Ice hits again

We got hit again yesterday, this time freezing thunder-rain. Areas east were worse. After the ice storm of January, 2007 cleared things out, there weren't many tree limbs falling on electric lines. Fortunately, this time we did not loose power. This shot is looking at the greenhouse over a poor Chinese witch-hazel in full bloom (H. mollis). There was about 1/2" of ice buildup on the greenhouse (after some melting from below). The ice was in sheets making it easy to knock off with a long pool-pole. You can still see the remains of ice on the top.

The follow-up is a close-up of the witch-hazel blooms encapsulated in ice, about an inch thick.

Dave.

The witch-hazel

That's heading my way today but with snow mixed into it :-(
This will be our third ice storm in less than 2 weeks.

MollyD

Wow. Two bad storms in two consecutive years. We missed most of this one. Hope everyone and all the plants are OK.

Dave it look like you got it worst than we did out here had between 3/8 & 1/2 inch of sleet and ice power never flickered but that makes our third round of ice since Dec.
none real bad but I getting tired of it

Dave,

Hope all is well. Nice picture of the ice. Pretty to look at, but can cause so much damage.

I am stuck here in IL. :( Of all the stupid times to have to be here. We have had cold, then snow, then cold, then snow...... Warmed up today to 22 degrees, it has been going down to 8-10 below at night.

We have had what the city calls, "22 snow events" this year. Still a lot of winter to go. Most towns around here are out of salt and are spreading sand.

Teresa is keeping up with the GH for me best she can. Have lost a few things, not sure why, too much or not enough of whatever. I had one passion fruit that stayed on the vine forever, but fell off while Teresa came up to spend a weekend with me. I had her save it for me and I will see if I can germinate the seeds.

I had pruned a Pumeria before I left and it was just a stick in the soil. Teresa tell me it now has an info on it. Hmmm, no leaves but an inflo, that does not sound good to me, but maybe it will be ok.

Can't wait to get back down and see how things are. I have missed all the things I wanted to start from seed this year. Oh well, always next year.

So far no power problems or mechanical failures. RO system is working well.

Hopeing to be able to head back around the end of this month, or maybe first week in March. If time I will stop and see who I can on my way back south. Need to catch up on things.

Take care and good luck with the ice.

Have not had much to say here, just lurking, but do keep up with all the topics. So this is my official "HI" to everyone. :-)
Nautical

we got hit here in NE Ohio as well, not as bad as yours, but fortunately I haven't got my greenhouse built yet, that is my biggest worry here besides the wind, the ice!
~Laurrie

If you own a greenhouse and you want to sleep well at night you have to have plenty of backup options. First and foremost is an alarm system that can alert you even when you're not at home. Today there are many systems available to alert you by cell phone in the event of either a power failure or low-termperature. Second is a backup heating/ventilating system. This can be either stand-alone space heaters or electric generators, preferably both, since your furnace can also fail. Stand-alone (kerosene or other similar fuel) heaters are the ultimate backup. Just make sure you have fresh fuel and good wicks in the heaters. Also make sure you test everything in the fall before it gets cold.

Lets not forget about Summer, when a ventilation failure can be devasting. A simple fan-belt failure on your exhaust fan on a hot day can do as much damage as a hard freeze.

Praying for a quick Spring...
Dave.

The local newpaper said yesterday it is only 36 days til spring. YEAH!!! It is about 60 days until the last frost though. There is hope we'll get through this winter yet. Did I say I hate winter.

I know what you are saying, frost can be a killer whether it's spring or fall, so our growing days are sure limited!

Dave, I like the alarm idea, any links or suggestions where to start looking into something like that?

I have two alarms. the first is a Oregon Scientific model BAR122 temperature station with remote sensors. I have it set to alarm at less than 45 degrees, more than 104 degrees, and less than 20 percent humidity. Here's a thread about these type systems. Of course this one is only useful if you're at home when things go bad.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/678184/

The second is a discontinued Honeywell unit that calls both me and my wife's cell phones if the power fails or the temperature in the GH gets lower than 41 degrees. Here's the original thread...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/694311/

Dave.

Thank you Dave for that info!!

I would LOVE to have an alarm system in my GH's, but all of the ones I've seen don't have the range I need (about 800') from sensor to receiver. Anybody know of any systems that cover longer distances? The closest I've found is an Accu-rite with a relay station placed midway between GH and the receiver station, but it was only good for 600'... I'd need a 1000' range for a 25% margin of error. Any suggestions would be most appreciated (I can't hardwire a system without tearing up sprinkler system plumbing/wiring, invisible dog fencing, and telephone wires).

Stono, This is the unit that I am using. http://www.ambientweather.com/61wivaprowif.html

Hmmm, the entire link does not post. You have to add: 61wivaprowif.html after the ambient.com/

They advertise up to 1,000' line of site, with up to 1.7 miles using wireless solar powered repeaters. I am NOT using the repeater and can't attest if they live up to their claim or not. The unit itself has worked great for me. My main unit is only 40-50' away from the reciever, and transmits through about 4 walls. The second transmitter is in the GH and is probably over 100' away, and transmits through 6 or 7 walls. That is using line of site, and I don't know enough about radio waves to know if the walls make that much difference.

You can see the results here.
http://www.skipsweather.com/wx.htm
Select "Local Graphs and Guages" from my weather page to navigate to the data that is supplied by the station.

I get e-mail and cell phone alerts if temp gets too high or low. I also get alert if humidity drops below 30%. Therse parameters are all user defianable.

HTH.

Nautical

Thanks for all the info on the alarm system! Will have to look into it - next year. Your ice storm just reached us this morning Dave. Not as bad as yours, but there's a good coating of it building up on everything! Just hoping it doesn't effect our power here.