Podcast #95 – Pomp and Circumstance 1


Yesterday was our big day – our graduation as Master Gardeners! We’ve been planning for this and working toward this day for more than a year, so we’re understandably proud to have this portion of our learning complete.

We look beyond the graduation to probe how our involvement with Master Gardener has changed the way we grow, and our plans for the future. Specifically, both of us have already begun working to earn Advanced Master Gardener status, Amanda in organic home-scale vegetable production and I in organic, home-scale fruit production. Also: progress on the lodge, arguing about how to operate the refrigerator to conserve energy, and an update on the orchard.

Listen – 21:16

Chilling Hours for Fruit Trees – the article I wrote in March explaining how and why we monitor chilling hours.

About that Lodge – Our podcast in April about the design of the lodge and how we hope to use it.

The High-Density Longleaf Breeze Orchard – My description back in February of the approach we’re taking to the orchard.

General Links:

The Longleaf Breeze Planting Database

Join us at the (online) Longleaf Breeze Social


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One thought on “Podcast #95 – Pomp and Circumstance

  • Jonathon Meeks

    About this refrigerator: your experiment is a good idea but also remember that when the refrigerator is in the lodge when not being used it will still use less energy than it would in constant use in your apartment. First you won’t be opening the door and letting the heat in and second most of the energy used is from taking heat away from the food. If your not adding food your not adding heat. I doubt that it would run very much at all if it was mostly empty and the doors weren’t opened for several days, though I realize this is beyond the scope of your experiment, you may want to conduct another one when you get the new fridge. You may find(and I know that Amanda would really like this) that the reduced energy use during the times of little usage averages out to the same amount as what it would take to suck the heat out from room temperature. Also remember that even if you have a few hours it takes a couple days to make the amount of ice that you would use during one small dinner party. I knew a family that had second refrigerator in the pool house that made ice all the time. They put it in grocery bags and used it in coolers and for parties and such, so ice production is something that you also want to think about. Ultimately I have a feeling that none of this is going to matter because Amanda is going to get her way.

    I want to see pictures of the lodge progress!