The Most Eclectic GardenFork Radio Show Ever. Why is Eric talking about Lindsay Lohan? What Mike thinks of yoga, DJ music mixes, Vampire power affects coal miners, Liberal Curmedgeon, Mike fixes disc brakes, More chainsaw safety, Honey harvest, Eric takes a PR pitcher to task and more.
The Bear Proof Electric fence for the beehives is supplied to GardenFork from Premier1Supplies.com
The Liberal Curmedgeon blog is here, his editorial in The NY Times is here
the DJ music played is from DJs Anonymous
Tyler Allison
I've done the build your own rain-barrel system at my KY house and the self built solar charging system for my ham radio gear/emergency weather gear.
Here's the flickr set for the system, includes an electrical schematic. http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonhouse/sets/72157594570149868/
I purchased my first rain barrels from http://www.ne-design.net/ ($150 includes shipping) he will build custom designs for whatever you want. I then ended up getting food grade barrels on my own from a friend that worked at a flavor making company in northern Kentucky. It was a royal pain in the butt to put them together and they never turned out as water tight as the ones from ne-design.net.
One gotcha for rain barrels is that you will have no pressure in your water hose, so you have to get use to watering with a watering can. People say you can elevate them, but putting them 2 feet in the air doesn't increase the water pressure that much.
Joe Ledington
Hey here is a link for some chainsaw supply's. When I was younger I worked as a Sawer cutting oak and walnut in Ohio, then I went west and worked for the Forest Service as a Forest Technician which is another way of saying I fought forest fires, this means using chain saws which we did a lot. later I worked for a landscape company as a tree trimmer, but that didn't last long because I went back to work doing carpentry work. I still cont to do some chain saw work cutting fire work and dropping some trees for family. Then when I worked in CT as a camp care taker I had to heat with wood so all my skill came in handy. I have been injured more than once with the beast they call chain saw, and it isn't a tool I enjoy using,cutting trees is hard dangerous work and should never be taken for granted because that is when you will get hurt.
https://www.baileysonline.com/default.asp
I really enjoy your guys show, keep up the dead space it gives me time to refill my coffee cup.
Joey
Monica
Jim heard me yelp, 'Ow, Ow, Ow!" while Mike was talking about his chainsaw accident. Wow! That is one traumatic story.
As for the rain barrels, check to see if your community will provide barrels at a discount. That's how I got mine.
Never pictured Eric as a techno kind of guy.
Keep up the good work!
Monica
GFR Mike
Donna was talking back to the podcast. That's a good sign that we're talking about something engaging.
Repeating, "Ow ow ow!!" is too...
Forrest
Check out craigslist.org in your area. Search for food grade barrels in the for sale sections. Most are $8-$40 in Chicago. Hope it helps.
Joe Ledington
I often see blue barrels on craigslist for cheap $10 here in Ohio, you could also try try free-cycle I often see people place place adds on there for barrels. Sometimes the local county extensions office will have resources for rain barrels they had a program in our county but I didn't get in on it. here is a link that will help find a freecycle group in your area.
http://www.freecycle.org/
I use freecycle a lot mostly to give stuff away, to keep it out of the land fill, I don't know if you guys use free cycle but maybe it would make a good subject for a show.
There was a short article on how energy is used to get food to us in Mother Earth News in line with what you guys where talking about they had pie charts and every thing and the biggest slices was! home energy 31 % according to their research. it was very informing.
Joey
Dave Soderquist
Eric, Mike, et als
Long, long time listener/viewer from way back in the beginning. A couple of comments/tips from this episode and the "Bruce" segment.
1. DON'T BUY EXPENSIVE RAIN BARRELS. Coke and other soda (for Eric)/pop (for Mike) sell them by the truckloads for about $10-20 in Michigan - I've heard that is pretty standard pricing. I have five in place and five waiting to get added in. A touch of PVC and you're all set - Also don't bother with the fancy diverter - just run an overflow pipe to send the excess to the garden or a bed.
2. Vacuum hand pump for food is available at my local WallyWorld and Meijer chains. Its made by Zip-Loc and sells for $3.00 bags are in Qt and Gal sizes. Works excellent and cheap.
3. Mike's solar situation - Sunforce makes a 4 panel, 60W, 7A kit that includes everything including inverter and charge controller - no battery. Amazon had them for 290 with free shipping. I installed one on each my two work/chicken/garden/storage/junk sheds. Charges a deep cycle battery and I run 110v off the inverter for lights, fans, and radio. Battery was around 90 so for a few hundred I got free electric in my sheds.