MORE PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER

We had our third freeze of the winter earlier this week. It came with a howling cold wind. As the wind blew it froze the water on the bird bath into a raised solid lump of ice on the right hand side.

With little moisture in the air there was just a light dusting on the plants.



It was enough the kill off more flowering annuals. Those that had survived the last frost, being in a more favored location.

This year, thanks to reading about this little gadget on Ally's blog, I am hoping that I will be able to keep a better handle on the temperature in the greenhouse. Ally has a very sophisticated set up in her green house. I am just happy to have the greenhouse as a winter house and place to start seeds in the spring. It then spends the rest of the summer empty.

I have never been happy with the way this heater switches on and off. It would still be blasting away when the temperature in the greenhouse was like a summer's day. Hopefully the thermo cube will keep it in check. It is purported to turn the power on when the temperature gets to 35 F  and off again when it reaches 45 F. We shall see.

The second method of keeping things warm in there is passive solar. I collect all the wine bottles and milk bottle and fill them up with water. They give back their heat during the night. Wine bottles are the best as the water gets quite warm in there.

A few succulents are in the house, probably for the winter. They are positioned here and there in south facing areas. This little succulent, which I purchased two years ago in California seems to prefer this indoor climate. Outside all summer it just wasn't happy. With few blooms left in the garden I am delighted to see it blooming.