Posted on 02/28/2014 12:35:18 PM PST by greeneyes
So, I went out there with the three blankets and mounds of row cover and covered everything sitting out in pots - strawberries, several different kinds of onions, 5 kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers already out there, Mr. Stevia, three containers of blackberries, three containers of potatoes.
I took the small pots out of the greenhouse and put them on a metal chair and covered them with gobs of row cover.
Forgetting the money, I have put too much effort in doing this right to let weather take it away.
All the flowers and herbs and Stevia I bought yesterday are still in the house so they are safe. The rest of the garden seeds are under the grow lamp inside so they are okay.
Oh, yes, the orange tree - the tag says it is okay down to 32 degrees. Well, it has buds all over it ready to bloom so I dragged it across the deck and put it under the covered deck with an outdoor standup fan behind it and the fan is taller than the tree and put a blanket over the fan so it covers the tree without pressure being on top of the tree. It is covered well.
rightly, that orange tree is in a large, tall, black pot with three and a half gallons of soil in there and it's too heavy for me, so I'm going to put it on your dolly you made for me so I can move it around without shaking it. It's heavier than the T squash barrel is.
AND IT’S STILL RAINING. It’s not pouring but there are plenty of drops coming down. It may rain all night - 70% chance it rains all night.
We have only seen just a few minutes of very fine mist in the air, no real rain. According to the radar, there is some rain west of here coming at us. Wife just went out and covered some large containers and filled bird feeders. We are set for the night.
Where are you letting your bread rise? I sometimes find ramping up the humidity helps. Also, are you using the amount of sugar called for in the recipe?
/johnny
Sit down, and drink a nice amaretto..I just froze my rear off moving the “portable” plants inside, and covering stuff with plankets. The dumb greenhouse vent opener had the window open, and it was 42 degrees in there..
I am ready to put on some pajamas or sweats, and drink some hot cocoa with Mozart Chocolate Liqueur or Dark Rum in it..
“We have only seen just a few minutes of very fine mist in the air, no real rain.”
I had on a terry cloth robe when I went out to cover everything so the robe soaked up what rain hit me. I really didn’t care, had to get the cover on everything. I had also just washed my hair so it was wet to begin with.
I haven’t looked at radar, just going by reports a Houston TV station sends to my computer ever few hours.
“We are set for the night.”
I think I’ll make a cup of coffee - it is now 52 degrees in my garden. I’m not going out anymore, either, today.
Drinking coffee right now, amaretto will be later. A blast of wind came through about 10 minutes ago- that must be the arrival of something.
It’s now 48 degrees in garden - gone down from 52 fast - after the wind came through.
We went from 69 to 29 right now...Supposed to get into the lower 20’s. When that thing first blew in, the windows were rattling from it.
I went to Home Depot this afternoon. They’d closed the garden center, were putting frost blankets on the stuff outside, and moving some things like the bougenvillas inside.
I wanted to buy some Little Gems lettuce, er I mean artisanal lettuce, but, the mini heads of leaf lettuce take 75 days from planting to harvest..It will be getting pretty hot here in 75 days.
/johnny
“They are saying 13F for a low tonight.”
If I had a 13 with all the plants I have outside, I’d fire up my outdoor fireplace and sit out there all night putting warmth in the garden/deck. I’ve got wood for the fireplace, the legs sit on bricks on the deck and I’d do it.
/johnny
Spastic....I could not think of a word to describe irregular water dominated by extreme drought stress yet interrupted by a once per month flood condition between irrigation that is a tease at best
I start my peppers and eggplant about 8 weeks before last frost date. I start my tomatoes about 6 weeks before last frost date. The peppers grow so very slow and the tomatoes grow very fast. I direct seed most everything else.
S-h- -t, I had to go back out there. Although the high walls protect it from wind, this wind blowing now blew the heavy row cover off one of the big tomato containers. I had a very light weight cover that barely touched the plants, then the heavy cover was resting on part of the plastic ladder on the back of container so it wouldn’t hit the plants. Wind got under it and rolled it back. I had to fix that, if it gets to 30 the tomatoes will freeze and it will be ice as it is most definitely raining.
Got terry robe wet, got socks wet, but got the heavy cover back where it belonged and put a package of something with a little weight to it on top of the cover to hold it down.
That robe is now hanging up to dry, have on another robe and another pair of socks. Should have put on plastic gardening shoes before I went out instead of keeping on house shoes.
Now, I’ve got a glass of amaretto and in 40 minutes will watch Walking Dead.
You must be in terrible condition with a temp so low and this high wind. Sit on top of the electric heater and don’t burn the piano.
It’s 41 now.
“Funny, I was just wondering if I could burn the 100+ year old baby grand piano in the gas oven....”
You are talking about outside so the plants won’t freeze, right? Is it raining there? I think what you have in the cold frame will freeze.
For the sugar, I’ve followed the recipe from memory, I’ve followed the recipe from the book, I’ve followed the recipe from a different book, and another book, and another book, and another . . . and I’ve tried it with no sugar whatsoever. Like I said, this has been going on a while.
For rising, I’ve had it rising in the kitchen, I’ve had it rising in my bedroom (which is warmer than the rest of the house), and I’ve had it rising on a sunny porch in May. I’ve had it rising in 2 different bread machines!
All with the same result. It tastes great, but gives your jaw a workout. Which is nice if you’re dipping it in soup, but sometimes I just want a sandwich.
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