Small Scale Life Podcast

In this 225th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I recorded a video and audio while I was IN the garden, so this is truly a garden chat with your lovable host Tom.  In this episode, I discuss the garden build project including the fencing, the border, mulch, gates, Wicking Bed Planters and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System Planters.  I talk about cabbage worms eating my broccoli, how my peppers really stink this year and how my tomatoes, zucchini and basil are stars of the garden. 

Towards the very end of the episode, I talk about Driftless Oaks Farm and provide some advice about where to buy land or a homestead based on our own experience at Driftless Oaks Farm.  While it didn’t work out as expected for us, it might be different for you.  I would highly recommend that you think long and hard and look long and closely at any property before purchasing it.  We got caught up in the idea and excitement, and fortunately the gods smiled upon us.

While we podcasting types typically obsess about audio quality, there is something neat about this recording.  It is imperfect: there are chickadees chirping, the green heron squawking, planes flying, traffic driving by, Julie talking to a friend, kids chattering as they walk down the street in front of our house and a passing train heading from the Twin Cities to Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  

This is life in a small town in America in 2024.  This is how it should be.  We are part of this community, and these things are just part of our life here now.  We can be perfectly imperfect because that is what we are.

And that, my friends, is a GOOD thing.

In this 224th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss three critical elements of vegetable garden layout design and planning. I have always said that there are three elements for successfully growing plants: light, water and nutrients. It is time to take these three elements from theory to reality as I show you how these three elements impacted my new vegetable garden layout here at The Landing.

My hope is that you can implement some of these ideas and concepts in your own garden, whether it is a brand new garden or one that has been around for a while.

Now, there is a lot to do before I begin planting in my new garden. I have a lot more prep work on the future garden area including adding my new Wicking Bed Gardens and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems, placing mulch and erecting a fencing and gates. I provide a status report of the Garden Build Project at the end of the article.

For links and written article for this episode, please head over to Small Scale Life website for more information!

In this 223rd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss the Whole30 Reintroduction Phase. This is a critical part of the process, and I have 8 Tips for a successful Whole30 Reintroduction Phase. Remember: this part of the Challenge is incredibly important, so please take this phase slow and don’t rush through it.

We are on Day 30 of our April 2024 Whole30 Challenge! We have arrived!  Congratulations on making it to Day 30. 

This is an amazing accomplishment (this is a hard challenge), and I am very proud of you. I am thrilled you made it this far.  Even if you had a day or two where you went off plan and the rails, you made it to this point.  Well done! Good job. You are AWESOME!

For the last 30 days, you have essentially been detoxing and resetting your body and metabolism.  You have taken the time and effort to focus on you and your health.  

Now it is time to reintroduce those foods that you removed from your diet, and this can seem overwhelming and scary. Why would you introduce those things when you feel THIS GOOD?

You are continuiing an experiment on yourself. You are PROJECT YOU. Whole30 Reintroduction will help you determine what are "ok" foods, what are "occasional" foods and what are "hell no" foods. To do this phase of the Whole30 Challenge, you need to go "low and slow." In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I give you 8 Tips for a Successfull Whole 30 Reintroduction based on our two completed challenges.

For notes and "almost" transcript of the show, head on over to Small Scale Life to read along and get links and other resources.

Happy Spring, everyone! In this 222nd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to discuss attending my first Beekeeper Conference called Beek Meet 2024 and 5 Lessons Learned from Beekeepers at the conference.

While I am not a beekeeper, I found the conference incredibly interesting, educational and entertaining. I also met some really great folks at the conference, and I had a chance to connect with some really good friends from Ohio.

Find all the links and show notes at smallscalelife.com!

A direct link to the article is found here: https://www.smallscalelife.com/5-lessons-learned-from-beekeepers-at-beek-meet-2024/

To sign up for the Whole30 Challenge, go to the Small Scale Life Website. An email sign up form is on the main page of the website and under the Wellness tab.

In this 221st Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to look back at our experiences with the Whole30 Challenge in 2019, 2020 and 2024. I will discuss some of the lessons learned and “non-scale wins,” and I will finish by talking about Next Steps including a new Whole30 Challenge on April 1, 2024!

For show notes and links, head over to smallscalelife.com.

It's a Leap Year Episode Small Scale Life Podcast! Episode 220 was recorded at 2:22 PM on 2/29/2024 (look at all those 2's), so you know this was a special, foundational show.

In this episode, your Host Tom introduces the Whole30 Challenge and summarizes the basic rules of this elimination diet. There are plenty of do's and don'ts, but do not let the rules stop you. By doing the Whole30 Challenge, you will come away understanding what your body reacts to (dairy, gluten, legumes, processed foods, sugar), and that will lead you to success as you focus on healing your mind, body and soul.

We have some links and resources for you at smallscalelife.com, so you’ll want to head over there to learn more. Also, to join the Small Scale Life Wellness Club on Facebook, please use the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallscalelifewellnessclub/

Happy New Year, friends! Welcome to 2024!

The Small Scale Life Podcast has been silent since April 26, 2023. At that point, we had just announced that we were selling Driftless Oaks Farm, which was our little 10-acre hobby farm in Western Wisconsin. We had a lot of discussions, a lot of soul searching and a lot of work leading up to that point, and what happened afterward was nothing short of a miracle. We had some great offers on the farm, selected an offer, found a new place, got our offer selected and then began the moving process (packing and loading up). At the same time, we kicked off a blitz of projects at the new house.

With real life kicking and a busy job calling, there was no capacity or bandwidth to record, edit, and keep the Small Scale Life Podcast and videos flowing to the audence. Something had to give, and I decided to put this project on a shelf and do the work.

It is a new year, and a new cycle is starting for all of us. Julie has a new business called Willow River Yoga, my son Ryan has things happening and I have charted a new course for Small Scale Life (which really is getting back to my roots of this show if you look back to the first couple blog posts).

For more information about us and links, please head over to the Small Scale Life website. You can sign up for free resources including the 24 Hour Plan, Seed Saving Guide and Budget Bundles on the FREE RESOURCES page.

Also, I discuss the Small Scale Life Wellness Club on Facebook, please head over there for the 24 Hour Plan and to join the conversation.

Are we really selling Driftless Oaks Farm? Julie and I just bought and moved to the farm almost two years ago and got everything we ever wanted...or did we?

Tune in to Episode 218 of the Small Scale Life Podcast to find out who, what, when, where and why!

In this 217th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I talk about Tipping Points and Getting Back to Basics. We have seen bank collapses before, and it didn't go well for us in 2008. It is a reminder to get back to Small Scale Living and growing/canning our own food.

I have to tell you: the bank closures and bank runs remind me so much of the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008. It made me pause as it reminded me of the anger, despair and hopelessness of the time.

Fortunately, this time is different. I recognized 2008 for what it was: a major life changing event that forever changed my mindset and direction of my life. That collapse set me on a course to where we are today: our jobs, our home in Western Wisconsin and even how I grow vegetables in my garden.

For more information and links, head over to Small Scale Life!

In this 216th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I continue the conversation with my friend Adam Rapier from Colorado. We are going to discuss Starting a Beekeeping Business including different small business niches in the Beekeeping world.

Now, I know many of you are not beekeepers and will never be beekeepers, but I hope you hold on and stay tuned to this episode. Like walking through a garden, each small business story can inspire you to start something of your own or teach you something new. After all, every gardener or homesteader might have an abundance of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, eggs or milk that you can give the surplus away or sell to a local customer base.

For more about Adam, check out Small Scale Life Podcast Episodes 214 and 215 where we talk about his homesteading journety, gardening and taking care of animals (rabbits, quail, chickens and ducks).

To connect Adam, see the show notes for Episode 216 at https://smallscalelife.com!