17 January 2017

A big chill

This morning the temperature is about 2ºC below freezing — that's about +28ºF. This is the coldest morning we've had since January 7, and it's the first time since that date that we've been below freezing.


I went to check the greenhouse when I got up at 6 a.m. It was +3ºC in there. Not too bad, I think. The geraniums, jade plants, and other green things in there look okay at this point.


Even so, I set up an electric radiator in the doorway to provide the plants with a little more warmth. We've had this convection heater for a dozen years, but we've  hardly ever needed to use it. I think I paid 15 euros for it way back when.

Half an hour after I turned the radiator on, the temperature in the green house had gone up by a whole degree C. In other words, it's getting close to +40ºF in there.


It's supposed to get colder and colder until at least the end of the week, so in addition to keeping the door between the (unheated) utility room open all the time, I'll turn the electric heater on low to make sure the plants don't freeze.

8 comments:

  1. And, how is the new boiler working this year, for the rest of the house?

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  2. for the first time I am trying to over-winter some geraniums...put them upstairs in the house, which we dont heat but gets heat rising up from first floor.....still, not too confident.....not sure whether to severely cut down on watering, like some say, or not

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  3. I was told to "keep the air moving " ... a small fan will do. That is what the great huge greenhouses do .. fans up high near the ceilings ..As long as they are closed in, the frost won't actually get on them but the cold can shrivel them. My geraniums turned to mush one year in our little greenhouse room at the back of our house in NY but that was some cold winter.
    good luck ..

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    1. Also, if you wrap or drape a plastic bag or just plastic over/around them, that will help get them through the night.

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  4. Those little radiators are nifty. I hope everything stays warm enough to survive.

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  5. Maybe I'm reading the numbers wrong, but isn't 2 C equal to 28 F? Right now it reads in your post as -28 F. Which is extremely cold, like Alaska, lol. Your plants look to be faring pretty well in the attractive new greenhouse.

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    1. Yes, you're Right D. Minus 28°F would be -33°C and that IS cold.:—) The minus sign was in the wrong place!

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    2. Oops, you are right. That was supposed to read +28°F and is now corrected. Stuff happens — this morning, writing my post, every time I typed +, an unexpected and unwanted popup appeared on my screen. I think I might have a virus that is affecting Blogger.

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