Today’s Item of the Day is from Vevo, it’s their Retractable Air Hose Reel. Remember to use the code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy from Vevor with my links. If you have an air compressor in your shop getting one of these is a no brainer and at a retail price of 72 bucks it is totally worth the cost.
It is not a complex product by any means just one that is highly functional, convenient and just works as expected. It provides you a 50 foot hose that you can pull out to use and with a quick tug it retracts back onto its reel and is put away in a snap.
It also comes with a 5 foot leader hose which is all you need if you plan to locate it near your compressor but of course you can run longer hoses for setting up in multiple bays or any other needs, I go over this a bit in the video at the end of this review. The hose itself is a premium commercial 3/8″ x 50′ hybrid polymer hose has a working pressure of 300 PSI and features 1/4″ NPT connections allowing it to connect to air tools.
I found the hose very flexible, easy to work with an very rugged. It also comes with a 180° swivel bracket that was very easy to mount. This is great because it makes it easy to maneuver with the hose to any location and it keeps the reel out of the way when not in use. The reel can also be directly mounted without the bracket to make it static if that works better for you. And it can be mounted in an over head fashion which for auto shop style set ups is really convenient.
I will also say this thing is heavy duty and very well built. There is not a lot more to say about this product it is strait forward, it would be great for anyone who uses an air compressor and is tired of dealing with tangled or kinked hoses. So check out Vevor’s Retractable Air Hose Reel today and remember to use my discount code VVPROMO to get 5% off this awesome tool.
Remember My Discount Code Works for ANYTHING in the Vevor Store, just use my links to get there and use VVPROMO at check out for 5% off literally anything they sell.
Today we are going back to one of the fundamentals of modern survival living, that is financial management and debt elimination. Economics and the reality of unfunded liabilities, the national debt along with everyday financial worries is the number one reason people get into the preparedness lifestyle.
Sometimes it is from a practical approach but just as often it is panic and fear based. Today we set aside panic and establish a base of common sense and pragmatic techniques to build, preserve and protect wealth.
Join Me Today To Discuss…
The number one wealth killer – poverty consciousness
The number two wealth killer – consumer age thinking
The number three wealth killer – false optimism and or pessimism
The number four wealth killer – envy and attempting to impress others
Why debt is cancer and must be eradicated
Why saving is more important than investing for most people in the beginning
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.
Just got a ping from my rep and this week Vevor is running a huge sale. Some of these are on their most popular and best selling items, some are must have tools and some are items on clearance with the last chance to get them at an insanely low price.
Oh and before you ask, YES if you use my links and my promo code, (VVPROMO) you can still take another 5% off these awesome deals. This is like treasure hunting folks, you don’t know what you will find but the sale is broken down into three categories…
Must Have Tools
Special Deals on Select Products
Clearance Items
`
If you don’t see what you want on the front page click see more. I did and they must have 1000 items massively marked down right now in the “New Deals, More Savings” section. I bet there is a couple hundred items on clearance too. I have said “Vevor has everything” and with some exceptions like groceries or seasonings it is pretty much true. Check out this sale there is something for everyone but for a limited time only.
Today we discuss vermicomposting and some of the myths that end up making success for many difficult. We will explain the process and how it is more about microbes than worms themselves, how to get started right, various bin options and more.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
What is worm composting and why not just toss food scraps into the garden
When we feed worms what is actually happening, because they are mostly not eating it
Microbes begin decomposing the food
Microbes multiply and concentrate around the food
Worms feed on microbes, their waste products and some of the decomposed food remains
What does this mean to proper start up of a new bin
Go slow at first
Inoculation with mature compost or other worm bin material is a great idea
When people say “worms will eat half their weight per day” the better term is process not eat
What are the biggest reasons that people have worms die or do poorly
Michale Jordan’s famous “you put them in a box” speech about bees applies here
Location, location, location
Far too wet
Too much food – often kicks off thermophilic composting (worm oven)
To dry – not as common
Bad air flow – USUALLY STILL ABOUT being too wet
Environment is too cold or too hot
Pesticide residue
Insufficient carbon bedding
Infestations – ants are the worse offenders but gnats, BSL, etc. can be problematic
Ammonia built up – almost always improper feeding
Over feeding one thing – everything has toxins of some level, the poison is the does
Worm big styles and options
The Urban Worm Bag and what is great about it and not so great – link
Home built tub style bins – I like two side set ups for this using hardware cloth
Large scale out door systems – not what we are really doing today
Commerical multi tray systems like the Vevor Worm Bin – link
In bed worm towers
A bit on harvesting castings
Set up of a new bin
Add a carbon based bedding like coco coir, paper, etc.
Add some active compost if you have it
Introduce worms – often this is done with compost from another bin, etc.
Feed slowly at first
Add carbon when you add food, food first carbon on top
Cover it, a mat or something similar is best directly on the bedding and food
Do not feed until the vast majority of the last feeding is gone
In time you will find a schedule and set of procedures that work for you
What to feed and not feed
Most uncooked vegetative waste
No or very little citrus or onions or anything that is slow to decay
Dry leaves are good for bedding but don’t do much moisture absorption
Paper towel waste is fine but what is on it
No oils, fats, animal products including no dairy
Nothing with lots of preservatives
No grass
Coffee grinds are great but in my experience are slower than some other things
Things I do most don’t or at least many don’t know about
I put in about 1tsp of kelp meal per feeding
I also include some biochar when I feed
I put in greensand or rock dust as grit vs. plain cheap sand
I just crumble egg shells in my hand, they disappear so I figure all is well
I often use some mats of string algae from my ponds
I also often feed small amounts of azolla and duck weed (SMALL AMOUNTS)
Put food in different sectors each time you feed
Fish flake feed is consumed almost as fast as you give it to them (population grows fast)
Chop food to smaller sizes to have it consumed more quickly (surface area)
Always keep a carbon barrier on top – eliminates a lot of fruit fly issues
Roly-polies, spring tails, etc. are welcome in my bins
Using finished worm castings/compost
Just spread it around your plants and move along
Add it to compost, beginning yes, but especially once mature and aging
As teas or extracts
If you don’t use it swiftly make sure to store it moist, cool and able to breathe
Most of what you buy in stores is 100% total garbage, not when made but by the time you get it
Remember anyone can do this, it deals with your waste and produces true black gold
`
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.
Today’s Item of the Day is from Vevor—it’s their 5-Tray Worm Composter. Remember to use the code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy from Vevor with my links. I mentioned this item in a recent podcast about various methods of composting. Enough of you guys got one that my Vevor rep literally reached out and said, “Hey, let us send you one for a proper review.”
I figured this one was safe to recommend without a review, as screwing up a worm bin isn’t easy to do, at least not from a manufacturing standpoint. Now, management of worms you can screw up, but that is on the worm keeper, not the bin maker. (More on that in the video at the end.)
I have to say, I am very glad to have accepted a sample of this worm bin. This bin is well-made and well-designed. Every aspect of it is well thought out. And, ole Jack discovered something for you guys on this one that makes it a hell of a good pricing deal. Here is the deal: one of the top-selling all-time worm bins is the VermiHut Plus 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin. The ViermiHut has over 1600 reviews with 4.6 stars overall on Amazon. It is all over groups and forums about worm composting, and everyone loves it. They sell for about 100 bucks on Amazon and other sites.
Well, what if I told you the Vevor bin, at $59.00 when bought directly right now, was the exact same bin? I don’t mean almost the same; I mean THE SAME. Same accessories, same parts, same instructions, same everything. My instinct from my research is the only difference is the color; the VermiHut is green and the Vevor is black. It isn’t a car, folks; the color doesn’t matter. When I say the same, I mean they are likely made on the same molds in the same factory.
So out of the gate, you get one of the best-thought-of worm bins on the market for $40 off the cost of the competition, meaning you could literally run two bins for say $120 vs. one for $100 if you wanted two bins. Can I be 100% sure they are the exact same bin? Yes. How? Because I know how private label products work, because I read the instruction manual for product reviews fully, and because we all know documentation from China on products is something that can miss things in translation.
In this case, the name of the private-labeled product I am sure mistakenly remains in the user’s manual. Click the image on the right to enlarge it, and you can see right in the product manual it is referred to as the VermiHut Plus. Clearly, Vevor made a deal with VermiHut to private label this product which means you get it for $40 less. Then don’t forget to use my discount code VVPROMO for an additional 5% off.
Now let’s talk about the bin itself. First, I was impressed by two things included that you normally need to buy separately. First, there is a brick of coco coir—call that about a $10 bonus item. It also includes a fiber top mat to cover the top tray of worm food. Additionally, they provide a small rake that may not be a big deal, but it is perfect for scraping off layers of the coco coir when soaking it for initial setup.
This system is designed in a way that should make the vermicomposter think a bit like a beekeeper. What I mean is the instinct of many will be to put it all together and fill it up fast; don’t do that. As you will see in my video, the best thing to do is start off with good bedding and one tray. As that tray begins to fill with castings, add a new tray on top with some bedding, food scraps, and inoculate it with a handful of castings from the lower tray.
Follow this method until you are working on the 5th tray as new; at that point, remove the bottom tray’s castings, and it becomes your top tray. Once you get a system running, you will be harvesting castings say every couple of weeks. Again, think a bit like a beekeeper; you add those supers on top of the hive as the lower areas are full of brood and honey. Do the same here as the worms have almost filled the lower tray; add the next one.
Again, I give more tips in the video, but I want to say something here about any worm bin. There are two reasons for most worm bin failures (other than murder by invading fire ants). They are, in order, too much liquid and too much food, and sometimes too much of some foods that have a lot of water in them, is part of the first one. This bin, like many, has a spigot for removing leachate. This is a good thing, and leachate is a great thing to water down and spray on your plants or drench soil with (an ideal dilution rate is 10:1), but it is NOT something you want to produce in high quantity with a worm bin.
Look, folks, the more leachate you get, the more you are overwatering your bin. Now some say you should get exactly none. Like many things, I am in the middle on this issue. I expect to get some drainage over time; when I do, I back off the moisture, but I don’t freak out and simply see the leachate as a resource. I have never had issues with this approach. And as well as this thing can drain, I can’t see why anyone would.
Problems arise when new worm compost folks think leachate is something you want on an ongoing basis, so they add moisture until they damn well get it daily. Then the worm bin becomes too active, active composting starts, like compost pile style with HEAT, and your worms fry. Unlike a pile outside, they have nowhere to go; you made a worm oven. You can also end up with just being too wet, then they drown or create anaerobic pockets that are bad for worm health.
Next, on overfeeding, most new folks totally overfeed, and one of the reasons is really a surprise to many. Here we go, worms don’t even eat most of what we feed them. This is the real key and why new worm keepers often have catastrophic loss very quickly. We tend to think of a worm bin like, say, a mealworm farm; you feed the worms, they eat it. But compost worms, and honestly, most earthworms do not actually eat the stuff we put in bins, just as they do not eat the mulch on top of your gardens.
No, worms partner with microbes, many actually, that pass through their guts. These microbes break down the food; the worms eat that food partially broken down, they eat the microbes’ waste, and they even eat some of the microbes. I found this fascinating when I learned it; check out this video from Ray Archuleta of worms on a farm literally “farming microbes” by pulling corn refuse just slightly into burrows.
What this means is a new farm should start light on worms and lighter on food. Allow the microbe population to come up as the worm population does. Once you get going, just keep an eye on things, and you will, in time, learn what to look for. One big thing is if you feel significant heat when you open your bin, you are likely overfeeding; again, you have gone from a slow compost to fast thermophilic compost. To correct this, remove some food and add some carbon and stop feeding for a time. Again, more tips in the video.
Let me finish with one more thing here, the value concept. Many pride themselves on “homemade bins” for their worms, and if you are a major operation doing 100 giant long beds and selling commercially, well, you may very well want to do that. But for the average person, you need one or two of these tops, and blatantly, you can’t make anything this good, with 5 layers using something like Rubbermaid tubs for less than 50 bucks. Just price 5 tubs in the 3-5 gallon size, and you will see what I mean, not to mention the drainage and spigot, separation screen, etc., for bottom leachate removal and the ant traps for the feet.
Y’all know me, I am all for making things yourself and DIY and such, but I am not for spending more money to get something that doesn’t work as well as an off-the-shelf purpose-built product like this. It just makes no economic sense and has a bad price to value ratio. Once you take the additional 5% off, the cost of this item is $56.99; it comes with bedding and a mat to cover the top tray, so you don’t have to buy those. You can set it up the day you get it with zero tools. If you build your own instead of getting this, I will say what I say often, “You hate money, and if you hate on money, it will hate on you.” This is a well-respected $100 product for $60 bucks; you just can’t beat that in 2024, and if well cared for, it is also a very long-term investment.
So, check out the 5-Tray Worm Composter (Remember to use code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy from Vevor with my links) and up your composting and fertility game today. Again, check the video for more tips on bin management, including how to accelerate microbe inoculation, where to locate your bin, and more.
And remember you can alway help us out by beginning your online shopping starting at TspAz.com first and when you do so, on Vevor items always use discount code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy.
Check Out this Video Review with TONS of Griddle Tips Even if You Already Own One
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember My Discount Code Works for ANYTHING in the Vevor Store, just use my links to get there and use VVPROMO at check out for 5% off literally anything they sell.
In this episode we were joined Sam Benowitz founder of Raintree Nursery with us to discuss unique & unusual plants and trees from all over the world to discover lost varieties. We also discussed 9 unique edible plants that most Americans have never tried and many have never ever heard of.
The show notes for the original episode with all relevant resources can be found here.
Welcome to Friday Flashbacks, after 15 years and hundreds of interview shows we decided to run them as flash backs every Friday, beginning with the oldest of them going forward.There is a tremendous library of wisdom in all the great interviews we have done over the years.
So sit back and enjoy, whether this is your first or second time around with today’s episode I am sure you will enjoy today’s episode and learn a lot from it.
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.
Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on opinions as crimes, plant propagation, getting better sleep, permaculture, air conditioning, a possible breakdown of society and more.
Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following….
Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com
Put TSPC Expert in the subject line
Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence
Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary `
Following that procedure makes it about 100X more likely your question will get though screening and sent on to one of our experts. All expert council members can be found on the Meet the Expert Council Page.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
Treating opinions as crimes? Has congress lost their minds? – Ron Paul & Chris Rossini
Germination and propagation of horse chestnut – Nick Ferguson
How to get better sleep and quiet your mind – Andy McCann
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.
Special Note – Vevor has these 4x8x2 raised beds on sale again for under 100 bucks a piece. There is still time to get your garden established or expanded in 2024 and these are the long lasting easy button to get it done. And they have their 1 foot deep beds on sale for only 47 dollars, so if you don’t require the depth of the larger beds this is just a stupid cheap price.
Today’s Item of the day is Galvanized Raised Garden Beds by Vevor. There are many options here but the two I feel TSP’rs will be most interested in are standard 4×8 dimensions at two different depths…
Today we have a brand new type of item of the day. Up until now all Item of the Day reviews have been for items you can get on Amazon. Recently Vevor reached out to me about working with them and we came to an agreement. I will be receiving some free products in this agreement for review for disclosure I will tell you when ever that is the case. It is the case here but this item is so great I also bought one myself because I want two for my coming project.
Here is the best part, this product is awesome and I am going to save you a lot of money on it. Retail on this product is 140 bucks, but if you use my links you can get it for a LOT LESS. Just by registering as a customer with Vevor through my link before you buy and your cost will go down to only 99.99 then at check out just enter code VVPROMO for an additional 5% off.
Now let me tell you about this product and why I love it. First I love raised beds for gardening and we all know why. You get space to build new perfect soil and things like ducks and dogs tend to stay out of beds at least 20 inches high and these are just a hair under 2 feet high.
Next last year I sold a metric ton of this product by Frezone. They are awesome and were costing you guys between 120 – 160 plus dollars a pop. Here we have what I consider a better product for less money. Why do I say it is better?
Painted – mostly aesthetics but they do look great
Rectangle vs. Oval – simply put this gives you more total square feet to plant
Horizontal Reenforcement – There are six reenforcing straps that prevent bulging
Heavy Steel – Most beds of this type are made with .01 thick steel, these are made with .04 thick steel
`
Now in general since this form of garden bed showed up, all steel, shipped in panels so they can ship cost effectively I have been all in on them. You are talking a garden bed that will stand up to the test of time better than anything built from pressure treated lumber. And let’s look at the cost of building a 4′ wide x 8′ long x 2′ deep bed with lumber that will rot in time to one of these.
For each bed you would require…
16 2x6x8 pressure treated boards (at my local Lowes that is 120 dollars)
A box of good stainless or deck screws about 12 bucks
Likely some coroner reenforcing lumber we can call it 10 bucks
`
All in building a 2 foot high bed with 4×8 dimensions with lumber at todays prices is about 140 ish bucks or for just under a hundred bucks, a box will show up at your house with every thing you need, bolt it all together and fill it up and just start growing.
And folks NOW is the time, spring is springing as we speak. You know those beds you were going to build but didn’t this winter, order today and by the weekend you can be assembling all the beds you want for the coming season. And the best part is these beds will LAST. I am not going to say forever but certainly 3-5X longer than a wood based bed that costs about 40% more to build along with a trip to box store hell on your weekend.
Yea look at it that way, you want to build your beds next weekend right? So you can get up early, go to the box store, blow 1-2 hours of your time, come home, then get to work. Or you can assemble one of these in about 30 minutes with simple hand tools while spending less money and getting a better product.
Remember you can get this deal in two different sizes depending on the depth you want. I went with 2 foot deep beds but they are pretty massive. I do this because it is a nice working height and because it keeps the ducks out of my gardens. The tradeoff is fill volume, a 4x8x2 box will hold just about 1 cubic yard. If you don’t want the higher working height or are not worried about animals the 1 foot tall option may be bette for you. Again the options are…
4Wx8Lx1D 65.99 less 5% with my special code VVPROMO
4Wx8Lx2D 99.99 super deal and you still get 5% more off with code VVPROMO
`
So get registered as a Vevor Customer today and get this great deal and just know I will be bringing you a ton more or personally selected awesome products from Vevor as we move forward. But there is a reason I am leading off with these awesome garden beds, now is the time and this is one of the best deals I could find for you on the Vevor website.
Video Review of These Awesome Beds
Two questions were common when this video was released. They were about the supports and their location. To that one there are a total of 6, only two are installed here as we are going to reconfigure the beds as described. `
Next was is the top of the bed sharp? No it is rolled but there are edges on the corners so right where they panels connect you have some potential for scratches. Vevor does provide a top cover of thin material to cap the box with. We didn’t use it and have no plans to, but you may want to or to do something with the sharp corners.
P.S. – With this new partnership I will be expanding TspAz.com to include products from both Amazon and Vevor and will continue to recommend the best options regardless of source. As always anything I would not spend my own money on, I will never recommend to you. I will always continue to disclose any products I am given as samples, etc. Integrity is why you know you can trust my recommendations and that will never change.
* Note – This Item is available on Amazon but you will pay about 20 dollars more for it if you order it there. Still I wanted you to know about this in case you simply prefer to buy from that channel.
Today Steve Lubka of Swan Bitcoin joins us to discuss Bitcoin and its future including unique invites as to how many high net worth individuals and institutions are getting involved, whey 2024 will be the most significant year for Bitcoin yet and a ton more.
This was a fantastic conversation, we talked Bitcoin’s future, institutional money, money moving to BTC from gold, BTC vs. real estate, tax advantages and a ton more. But we also talked about human health, nutrient requirements, getting out into the real world, circadian lifestyle and a ton beyond that. As I have said for years, fiat money creates fiat living and fiat food and hard money leads you to real world living and better choices.
Simply put, Bitcoin fixes this isn’t just a meme, it is a real life change happening right now for millions of people.
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.
Today we are going to talk about a ton of things you can do with a flat top griddle. Everything from seasoning, to accessories and of course recipes and techniques. And don’t worry even if you don’t own a griddle there will be tons you can take from this episode to your own kitchen, back yard grill etc.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
Why Cook on a Griddle
Amazing power, searing and control
How more things than you know are made in restaurants
Less work to clean up
You can make almost anything, you can even bake and deep fry
Portable options for camping, etc.
Cook for a lot of people fast
Gas vs. Electric – Pros and cons of both
The accessories I think you either really need or should really consider and a couple nice to haves
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
Join the MSB Today
Want all the Early TSP Episodes?
Remember in addition to discounts to over 80 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.