These temps are just nuts. Gets back to almost 70 again here and then it'll be 19 for a low on Wed. Roller coaster ride.
At least we got some good rain out of that recent storm... how'd the rest of you fare?
Cold, Warm, and then Cold again
We had a total of about 6 inches of rain in the past 10 days, which is more than we had all summer! So - can't complain. But I will, because I hate this up and down stuff.
My Clematis are putting out new growth and they're also calling for 20 or below here tomorrow night - this after highs in the mid 70s last week. Oh well. Just have to burn the lights and covers what I can. Hope for the best.
Maybe this'll be it and we won't have a nasty Easter surprise freeze like last year!
Deb
4 nights in the 20's!!!! Eeeek! I sure hope my greenhouse heating system can take it, and it looks like I'll be dragging in the containered azaelas and sweetpeas for a few days.
I got more kerosene for my kerosene heater today .. I like to use that to heat the house when it's really cold because it's cheaper in the long run than running the central heat and it warms up the house to really toasty warm.
This really big freeze is coming at the right time since I'll be starting my seeds this coming weekend.
X
Yikes, it is even supposed to be 30ish here. This will be the grand experiment for the tropicals in the ground; we'll soon see if they can take it. Most of those in pots will have to come into the house. I have a newly planted Raja Puri banana that may get some special treatment. Christmas lights maybe??? Let the games begin.........
Yep, got a lot of rain here - was nice not to have to water my plants for a change!! And now the freezes coming in.... Oh, well, it's been pretty mild so far.
With the cold coming and limited GH space, I had to make some Live or Die" decisions.
I have several Chinese Lantern hibiscus, so the ones in the hanging baskets aren't going to get a place in the GH. Same with the bigger Tibouchina grandiflora. I have a smaller one along with a cutting.
This darlin', Thunderhead, definately will have a space though!
I do need to fill in gaps along the base of my GH; lots of cold air entering thrue gaps in the concrete blocks it's sitting on.
Barb
My GH, which is 5 shelves with plastic covering, some hot water bottles, and a string of C9 lights, is full and so is my garage.
Everything else is on its own! LOL.
OK, I'll toss a sheet over the alpinias and light up the little Queen Palm.
Finger crossed.
Deb
Aaauuurrrggghhh. Did you read it's going to be windy, too, so with the wind chill it will feel like the low teens?????? Anybody want to place a bet that one of my goats will take this opportunity to kid? One is bagged up and ready to pop. Why give birth when the weather is lovely and sunny and in the 70s? Noooooooooooooooo, let's wait 'til it's miserable cold.
Grumble, grumble.
Jenny
Jenny: LOL. Well, if it happens, it will make a better story afterward. (bright side?)
I put a box fan in my gh on the bench set on low and have it on a timer. It goes on at 10pm and stays on til 10 am. The heater has a thermostat and when it gets below 40 it kicks in. Combined with the box fan, I have noticed that the heating system doesn't stay on as long and it stays warmer in the gh longer with the air circulation.
X
That makes sense X; I've been told the wind keeps the frost from settling and don't the citrus growers in FL smudge pots to warm the air and fans to circulate it?
As a former Floridian, that's what gave me the idea!
X
It is very windy up here today - don't know if it's reached you guys or not yet, but if not, it's on it's way. ;)
Windy here too .. was outside watching the rest of the leaves fall from the trees.
X
X, I might have to try that in the garage as an experiment... the air circulation may help my cause as well. I only have one side to worry about (the garage door) but the cold air seeps in really bad... I have to keep the heater on constantly when it's in the 30's or lower. Course I'm also trying to maintain 55-60 F at a min.
Can't hurt! .. another advantage I've discovered is no mold or mildew! Usually by this time of year I'm scraping it off the soil.
X
quote:/That makes sense X; I've been told the wind keeps the frost from settling and don't the citrus growers in FL smudge pots to warm the air and fans to circulate it? quote:/
The smudge pot sare actually for putting off a lot of smoke and aren't used much any more. I did some reasearch and what they used in the pots was the dirtiest oil they could find like used mottor oil. Idea being the thick smoke stops frost from forming. Enviromental reasons have stopped the use of smudge pots at least on a large scale. I might try X-mas lights on my citrus trees.
Can't remember how to use the quote thing. (quote:/) Test (quote:/)
So we ate oranges with yucky sludge on them???/ Ewwwwwww
Yes apparently so.
Well the greenhouse is cooking along beautifully! .. nothing was burnt .. even leaves that were touching the walls .. the lowest it got in there was 37.5 degrees.
How did everyone else fare?
X
The Big Chill has returned to Beaufort. We got down to about 36 but we are supposed to be 10 degrees colder tonight and tomorrow night. Brrrrrrrr
24 at 8 this am, with a 20mph wind. My little Lhasa was shivering when she came in from going potty, so I'm gonna have to pull out one of her sweaters. Don't get to use those much down here! lol
I think we got to around 25 in Lexington... the wind chill made it horrible, in the teens or lower. Temps in my GH/garage only got into the low 60's, but with the high's only in the 40's today... definitely going to need the heaters on high tonight and tomorrow. They're calling for 18 in Columbia tomorrow, which probably means 14 or so for us (it's amazing how much colder it gets in our area - must be a lake microclimate).
The wind is what makes it unbearable... brrr
It was 32F exactly on my back porch at 630am, so not as bad as I'd feared here. "Greenhouse" got to 40, which means the temp sensor must be too close to the warming lights! LOL. Tonight will be the real test, tho. And I agree with Keonikale -- that wind ! Hate it.
Deb
It's kind of awesome to watch it though, I have very tall pine trees in the backyard that go from 1 end of the block to the other .. with some gusts you could see the trees start to move at one end and travel up the block .
X
It's like the Wave, LOL
That'd be cool to watch... as long as no ice is involved. Usually that doesn't end well. Orangeburg a few years ago anyone?
i remember that we got out of school in lexington for like about 4 days! so much fun
Man, I am learning quickly how leaky a garage is, LOL. I can feel cold air coming in all over the place. I've been patching with plastic, and anything else I can stuff in crevices all night. Still maintaining 66F near the door of the house and 63F over by the garage door (which isn't even half as drafty as the wall backing the crawl space - I think that's been my culprit).
So I can't complain... just hope it warms back up soon. Cold pavement doesn't help roots either. Hope the rest of you make it through the next two nights OK. Stay warm.
66 sounds toasty; we have been having trouble keeping our house that warm. Heat pumps are not very effective in weather like this.
Greenhouse still doing ok .. it's 37.7 degrees in there right now.
X
Didn't seem to get quite as cold last night as I expected (maybe the low 20's), but it was still very chilly. Today and tonight are what worry me, with a High of only 41 and a low in the mid-teens.
What do you all use to heat your space? My electric heater seems to do alright in this really cold weather at the higher setting, but it eats electricity (as if the halides aren't doing enough of that already). I know there are a few gas burner options, I just don't know much about them or how safe they'd be in a garage setting. I just am starting to think during these real cold spells I could heat better with a burner of some sort.
I use a milk house forced fan heater with a portable thermostat.
http://www.kkontrols.com/
What's nice about this thermostat is that it can take high humidity.
X
Got down to 23 here last night and down to 29 in the greenhouse, WITH a heater. Time to look for the leaks. I know where most are - the greenhouse is sitting on concrete blocks that have gaps between them. I used foam gap filler to fill them in. Tomorrow morning I'll know how good of a job I did; it's supposed to get in the teens tonight. Never knew they allowed so much cold air to come in. I do now!
All of the tropical hibiscus I have in the ground are VERY upset. And my majesty palm that's in a pot should have been fine where it was last night, but it got blown over, with the fronds sticking out thru a gap in the fence, so the they were fully exposed to the Northern winds. They'll recover, but I'll have to cut some back. It IS inside tonight!
My The President and Erin Rachel hibiscus (both inside) are blooming. I'm sure they're showing off to those freezing they're leaves off outside...
Barb
Hi Barb .. you sound like a good candidate for passive solar heating .. start saving 2 ltr soda bottles, tear off the label, pain them black and fill them with water and put them in the greenhouse on their sides .. in the day time they collect heat and release it at night. For tender plants like the hibiscus you can sit them on top of them.
X
I'll second the heat pump doesn't work well at these temps. Once it hits about 40 a heat pump is a bad way to heat a house. Heat pumps work great for around here but their one flaw is when the temps go real low or at least real low for us.
Well, this is actually in a weird way encouraging. When into the GH yesterday morning it was 40 degrees (later than usual, about 7:30am thermostat on the heater @ 70), and the entire GH was covered in ice, inside and out. Plants seem ok so far, but obviously I can't expect growth anytime soon. I insulated more of the GH (not much left to cover!) yesterday...I'm almost scared to go out this morning...
Let's just hope this was the worst we will have to deal with this year. Most of my tropical hibiscus in the ground took a big hit also. They just had too much tender growth on them for that sudden drop in temps.
At 8 am as you can see how cold it was on my back porch. GH was exactly 33F (C9 lights and water bottles). Fatsias look very limp. Even the Car. Jessamine looks weak now. Miraculously, my Queen Palm seems un-singed....so far. If we have a fourth night of this, I don't know....
Deb
Wow Deb .. it was a few degrees colder for me this morning when I got up.
I'm happy to report that everything in the greenhouse survived with no damage. I noticed last night that my heating system in the gh kick in about 9pm. I dread seeing this months electric bill since my heat for the gh is a space heater.
X