project of self-expression" has mushroomed into a 3,500 page website that has generated 20 million page views!  According to Charles, "the blog is #7 in CNBC's top alternative financial sites, and is republished on numerous popular sites such as Zero Hedge, Financial Sense, and David Stockman’s Contra Corner. I am frequently interviewed by alternative media personalities such as Max Keiser, and am a contributing writer on peakprosperity.com." Fortunately for me, Charles is on a podcast with our good friend Drew Sample.  Drew mentioned Small Scale Life, and Charles agreed to come on the podcast.  I was really excited to have Charles on the show.  I had read some of his posts on Zero Hedge over the years and found him to be a very good writer and deep thinker.  In addition, Charles has a garden and some fruit trees, so naturally he had to come on the Small Scale Life Podcast! Charles and I discussed the following topics during the show: Gardening Tribes Networks Jobs in the New Economy Mincome (Minimum Income) Healthy Lifestyle Sustainable Lifestyle What is Small Scale Life really all about? And much, much more! As you listen to the podcast, you might find that I did a fair share of talking.  Charles has a way of interviewing the interviewer!  I thought that was a pretty interesting turn of the events.  Regardless, I hope you enjoy this podcast and learn more about Charles and me! Thank You [caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Charles and his wife make pies from his peach trees in his yard. It looks awesome![/caption] It was great that Charles Hugh Smith spent some time with us at the Small Scale Life Podcast.  He is a deep thinking guy with a lot of ideas, and his analysis is really interesting.  I will be reading some of his books to learn more about meaningful work in the new emerging economy,  why things are falling apart and what we can do about it , and about survival when times get turbulent and tough.  Again, thank you, Charles, for your time and patience waiting for this podcast to be published.  You can come back on the  Small Scale Life Podcast at any time! Thank you, Drew Sample, for mentioning Small Scale Life to Charles.  I appreciate it, my friend, and I hope to return the favor! I would also like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song “Steady Wzdm” from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for helping to connect with Austin. Links [caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Charles Hugh Smith's latest book available on Amazon.com in print and Kindle[/caption] Charles Hugh Smith and I talked about the following links during the podcast: Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds Charles Hugh Smith's Books For Sale on Amazon.com Drew Sample from The Sample Hour US Army's Basic Training Physical Fitness Test Scott Hebert from Flavourful Farms Sabastian Junger's Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging Jack Spriko's The Survival Podcast Bring Danny Home Blog - Story of Finding My Son in 2015 Friend of Small Scale Life Podcast In this Episode, I talk about the following friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Condo to Compound Blog - Jay Dolan's journey from an urban/suburban life to a rural life. Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming - Drew Sample and Scott Hebert's weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Reconnaissance Man - Aaron Clarey's latest book for today's youth where he recommends that the Reconnaissance Man (or Woman) takes the time to explore this country, not just to see what this country has to offer, but to find out who they are, where they belong, and what they really want out of life. Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Gardenchat with Bren Haas - S1E12 When I started Small Scale Gardening in 2014, I wandered into the world of Twitter to see what it was all about.  On some Monday night, I found my way onto GardenChat session and discovered a tribe of really fantastic gardeners.  The leader of this tribe was a very interesting woman named Bren Haas.  Over the past year, we have had a lot of fun getting to know each other and sharing information, and I have had the opportunity to be a guest writer on her blog and host a session of #Gardenchat! Bren is a gardener, blogger, podcaster, "people collector" and all around great person.  On her rural property in Ohio, Bren and her husband have a variety of gardens, a pond, a greenhouse and a Bio Dome!  At the same time, her blog and social media empire keeps her very busy online, but she has a great blog full of interesting gardening articles and fantastic recipes.   Her recipes have even been recognized and published by Better Homes and Gardens! I asked Bren to be a guest on the Small Scale Life Podcast, and in late June we had an opportunity to sit down and chat.  In this podcast, we talked about the following topics: Rural Living Finding Rural Property Ponds and Fish Internet Availability Pests (Deer, Rabbits and Gophers - oh my!) Gardening Introduction to Growing (and Killing) Plants Her Gardens Hatred of Weeding Her Greenhouse Her Bio Dome Future Projects Blogging and Podcasting Interviews and People Collecting Recipes What She's Learned Check out latest on the Bio Dome here! https://www.instagram.com/p/BHtGG_wDXEC/?taken-by=bggarden&hl=en Thank You We appreciate the time Bren Haas spent with us on the Small Scale Life Podcast. I apologize that it took a month to post this podcast! Thank you for your patience. Bren was a fantastic guest: really fun to talk with and totally on the same wavelength.  I really appreciated her insights about rural living and the tips she provided to me (and now all of you).  I wish her the best of luck in the garden, in her Bio Dome, and on her social media empire, and I hope she will be back on the show someday in the future.  After all, we need to see how that Bio Dome is working out! I would also like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song "Steady Wzdm" from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for helping to connect with Austin. Links https://www.instagram.com/p/BGQEsV6B394/?taken-by=bggarden&hl=en Bren Haas and I talked about the following links during the podcast (and there were a lot of them): Creative Living & Growing with Bren - Bren's blog and links to her podcast Gardenchat Twitter Page - Gardenchat happens on 9 PM Eastern on Mondays Creative Living & Growing with Bren Twitter Page Creative Living & Growing Podcast - Bren's Podcast Creative Living & Growing YouTube Channel Creative Living & Growing with Bren Facebook Page Creative Living & Growing with Bren Instagram Page Garden Blogger's Fling Scot Poirier from Gotta Grow It! Niki Jabbour from Savvy Gardening Pam Tallon and Growing North Drew Sample from The Sample Hour Scott Hebert from Flavourful Farms Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.   You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Get Out of Your Rut - S1E11 For the past month, I have been in a rut.  From the outside, people would not really know it since I keep smiling and trying to move forward.  Some things converged together and hit me like a tidal wave.  It came to a head on the week of Memorial Day, and I have been getting out of my rut since.  In this podcast, I talk about what I am doing and what I have learned along the way, and maybe this will help you get out of your rut and moving forward. This is a difficult podcast for me to post, and I struggled with putting it out there for a couple reasons: I had some technical issues with my laptop that delayed my posting of this podcast This is a very personal podcast, and I hesitated posting it Believe it or not, I don't like talking about what goes on in my head. I keep things pretty close.  My friend Drew Sample told me that I needed to share it because there lessons to be learned from this experience.  I agreed and decided that it was important to me to share this with you.  Take from it what you will, and hopefully you will get out of your rut too. Let's get the funk out! Life is too short and too beautiful to be down in the dumps! [caption id="attachment_803" align="aligncenter" width="2592"] Sunset in Colorado Springs, Colorado - June 2015[/caption] Thank You Thank you, listeners, family, friends and followers, for hanging in there during this month.  Stay tuned because more great stuff is coming! Thank you, special people in my life, for lending a helping hand with encouragement and kind words.  Really, you guys are the best, and I appreciate you.  For those of you in a rut and struggling, find a good, kind person and lean on them.  It really does help to look at your problems and issues through a different prism and perspective. You might find a new path forward or a new solution to your problem. I would like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song “Steady Wzdm” from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for his assistance. Links I have two links for you today, and these are for friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Jen Semmler from Young Living Essential Oils - Jen is your representative for all nature essential oils. Please contact her through Facebook to order yours today.  Let Jen know that you heard about her from the Small Scale Life Podcast. The Sample Hour Podcast - My friends Drew Sample and Scott Hebert continue to fail forward to succeed at life on the Sample Hour Podcast.  Check out their podcast today!  They laugh, they cry, they sing and they take off their shirts just for you. https://www.instagram.com/p/BGVa7YnHSFA/?taken-by=flavourfulfarms&hl=en If you would like to advertise your product or service on the Small Scale Life Podcast, please contact me at realsmallscalelife [at] gmail [dot] com. Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Urban Farming and Podcasting with Drew Sample - S1E10 In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I interview Drew Sample about urban farming and podcasting. Initially inspired by Joe Rogan's podcast, Drew Sample started his own podcast called The Sample Hour.  Initially, it was mainly focused on comedy and stand-up comedians.  After becoming interested in permaculture and urban farming, Drew shifted the focus of The Sample Hour.  After more than 112 episodes, Drew feels that he is hitting his niche interviewing permaculture and urban farmers (sounds familiar). Drew and our recent guest Scott Hebert have a weekly podcast where they talk the problems, solutions and progress they are making on their urban farming operations.  In addition, Drew has interviewed some very interesting people on his podcast including Curtis Stone, Jean Martin-Fortier, Charles Hugh Smith, Jack Spirko, Diego Footer, Rob Kaiser, Paul Wheaton, Matt Powers, Grant Schultz, Luke Callahan and others.  That is a lot of brain power right there (and a lot of links), and I highly recommend you listen to those interviews (after you listen to this one). Drew started his urban farm in 2015 after determining that he "needed to get outside more" and finding that urban gardening was a path forward.  The interesting thing is that his urban farm is on property that he rents in Columbus, Ohio.  His farm is called Capital City Gardens, and he is working in cooperation with Heirloom Produce (owned and operated by a life-long friend Joel).  Drew is learning how to operate his urban farm with help from his friend Joel, Scott Hebert and from Curtis Stone's Profitable Urban Farming course.  This is his first year of " urban farming really intensely." [caption id="attachment_727" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Drew's urban farm is located in his backyard in Columbus, Ohio; he is a renter just like me![/caption] Drew stated in this episode that he was going to start publishing videos on his YouTube Channel.  True to form, he did publish a good quality, great sounding video where he talks about permaculture with Steve Harbolt at Sawyer-Ludwig Park in Marion, Ohio. https://youtu.be/hCiuwpk3rxc Thank You We appreciate the time Drew spent with us on the Small Scale Life Podcast.  We wish him the best of luck for his urban farming and podcasting operations this season.  I hope to have Drew back on the podcast in the future to follow-up with him about the urban farm. I would also like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song "Steady Wzdm" from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for his assistance. Links Drew and I talked about the following links during the podcast (and there were a lot of them): The Sample Hour - Drew Sample's blog and podcast platform; also home to Drew and Scott Hebert's weekly podcast The Sample Hour's Facebook Page The Sample Hour's YouTube Page The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Curtis Stone's "The Urban Farmer" - Book and online course - Keep in mind Drew offers a 10% discount Curtis Stone's Green City Acres - Urban Farm Curtis Stone's YouTube Channel - Great tips and videos Permaculture Voices with Diego Footer - Great podcasts about permaculture and profitable urban farming Will Allen's Growing Power Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm and books Food Inc. - Documentary film John Martin Fortier's "The Market Farmer" book and blog Jack Spirko's The Survival Podcast Ben Hartman's "Lean Farm" book Back to Eden Paul Wheaton - The Duke of Permaculture Ramps - What are they? Little John in Sheboygan, Wisconsin - Drew's most recent interview with Little John Grant Schultz from VersaLand.com - Grant's YouTube Channel Eric Schultz - Farmer to Farmer Podcast Charles Hugh Smith's Of Two Minds Blog Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Urban Farming with Scott Hebert - S1E9 Scott Hebert starting urban farming in 2015 in Chilliwack, British Columbia.  A year ago, Scott was working at his dad's cabinet shop, and when his dad announced that the shop was closing, Scott knew he had to find a new path forward. After losing 60 pounds on his own weight loss journey, had an interest in growing healthy food.  At that point, he started his urban farm called Flavourful Farms. Using his previous experience using coaches in Mixed Martial Arts, Scott reached out to an urban farming expert that lived two hours away: Curtis Stone.  Paying a consulting fee, Scott visited Curtis and spent the day with him, looking at this urban farming operation and asking questions.  Of course, Scott had done his homework beforehand, and he asked a lot of questions and walked away with a lot of answers. During the podcast, Scott and I discuss urban farm, his creativity and his artwork.  Scott has sold some of his art to customers and used it in his kickstarter campaign.  One picture that we discussed was the recent picture he created of a dog (pictured below).  He was able to create this for a customer, and Scott got some satisfaction knowing that his creation would always be part of the dog's owner's life. [caption id="attachment_666" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Scott drew this picture for a customer - 5/4/16[/caption] During the podcast, Scott and I discuss his cart made out of spare parts and scraps.  He did some more work on it this week, and he posted this video on his Flavourful Farms Instagram site.  It is a very creative build!  Nice work, Scott. https://www.instagram.com/p/BFDKBbWnSPm/?taken-by=flavourfulfarms   Links Scott and I talked about the following links during the podcast: Flavourful Farms website - Scott's main website Flavourful Farms on Instagram - Great photos, and Scott updates it regularly Flavourful Farms on Facebook - Scott's farming page The Sample Hour - Drew Sample and Scott Hebert's weekly podcast Curtis Stone's "The Urban Farmer" - Book and online course Curtis Stone's Green City Acres - Urban Farm Curtis Stone's YouTube Channel - Great tips and videos Permaculture Voices with Diego Footer - Great podcasts about permaculture and profitable urban farming Scott Hebert's interview on Permaculture Voices - Diego Footer and Curtis Stone interview Scott Hebert about urban farming Dan Barber Ted Talks - Dan Barber talks about fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.   You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

How to Lose 70 Pounds - S1E8 Part 2 of the Cows and Kettlebells Podcast is focused on how to lose 70 pounds.  As part of Jay's training, he was focused on getting in shape and losing weight.  As you'll find out, it takes commitment, consistency, focus and in Jay's case, a kick in the rear from instructors.  Diet is a key component of weight loss, and Jay discusses his diet and eating regimen. Jay's tips for starting to work out are the following: Consistency. This is crucial.  You are going to have days where you don’t want to workout.  You must push through those feelings and complete your workout.  The phrase that we all use “life gets in the way” is complete baloney.  If anything, run in place for a minute at a time.  Try it for ten minutes. Lifestyle Change and Commitment. There’s a ton of stuff out there that makes working out a huge presentation.  There’s a reason: they’re trying to make you feel like you’re part of a tribe, like you belong to something.  With that membership to the tribe comes commitment.  You have to make a commitment to the tribe, but more importantly, you must make a commitment to yourself.  Make the change in your lifestyle, and then commit to it. Hydrate. Drink water before, during and after your workouts, especially if you are sore. Form is key.  Weight is just resistance. Learn the basics from others around you. Ask questions about form and practice the fundamentals of what you are learning.  Top tier athletes and exercise professionals got there for a reason, and most of the time, they are willing to share their knowledge and help a new person.  Make sure you learn before you jump on a weight machine or throw weight around.  Do the research and learn from others; otherwise, you might hurt yourself.  Safety is key. Make it fun. This is supposed to be a complete lifestyle change, right? That means to keep committed to the lifestyle in the long term, you need to make it fun and interesting.  If you are bored with the same old routine on a treadmill, you will quit.  Try new things.  Go hiking, walk around a lake, try swimming, go kayaking, take ballroom dance lessons, do something fun.  As your endurance improves, the world will open up to you, so take advantage of it and go have an adventure! This lifestyle is meant to improve your life, not be a burden.  As Jay hit his stride, he became hungry for exercise after three weeks.  He took up Jiu Jitsu as a way to burn calories and learn new things.  He stressed to go and try something that makes you feel uncomfortable.   You may end up in shape and with a hobby or skills that might raise the eyebrow of more than one person. Great job, Jay.  That is quite an accomplishment to lose 70 pounds.  Thank you for being an excellent guest for these two podcasts!  Let us know when you have your new blog up and running! Links Buying Rural Property - Cows and Kettlebells Part 1 - Small Scale Life Podcast Season 1, Episode 7 Tabata Workouts - 20 second bursts of exercise and rest for 10 seconds and repeat those exercises for 8 cycles Military Cadence - Collection of cadence from the US Army.  There are others out there.  Hooah! A special thanks to Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song "Steady Wzdm" from The Lemonwater Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  Austin has a new track called Feels Right that is really great; check it out Also a special thanks to Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for helping set the music up.   https://youtu.be/0j2gXojBgag?list=PLPEiSZ4B9K6rI-MJUUj_txa4LoEKBHiyV   Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not

Cowbells and Kettlebells Part 1 - S1E7 My friend Jay is back on the Small Scale Life Podcast!  Jay and I recorded a two-part series called "Cowbells and Kettlebells," and in this episode, we discuss Jay's vision of buying and owning rural property.  Specifically, we discuss the following topics: Why purchase rural property? What is your vision for this property? What are you looking for as you start to look at rural property (i.e., features and characteristics)? Will you need to commute to your job?  What kind of a commute are you willing to tolerate? What are you seeing in your market?  Is rural property available?  What does it look like? What advice/tips do you have for others? Throughout this episode, we discuss permaculture concepts (i.e., hugelkulture mounds and small scale food forests). I also sprinkle in some of my (and Julie's) thoughts about our future rural property, and I learned a few new things from Jay during the course of this podcast as well. My take-away from this podcast is that I will be doing some research about farm credits and agriculture-based credits, grants and loans.  That could be very beneficial for our future plans, and I have a feeling some other folks in the MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Facebook Group would be interested as well! [caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] I interviewed Jay from the cab of a fire truck (this is a random picture). I have to think that is a first in the podcasting world![/caption] I would also like to note that the first part of this podcast was recorded from the cab of a fire engine.  I don't think there is another podcast in the world that can make that claim!  We did have to re-record part of this podcast since there was activity in the fire station that interrupted the show. Links The following sites and links were discussed during this podcast: Small Scale Life Season 1, Episode 6 - What is a Sustainable Life? Small Scale Gardening Blog Ben Falk's The Resilient Farm and Homestead book Jack Spirko Member Support Brigade Jack Spirko Episode 1764 - Small Scale Food Forestry Homes for Heroes - Hero Rewards®, rebates, and discounts for firefighters, emergency medical professionals, military and veterans, law enforcement, teachers and healthcare workers when buying, selling, or refinancing a home. A special thanks to Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song "Steady Wzdm" from The Lemonwater Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  Austin has a new track called Feels Right that is really great; check it out! Also a special thanks to Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for helping set the music up.   Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe!

What is a Sustainable Life? - S1E6 After a bit of a break in March, the Small Scale Life Podcast is back!  Before we posted another episode, I needed to get some infrastructure in place that would allow this podcast to be placed on iTunes.  This is the official reboot of the podcast, and we are looking forward to more episodes in Awesome April.  In this episode, I discuss the elements of my vision of a sustainable life including the following topics: Mission of the Small Scale Life Podcast and Blog What is a Sustainable Life (in my view)? The definition of sustainable The three pillars of sustainability (economics, social development and the environment) How that definition and the three pillars relate to what we are doing on Small Scale Life Healthy Living Economics and Frugal Living Gardening Adventures and Having Fun Restarting and Rebounding after Failure Awesome April and the 2nd Annual Salsa Contest All of the elements that I discuss are related to the Core Principles I described on the About Page of the Blog.  You can see those principles here. Finally, we are really excited that we have a fantastic logo and other key infrastructure in place that will help us upload this podcast to iTunes.  Thank you, Jenny (you know who you are), for all of your hard work and creativity on this effort! Links During the podcast, I discuss the following links: Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems on Small Scale Gardening Septoria Leaf Spot on Small Scale Life Organic Gardener Podcast - I will be a guest on the show this week Gallant Garden in Charlevoix, Michigan (Gallant Gardens' Facebook Page) Flavourful Farms in Chilliwak, British Columbia (Flavourful Farms' Facebook Page) MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Group Small Scale Gardening Facebook Group Regenerative Agriculture Group Check those links out; there are some really fantastic people out there living sustainable lives and getting stuff done! Your Turn What is your definition of a sustainable life?  How will you achieve it?  Will you achieve it in the near future?  I would love to hear from you. Also, if you would like to enter the 2nd Annual Homemade Salsa Fiesta Contest, please send me an e-mail at realsmallscalelife [at] gmail [dot] com.  Remember: the contest will be held on Earth Day Weekend, so contact me soon! Finally, review this podcast on iTunes.  It will help us grow!

Season 1, Episode 5: How to Grow Seeds Indoors - Small Scale Life Podcast In an effort to maximize our potential harvest and start planning spring planting, I have started some tomatoes, lettuce, kale and lettuce in the basement. I discuss my techniques for how to grow seeds indoors in Season 1, Episode 5 of the Small Scale Life podcast. Why Start Seeds Now? Spring is right around the corner, everyone! Depending where you live in the world, it might not feel like it as February comes to close. In our house, we have started thinking forward to the 2016 Gardening Campaign. In addition, I kicked off the Grow What You Eat Challenge by planting the leafy greens (lettuce, spinach and kale). I am excited to see if I can grow enough leafy greens to effectively take that off our grocery list...permanently. At the same time, Julie reminded me that I always am kicking myself that I waited too long to start seeds. I quietly disagreed, but she showed me the articles I wrote about starting seeds early in 2015 and in 2014 (on the Small Scale Gardening blog). I had to agree with her. She is really on her game this week, but I will reserve that for another post or podcast. I mention or discuss the following sites and articles in this podcast: Small Scale Life Blog – www.smallscalelife.com Small Scale Gardening Blog: Starting Seeds Indoors – http://www.smallscalegardening.com/2015/05/14/start-seeds-indoors/ Small Scale Life Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/SmallScaleLife Small Scale Gardening Group Page – www.facebook.com/groups/821558261269485

In this episode, I discuss the following topics: 1) Further discussion about transitioning from Small Scale Gardening to Small Scale Life. Facebook has been a bit slow due to rules in place for pages, but that change should occur this weekend. UPDATE: I made the change on Valentines Day 2016. 2) I am kicking off the Growing Green Challenge this weekend. For this challenge, I am going to grow enough greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc.) in my basement to effectively knock those items off our grocery list. I am setting up and planting the first round of greens on Valentines Day weekend. Links: I mention or discuss the following sites and articles in this podcast: Small Scale Life Blog - www.smallscalelife.com Small Scale Gardening Blog - www.smallscalegardening.com Small Scale Life Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/SmallScaleLife Small Scale Gardening Group Page - www.facebook.com/groups/821558261269485 Beatsby_Roi Lemon Water Chronicles Volume 1 - Beatsbyroi – Lemon-water-chronicles-vol-i

In this podcast, Jay and I discuss the following topics: 1) Blog Merger - Why I decided to merge smallscalelife.com and smallscalegardening.com 2) Snow Apocalypse 2016 - Snowstorm that hit the Eastern Seaboard and how people are not prepared for a life's disasters. The photo on the cover for this podcast is Jay's from the snowstorm 3) Jon Acuff's Three Questions for 2016 - setting a path for success in the new year 4) Learn Do Grow - What are we doing over the next week? Links in this podcast: I mention or discuss the following sites and articles in this podcast: 1) Small Scale Life Blog - www.smallscalelife.com 2) Small Scale Gardening Blog - www.smallscalegardening.com 3) Jay's A Crash Into Life Blog - acrashintolife.wordpress.com/ 4) Beatsby_Roi Lemon Water Chronicles Volume 1 - Beatsbyroi – Lemon-water-chronicles-vol-i

In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss my background in gardening and where I am focusing my gardening efforts in 2016. The theme this year is "Grow What You Eat," and I am reducing the variety of vegetables and herbs I will grow to 1) focus on becoming a better at growing things our family eats and 2) reduce the amount of vegetables and herbs that are wasted each year. Links for this podcast: 1) Small Scale Life Blog - www.smallscalelife.com 2) Small Scale Gardening - www.smallscalegardening.com 3) Cranberry-Jalapeno Jelly - http://www.smallscalegardening.com/2016/01/13/how-to-make-roll-tide-cranberry-jalapeno-jelly/ 4) Indoor Gardening - http://www.smallscalegardening.com/2014/12/02/indoor-gardening-made-easy/ 5) March of the Aphids - http://www.smallscalegardening.com/2015/01/19/2015-failure-march-of-the-aphids/ 6) Square Foot Gardening - http://squarefootgardening.org/ 7) Beatsby_Roi Lemon Water Chronicles Volume 1 - https://soundcloud.com/beatsbyroi/lemon-water-chronicles-vol-i 8) Jay's A Crash Into Life Blog - https://acrashintolife.wordpress.com/

Introduction Podcast to Small Scale Life This is a "reboot" of the introduction podcast for Small Scale Life. In April of 2016, I adjusted the sound quality and cleaned up the podcast. Small Scale Life is a podcast and blog dedicated to learning, doing, and growing. We hope to inspire you to learn new skills, complete projects and grow mentally, and physically. We are all about getting stuff done, particularly when it comes to fitness, weight loss, finances, gardening, preserving the harvest and adventure. In this Podcast.... In this podcast, Jay and I introduce ourselves, discuss the vision and goals of the podcast and discuss three questions asked by Jon Acuff about 2016. We will discuss the answers to those questions in Season 1, Episode 3. In addition, Jay and I discussed the Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge. This is a fitness challenge designed for all types of people from beginners to seasoned fitness veterans. It is a points scoring system based on duration of exercise. There will be weekly winners (you can only win one week) and overall winners. Registration closes on January 5, 2016, and see Small Scale Life (smallscalelife.com) for more information. Thank you! A special thanks goes to the following people: Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast (http://thesoapboxcollectivepodcast.com/) and his brother Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using The Lemonwater Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast (https://soundcloud.com/beatsbyroi/lemon-water-chronicles-vol-i). Check out their work! Jay for being a great co-host. Check his blog out at A Crash Into Life Blog - https://acrashintolife.wordpress.com/ My wife Julie from Julia's Blooms (http://www.juliasblooms.com/)who has believes in the concept, shares my vision and supports my quest for achieving a Small Scale Life.