"I've never heard of anyone using layering for this method but you must have been working in a pretty big scale to get that much heat from the chips." I was somewhat limited by the equipment I was using. Last summer I rented a Dingo to move mulch and make more mounds. While they are handy to move mulch, they are pretty slow digging, so I really didn't use near enough top soil (because it was slow to dig). However, I had built mounds the same way (layered mulch mounds) the summer before and gotten by with it with no problems. I constructed them by starting with a big mound of mulch (wood chips) on the bottom and then a couple alternating layers of soil and mulch after that. My thought was the layers of mulch would be thin enough they wouldn't compost, but I got the mulch too thick. Before I started using mulch mounds, I made mounds with just plain dirt and have never had any problems with 100% dirt. I agree I don't think mulch on the bottom with a generous amount of topsoil on top would have caused problems, as long as the roots were insulated from the mulch.

Thank you Scott. I copied your list for future reference after reading it. Your studious and passionate observations are useful and interesting as always. I think it should be mentioned to others, tempted to use this as a guideline, that it takes at least ten years of cropping to really get a handle on the quality of any given variety- it is amazing how much variation there is year to year. And that variation gives you a clue about how much any given variety can vary region to region. Also a tree has to be in full production to accurately asses the fruit. A couple of fruit with lots of leaves may not be a realistic representation. There is also the obvious fact that taste evaluations are extremely subjective Please don't take these comments as a criticism of your evaluations, which I value highly. I only offer them to suggest to others to choose varieties to grow based on a wide range of information. The best information may be available by sampling a wide range of apples at a nearby farmers market to find apples that are bound to be relatively easy to grow. In my experience unusual apples often turn out to be unusual because they do not crop reliably or are otherwise unproductive or difficult to grow. For a beginner I think it's best to start with reliable varieties and then literally branch out. I have found Kidd's to be pretty easy to grow also, although it tends to be biennial for me. This may be due to tardy thinning, however. For me, in southeastern NY, most of the Russets seem very prone to bug and wasp damage with Roxbury being an exception. Roxbury is also extremely and reliably annually productive. Another exception is Ashmeads Kernel (alhtough not so productive but a best of best apple). Neither of these is fully russeted, however. I'd like to get some Pomme Gris wood from you. Have to see if it isn't easier for me than the likes of Golden Russet and Hudson's Golden Gem- two wonderful but difficult to grow apples for me. By the time they are ripe they tend to be either full of bird and wasp holes or bug bumps and dimples. After all the late frost, squirrel, bird and wasp problems I only have Goldrush, Jonathon, and Roxbury in storage this year. Worst season in memory and good riddance to it!

I think the only way that you are going to get a true, authentic plumeria scent is to get frangipani absolute(no, its not vodka). An absolute is a solvent extracted, aromatic material like an essential oil. Solvents are used with many delicate flowers, like tuberose, jasmine, etc. because the high heat from the steam distillation commonly used to create essential oils destroys the aromatic molecules in the blossoms. There are also by-products of the absolute making process called concrete(a waxy fragrant substance that is produced after the flowers are washed in the solvent) and a floral wax(what is left over when the absolute is separated from the concrete). I have some frangipani absolute extracted from plumeria alba and I love it. It takes me to Hawaii everytime I smell it. It ain't cheap though, as most things derived from natural products seem to be, but absolutes are usually very pricey anyway. However, its the real deal(and the concrete and the wax are much cheaper). I got mine from a company called Liberty Natural(www.libertynatural.com). It is also available from a company called White Lotus Aromatics(but they require a $100 minimum order, Liberty requires a $50 minimum order). There is another company called Samara Botane(www.wingedseed.com) that also has it. She carries both an absolute made from P. alba, and P. Obtusa, which I am really interested in getting, because I loved the smell of the blossoms when I was in Hawaii. I tried making a Plumeria perfume, not only did I used the frangipani absolute, but I used other oils and essences that I thought would compliment the main frangipani scent(called a soliflore-a single flowered scent-by the perfume industry). It was ok, I think I should have used more frangipani absolute, it was too faint(the absolute has a delicate scent in the first place). I should make another batch and tweak the formula. If you decide to get some, I have to tell you that you should dilute it in something. I used perfumers alcohol(which I got from Snowdrift Farms-www.snowdriftfarms.com)but you can also use it in oil, jojoba works best, although I've also mixed it into some virgin coconut oil(which smells like coconuts)and that smelled very interesting. The absolute is thick, sticky/waxy and semi-solid. I havent gotten any of the concrete or the floral wax, although I'd like to, but they can also be used for perfume, both liquid and solid(creme perfumes). The scent has that delicate, sweet, tropical floral scent of the blossoms, but with a touch of green, leafiness and a touch of spice. It blends well with ylang ylang, palmarosa, rose, rosewood, sandalwood, neroli, orange blossom, galbanum, champaka, vanilla, benzoin, balsam tolu and peru, jasmine, and most citrus oils. If you are interested in the art of perfumery, especially with natural substances, a really good book that I highly reccomend is Essence and Alchemy by Mandy Aftel. Even if you arent interested in making any perfume yourself, the book is a really fascinating, informative read on perfumes and their history, and the natural materials used to make it. Ms. Aftel is the "godmother" of the natural perfumery movement, a movement concerned with going back to using natural aromatic materials for perfumes.

Nelson/bach and Aura Cacia both make essential oils that I LOVE...and I have noticed that natural scents are much less likely to freak out the sensitive (mints and the heavy florals like rose and jasmin seem to be exceptions- some people are specifically allergic to roses, and nothing else, it seems) Hove perfumier in New Orleans also makes wonderful blends and single-note fragrances that come both in cologne form and in a solid (beeswax and jojoba) that lasts FOREVER on my skin.