Longleaf Breeze
274 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 9 years ago - ★★★ - 3 ratingsWeekly update from two subsistence organic farmers in the deep South
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Episodes
273 - Big Changes at LongleafBreeze.com
February 05, 2015 20:00 - 6 minutes - 7.17 MBAfter six years, it's time to shift our focus from what we're experiencing to what we can share. You'll see a bold new responsive design. Expect fewer podcasts, but there will be more information you can find and use. And we'll keep changing
272 - Here Comes Spring!
January 29, 2015 16:00 - 20 minutes - 23.5 MBFarmers have to keep one eye on next season. Even though it’s cold outside, we’re planning spring and summer vegetables. So when should we terminate our cover crops? They always hit a growth spurt when we most need to make room for other plantings
271 - A Few More Longleafs Every Year
January 22, 2015 08:00 - 15 minutes - 17.9 MBWe love longleaf pines. They will live hundreds of years and are our forest's best tool for survival in an uncertain climate. Each January we plant a box of 330 longleaf seedlings. This year we're planting around the driveway, lodge, and Veg Hill
270 - The Gritty Realities of Heating with Wood
January 15, 2015 07:00 - 22 minutes - 25.4 MBWe love heating with wood, but it has its disadvantages. The temperature in your home will vary more widely, it's messy, you must be present to start heating, and you have to think WAY ahead to have enough seasoned wood
269 - Getting Through a Wicked Freeze
January 08, 2015 19:00 - 17 minutes - 19.9 MBWe’ve known about this for a week and had time to prepare. We were safe and comfortable. The issues were utility systems, plants, and animals. And most of that was managing water, keeping it off the animals but thawed and flowing when needed
268 - As We Enter 2015 . . .
January 01, 2015 18:00 - 13 minutes - 15.1 MBToday we look back on 2014 and some "firsts" it brought with it, like the chickens and a cover crop test. We also talk about what we think lies ahead in 2015, like maybe meat rabbits, a greenhouse, and perhaps citrus.
267 - Limping Into Christmas
December 25, 2014 10:00 - 5 minutes - 6.56 MBMerry Christmas! We are back from a week in California visiting with Joe and his family. The visit was delightful, but we both are struggling with illness and weak voices, so we have kept today's program short
266 - Vinegar on the Farm
December 11, 2014 18:00 - 18 minutes - 20.6 MBWe use vinegar in our food the same way others do, but we also use it for weed control, for cleaning and stair removal, and for pickling. Most recently, we used it to disinfect the chicken coop and the brooder bin.
265 - Slaughtering Chickens
December 04, 2014 21:00 - 25 minutes - 29.5 MBYesterday we ushered two aged laying hens from coop to table. We learned: Start early in the day, make sure your knife is sharp, expect them to complain loudly, don't spend money on a cone or a plucker, learn chicken anatomy, and secure the dog
264 - We are Thankful for . . .
November 27, 2014 16:00 - 19 minutes - 22.7 MBWe're thankful for food put by, for food growing through the winter, for hens ready to grace our stewpot, for laying hens coming on this Spring, for firewood in winter and shade in summer, but especially for relationships with friends and family
263 - January in November
November 20, 2014 10:00 - 19 minutes - 21.8 MBNovember for us is usually quiet, cool, and pleasant. This year it just slammed us with winter, and our poor plants were unprepared. The figs probably died back to the ground yet again. But frost blanket protected our tender broccoli
262 - Growing Fruit at Home
November 14, 2014 00:00 - 36 minutes - 41.7 MBSoon it will be time to plant fruit trees in Alabama. Today’s podcast includes a listing of fruits in descending order of the ease of growing them in central Alabama
261 - Raising Baby Chicks
November 06, 2014 07:00 - 21 minutes - 24.9 MBIn the shop, well protected from Oddie, our four tiny chicks are eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping. Mostly sleeping. This program is about their breeds, their temporary home, and our plans for their transition to the coop on the orchard floor
260 - Garlic Planting Time
October 30, 2014 06:00 - 23 minutes - 27.2 MBMaster Gardener and Garlic Guru RJ Arceneaux describes what kind of soil garlic prefers, when and how to plant it, how to care for it over the winter, and how to know when it's ready to harvest. In the South, this is the time to plant it
259 - R.I.P. Summertime
October 23, 2014 06:00 - 20 minutes - 23.9 MBIt was good for spring peas, tomatoes, beans, squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, sweet potatoes, edamame, summer peas, apples, muscadines, persimmons, and blueberries. Lousy for melons, corn, peaches, plums, pears, figs, and blackberries
258 - Grandmere’s Neglected Garden
October 16, 2014 06:00 - 17 minutes - 192 MBI failed to care for Amanda's garden while she was gone for a week. The beans and peas may be usable as seed but aren't fit to eat. The okra plants have collapsed with giant pods. We do have some gorgeous red peppers, though
257 - Tiny Houses
October 09, 2014 07:00 - 23 minutes - 27 MBOur home is 1/4 the size of the suburban house we left behind, so we thought it was small, but it's palatial compared to tiny houses, which force us to contemplate how much living space one needs to be happy. Think 200 sq ft, sometimes less
256 - In Praise of Persimmons
October 02, 2014 17:00 - 18 minutes - 20.6 MBThe persimmons we love are Asian persimmons, a far cry from the ones that turned our mouths inside out when we were kids. Mild, sweet, slightly tangy, and seedless, they have become our favorite. They are the last of our fruits to ripen each year
255 - Can We Make Our Farm Less Oily?
September 25, 2014 19:00 - 18 minutes - 21.2 MBGas prices are low, at least in relation to recent history, but we will soon see a petroleum shortage. Most of us will be forced to live with less gasoline and diesel fuel. Yes, we grow our own food, but how can we cut our petroleum use?
254 - Chickens: the Good, the Bad, and the (Still) Unknown
September 18, 2014 14:00 - 16 minutes - 18.8 MBToday's program is an honest, rueful reflection on the mistakes we think we made and what we are learning from them. Our first chickens were an economic waste, producing surprisingly few eggs for all the care and feeding they received
253 - Summer Sprints to the Finish Line
September 04, 2014 14:00 - 15 minutes - 17.8 MBLate summer usually means fired up tomatoes, squash consumed by insects, and a push to plant for fall. This year, we're getting a surprising spurt of production. Plentiful rain helped, but so did Amanda's mid-summer planting
252 - When to Hire Help? DIY?
August 28, 2014 15:00 - 18 minutes - 21.2 MBWe're still figuring out what tasks we should hire professionals to help us do and which ones we should do ourselves. This program lays out the factors we consider when we're thinking about hiring someone to help us with a project
251 - Chatting with Master Gardeners About the Fall
August 21, 2014 16:00 - 30 minutes - 34.4 MBWe're transitioning to the fall, which we love. It's more pleasant to be outside, the weeds and bugs slow down, and we get to grow vegetables like collards and kohlrabi that just don't work in central Alabama in the summer
250 - Uh-oh. Firewood. Now!
August 14, 2014 14:00 - 19 minutes - 22.1 MBIt's hot in August, but winter arrives soon, and we'll need warmth. We've neglected to build a supply of seasoned firewood, so we're playing catch-up. We'll use the sun for drying, and we'll use wood sparingly until we're sure we'll have enough
249 - After Years of Waiting, Abundant Fruit
August 07, 2014 06:00 - 16 minutes - 19.4 MBGrowing fruit is an exercise in delayed gratification. After four years, the fruit trees are maturing and we are beginning to see real abundance of apples, pears, figs, muscadines, blueberries, and persimmons. Still waiting on the peaches and plums
248 - Let's Hear It For Diversity!
July 31, 2014 17:00 - 16 minutes - 18.6 MBIn central Alabama pears usually outperform apples, So plant only pears, right? If we had followed that advice, we would have missed out on a delicious, abundant apple harvest this year. Our best crop ever, yielding 4 1/2 gallons of apple jam
247 - What We're Learning About Squash
July 24, 2014 16:00 - 21 minutes - 24.2 MBWe love squash, but it sure keeps us humble. This week we offer some perspective on squash formed over our five years of planting it, nurturing it, watching it die, and every now and then, enjoying its delicious bounty.
246 - Invaders On Every Flank
July 17, 2014 13:00 - 20 minutes - 23.4 MBIt's the middle of the summer in Central Alabama, and that means it's the peak of pest season. Stink bugs, squash bugs, vine borers, grasshoppers, not to mention poison ivy and plain old weeds, all make our farming work more interesting
245 - Can Subsistence Farmers Ever Vacation?
July 10, 2014 14:00 - 15 minutes - 17.5 MBWe're back now from a one-week stay at the lake. It was beautiful, and we had fun, but we're not rested. We returned to the farm daily to check on the vegetables, the fruit, the chickens, and the dog. What should we have done differently?
244 - Independence Days
July 04, 2014 02:00 - 26 minutes - 30.4 MBWe look beyond the national Independence Day to explore what we're doing to make ourselves more independent. How are we doing on planting, harvesting, preserving, limiting waste, living frugally, and building community food systems?
243 - These Long, Sultry Days
June 26, 2014 20:00 - 17 minutes - 19.9 MBOur daily power consumption is way up as we use the AC in the lodge, the dehumidifiers in our closets, and even on occasion the electric clothes dryer. The grass loves this kind of weather, so mowing is a frequent chore. But then solarizing is fast
242 - Cracking the Code on Potatoes
June 19, 2014 08:00 - 16 minutes - 19.2 MBIf you call yourself a reasonably proficient grower of your own food, you ought to be able to grow potatoes. On our fourth attempt at growing spuds, we finally enjoy modest success. What we did wrong before and what we did right this time
241 - Chicken Tips From an Expert
June 12, 2014 11:00 - 20 minutes - 23.6 MBEach day we're getting smarter about chickens. This week we caught up with Dr Joseph B Hess and his colleague Dr Ken Macklin of the Auburn University Poultry Science Department and buttonholed Joe for a quick visit.
240 - Gifts From Our Elders
June 05, 2014 17:00 - 21 minutes - 24.2 MBWe stand on the shoulders of the giants who have preceded us. They help us see the truth. Today we merely scratch the surface of the ways our elders have supported us, strengthened us, inspired us, and taught us.
239 - Planting Pecans – Yeah, We’re WAY Behind
May 29, 2014 20:00 - 15 minutes - 18.2 MBWe should have planted the pecans back in January or February. All we can do at this point is to get them in the ground now. They will be vulnerable to drought, so we need to keep them well watered, especially during the late summer and fall
238 - Q and A from Planting That Garden
May 22, 2014 14:00 - 20 minutes - 23.5 MBQuestions and Amanda's answers from our talk at the Wetumpka Public Library. You’ll hear a couple of questions about composting; then we talk about upside down tomatoes, and then growing strawberries.
237 - It's Not Too Late To Plant That Garden
May 15, 2014 07:00 - 42 minutes - 55.9 MBPodcast version of our Wetumpka presentation. We cover the essentials for growing food, the best vegetables to plant now, organic weed control, organic pest control, and the advantages and disadvantages of using raised beds
236 - The Shock Collar That Saved Our Dog
May 08, 2014 13:00 - 19 minutes - 22.4 MBOur joy at bringing home chickens turned to fear when Oddie attacked them. Rather than simply get rid of the chickens or the dog, we tried an e-collar. Now Oddie is again off his leash and frolicking around the farm, and the chickens are safe
235 - Resilient Landscape Design: Way Past Pretty
May 01, 2014 23:00 - 18 minutes - 21.1 MBWhile we focus on food, we want a pleasant, welcoming environment. We need low maintenance and low cost, and each plant needs to perform several functions. We work from a plan, but that plan evolves as our goals change and new plants show up
234 - On the Chicken Learning Curve
April 24, 2014 23:00 - 25 minutes - 28.7 MBAfter trying free range on Veg Hill, we knew they needed to scratch but stay confined. We built a run where they can scratch, peck, pee, and poop during the day before they retreat to the coop at night. The bad news is still with Oddie the dog
233 - We Have Chickens!
April 17, 2014 07:00 - 14 minutes - 16.1 MBNow we finally have a start with chickens. Four pullets - part Plymouth Rock and part Ameraucana - in a storebought coop. But hey! We're underway. The birds are fine; the. problem is our dog Oddie and his powerful predatory instinct toward them
232 - What Does It Take To Be a Subsistence Farmer?
April 10, 2014 14:00 - 23 minutes - 36.5 MBWe spell out what we think most people would need to construct a happy life in subsistence farming. How much land do you need? Does it need to be paid for? Do you need to have grown food before? Do you need a partner? Do you need people skills?
231 - The Care and Cussin' of Weeds
April 03, 2014 08:00 - 18 minutes - 21.5 MBWe're constantly experimenting, looking for ways we can reduce the time we spend controlling weeds. Sometimes we welcome them to hold our sandy soil, but more often we're looking for ways to eliminate them. And we've tried so many!
230 - A Wicked Late Freeze
March 27, 2014 23:00 - 19 minutes - 22.2 MBTuesday night the temperature hovered below freezing for nine hours and reached a low of 26. The strawberries, plums, apples, muscadines, and all the vegetables came through fine. The pears, figs, and blueberries took it on the chin
229 - First Report on the Storm Shelter/Root Cellar
March 20, 2014 07:00 - 22 minutes - 25.2 MBIt's surrounded on all sides by earth and reinforced concrete and seems thoroughly safe in a storm. We've used it to store wheat berries, wine, jam, pepper sauce, pickles, and sweet potatoes. The temperature does change slightly with the seasons
228 - The Great Raised Bed Do-Over
March 13, 2014 08:00 - 16 minutes - 18.6 MBWhen we designed and built our 16 raised beds last year, we omitted what we now know was a crucial step. We should have installed hardware cloth to exclude voles. Now we're retrofitting the beds. Big job, but we had no choice
227 - Subsistence Farming in a Zero Growth Economy
March 06, 2014 23:00 - 20 minutes - 23.2 MBEconomic growth is pretty much done in the US. The mainstream media keeps saying the economy is bouncing back, but most of us know better. The more we can produce for ourselves, the happier we can be while making little or no money
226 - Pruning Ornamentals
February 27, 2014 08:00 - 24 minutes - 23.2 MBOur focus is on growing food, but in February we prune ornamentals too. This program covers the importance of plant hygiene in pruning and basic principles about ornamental pruning. We even talk a little about how to recover from "crepe murder"
225 - Pruning Time in the Orchard
February 20, 2014 08:00 - 17 minutes - 20.3 MBFebruary is our big pruning month. I love it, working quietly using no noisy equipment. And pruning is a time to think about the future, trying to guess where the tree wants to grow and deciding whether I want to let that happen
224 - If You're Serious About Longleaf Pines . . .
February 13, 2014 08:00 - 21 minutes - 25 MBWe welcome my brother Dave Borden. He's the smartest person we know about longleaf pines. He describes why he loves longleaf pines, how he prepares to plant them, and why and how he works so hard to keep their competition in check