Posted on 12/30/2011 8:33:35 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
We have a couple of generators that we use from time to time around the farm, but have never used them for the house. Surprisingly, I can only remember the power going out twice in the past 10 years. The last time was a year or two ago when a squirrel made a wrong move on the lines. I gave him a proper burial and the power was restored in less than an hour. You would think with the tornados and tropical weather we get every year that our grid would be less stable, but I just realized that our power company does a darn good job.
We can run anything electrical over at the equipment shed. They installed a breaker box and come outlets over there as part of the job, but it is not directly off the cells. Everything the cells produce goes through inverters and into our main electric wiring.
I hear ya. At my local feed store, $100 could plant enough for a small town to eat. She charges $0.60 for a good-sized scoop of seeds (equal to several packets). She only charges $3.50/lb. for most of her pea, bean, turnip, etc. seed.
Some of these catalogs I have want $5-10 for a packet of 20 seeds.
Last year I paid $240 for a 25 lb. bag of sweet corn seed, but a 50 lb. bag of purple hull pea seed was only $85. I order these things through our farm seed distributor and put any leftovers in a freezer.
I’m making sure I’ve got enough back for a few years in case SHTF. Can’t believe how seeds have gone up the last decade or so. All my old bulk places have went out of business, though still got a couple with good deals. My other problem is the varieties I want always seem to be the most expensive. I’ve gotten better at saving seeds so I think I can keep it under $200 this year instead of the usual $3-500..
Thanks for the good info and links. I’ve been toying with the idea of solar power for the greenhouse and barn for quite some time. My idea is definitely small scale for the hydroponics. Our electrical co-op doesn’t allow for credit for power fed into the grid, so I don’t think I would bother to hook in.
One of my stepsons works at Lowes corporate, and he said that he thought they had solar units for sale in the stores these days. If not, it will be soon.
You really want to purchase quality cells though. A clue is the percentage of original power that they will be producing in 10, 15 and 20 years.
We are really looking at the solar system as a part of our plans for retirement. With tax incentives, we will recoup our cost on the system in 5 years. After that, we are eliminating $300 or more from our expenses each month. Who knows how much power will cost in 10 years. One thing is for sure ... it won't be any cheaper.
Texas Net Metering Order Net metering is ordered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas under Substantive Rules, Section 23.66(f)(4), which became effective in 1986. The order requires utilities to offer a net metering option to qualifying facilities of 50 kW or less, using renewable energy resources. Utilities will install a single meter for such customers and allow the meter to turn backward to register the net energy consumption or production by the customers. Net consumption is billed at the applicable tariff, and excess generation by the customers during a billing cycle is purchased by utilities at the avoided cost (fuel cost only, no capacity component). Texas initiated the net metering program 10 years ago to promote small wind power and PV markets in the state. There is no statewide limit on the number of customers or total capacity under the net metering program.Good info and links on net meteringRefer to Public Utility Commission of Texas Substantive Rules, Section 23.66(f)(4) and PUC Substantive Rule § 25.242(h)(4).
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/rules/subrules/electric/25.242/25.242.cfmContact: John McElroy, Jr.
Office of Public Utility Counsel
Phone: (512) 936-7518
E-Mail: mcelroy@opc.state.tx.us
South FL Garden UPDATE: OH NO MR BILL!
Hard freeze watch in effect from Tuesday evening through
Wednesday morning...
The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay area - Ruskin FL has
issued a hard freeze watch... which is in effect from Tuesday
evening through Wednesday morning.
* Temperature... low temperatures are expected to fall into the mid
to upper 20s across most the region with slightly warmer
temperatures along the coast. However... near freezing
temperatures will also be possible even along immediate coastal
locations. Around 7 to 9 hours of sub freezing temperatures are
expected.
* Impacts... sensitive vegetation will be susceptible to these
cold temperatures. Tender plants can be killed at these
temperatures if protective measures are not taken.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A hard freeze watch means sub-freezing temperatures are possible.
These conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation.
Thanks again! You are a wealth of good information!
Our 2012 Territorial Seed catalog showed up Saturday and all the seed catalog prices having me wondering if I couldn’t just buy the veggies at the local farmers markets as cheap as or cheaper when I consider all the inputs that go into the product.
You’re most welcome.
How are you going to get that home-grown taste if you don’t grow it??? Not to mention that deep sense of satisfaction that driving to the market doesn’t touch? OTOH, you could invest the extra cash in some old and musty grapes and not care about any of the foregoing. :^)
Sounds like it will get chilly!
It’s already getting chili, 38 tonight and 30 wed morning.. The garden will not like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdyMLQ35SJc
If it has been warm, the ground will keep the garden warm for a while. It took several frosts to kill mine off, especially the tomato area that I had landscape fabric covering the beds.
That’s true but... That’s money I could spend on eBay. and speaking of eBay I need a new American Flag for my 20 foot pole and we have a 3 X 5 now but we think the original was 4 X 6. Do you have any idea?
That page shows a price from BC Novelties, but if you look on the right-hand side of the page, you'll see More Buying Choices with a company called SoCal Flags listed. I usually buy my flags from the guy at SoCal Flags just because he has a good selection and treats me well. I fly 6 different flags and he carries all of them. I see that his current price is $11.95, vs. the $8.75 from the featured company. At $8.75, I'll take the chance and order 5 or so. I think I've bought from BC in the past. You can barely buy a cheap screen printed American flag for that price.
We bought our Alm pole from Costco several years ago. eBay has several flag dealers and most are shipping free and I can use PayPal. The American made flags are about twice as much as the imports but...
Judging by the nationwide weather radar maps I have never seen such a dearth of inclement across the U.S.. The northcoast rain is off by 25% for the water year and December was off about 60%. I started the cleanup of the perennial garden along the driveway yesterday and will continue today. We have had periods of cold weather and periods of warm weather and none of the usual wet winter storms. It is very unusual for this area.
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