Jeeze .. it just about went from Summer to Winter here in Summerville .. we had maybe 2 weeks of Fall then boom! The cold weather moved in. I was just looking at the 10 day .. I guess I'm going to be rearranging and filling up the greenhouse and taking brug cuttings to root this weekend. The plumerias outside are giving me baleful looks.
Frankly, I've had enough Winter .. I'm ready for Spring!
X
This message was edited Oct 23, 2008 1:26 PM
Here at the coast above you also. No fall just hot then cold. No frost here yet tho.
Lavina
When the electric bill came this past week I checked the analysis and determined that last month we only 2 days above 80 as opposed to 10 for the same month last year and and even more days below 80 than the same month last year. I can't wait to see the analysis for this month. No question it is colder than usual.
Then again it is wetter too. We had 6" in 12 hours yesterday; things are a bit soggy here. Thankfully it is too cold for the mosquitoes.
I need to go check my rain gauge .. I had 2 inches of standing water in my driveway! for awhile last night .. worried sick that it would start coming into the house, because my garage has been converted into another room. Luckily everything is dry.
X
Just checked my rain gauge. WOW almost 2.5 inches!
X
Our AC was on most of the day yesterday.
Lavina
LOL,come on down to zone 9 where our heat is running in the mornings. We are having really weird weather. Newspaper said Charleston got 8 1/2" of rain the other day. The tide was high so the storm drains could not drain into the harbor. It was a mess.
Crazy indeed .. I've been outside all day trying to fit everything into the greenhouse. I'm not sure I can do it.
X
X, did you see there's a freeze watch tonight???
Unfortunately yes. My greenhouse is so stuffed I was very hard pressed to make enough room for the heating system to run without crisping things. What couldn't fit in the gh is in the utility room and the overflow from that is in the guest room with the door closed to keep my kittys from nibbling and digging. I spent the evening with a flashlight taking brug cuttings and trying to find room for the bubbler in the greenhouse.
A third of what's in the greenhouse shouldn't be there. I thought I'd have time to get stuff in the ground. Hopefully it will warm up next week so I can get the bed for the gingers, canna and crinums ready for planting before another really big freeze and clear out some of the stuff in the gh.
Grrrrrrrrrr & Brrrrrrrrrr - I shouldn't have to be setting my electric blanket on Thermo Nuclear Explosion at the end of October .. This is ridiculous!
X
Well I'm happy to report we didn't have a frost or freeze in my backyard. My brugs show no damage.
How did you do Deb?
No frost yet. HUM
Lavina
We hit freezing last night in Lexington, and had frost over most of the front yard (just the grass mostly, though it did hit my Gigantea EE too). Bananas that were left in the ground still look OK - I think it was barely freezing.
Good test for the heating of the GH though. I was able to keep it as a steady 43-45F all night on the lowest heat setting (600W). So that's a good sign since we typically have our coldest night at around 16F, and I have two higher settings to use.
Fan idea, I forget who's it was - I think that really helps in the GH and garage both. The garage has typically been up to 30-40F warmer than outside.
What kind of heater do you have in the grewen house?
My GH was just finished today. Its 12 x 12 but no heat yet.
Lavina
Apparently, it got down to 33 at our house last night. No freeze, but a touch of frost - very light. Whew!
We had lots of frost. Dont know the damage yet, since I had to leave for work very early. I am worried. We are to get frost tonight too.
Calling for a freeze again tonight, 31 is what NOAA says so that probably means about 29 for me in between Lexington and Gilbert.
Lavina, I use an oil based radiator. It has a 600,900, and 1500W setting. The higher two heat even a large room in my house (we use one upstairs) - but they are excellent at maintaining the temperature. Much better than a space heater anyway, which runs at 1200-1500 watts for hours on end. I control the radiator with an external thermostat and use a fan to blow the heat into both sides of the GH (the radiator sits in front of the fan and the heat radiates up out of the unit). Lowe's has been selling them for about $34.
I think the fan idea was mine. It really makes a big difference and seems to keep away cold spots.
Here is my setup:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4347757
Here is a link for the portable thermostat:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4356012
And here is the whole thread if you want to read thru it .. lots of good info:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/801134/
X
Yep that's it. Thanks X. I bought two of those thermostats as well - one is on the radiator, the other on a string of lights for the largest banana I didn't dig up. Thanks again for the suggestions. I highly recommend these to others.
I just wish radio shack hadn't quit making the wireless thermo/hygrometer. It's saved my plants in the gh during the summer more times than I can count because of the alarm you can set for certain temperatures.
X
I'm hoping to get one of those with the alarm for my birthday next month. I have several wireless thermometers now that help me monitor the temp on both ends of the GH (furthest from the radiator), but no alarms on any of them. We unzip the GH during the day since we're both at work, but it's the cold I'm really worried about. If we lost power or the breaker tripped, I'd never know. I have a small nightlight that comes on out there so I can look and see if the heater is on, but if I'm asleep - I'd be out of luck. My GH's are typically only 2-3 degrees warmer than outside temps when no internal heat is on. So if I had one that sounded the alarm at 35F or so, I'd know I need to get up and take action quick. I kept getting up last night to check it - hopefully once I have the alarm I can rest easier. The GH's admittingly make me nervous.
This one is pretty close to what I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Scientific-Wireless-Multi-Channel-Thermometer/dp/B00005NN9D/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_t/178-2089907-5634306
Mine will sound an alarm for humidity too if you set it and keeps track of highs and lows of both temp and humidity.
X
I might add that to my wish list, thanks. Here's what I have now, it also tracks the high and low, which is a neat feature - I am keeping a log.
http://www.weatherconnection.com/product.asp?itmky=209118&s=froogle
I have been happy with them, minus the alarm. Lowe's has them on clearance right now too.
