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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 2, 2022 8:37:26 GMT -6
Well, we hit 80 degrees yesterday afternoon and woke up this morning to 24. Actually I woke up several times during the night because of the sound of the wind roaring over the house, but it seems calmer this morning. It’s sunny and clear here with an expected high in the 40’s. It looks to be an even colder night tonight.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 2, 2022 12:43:05 GMT -6
It was 12 degrees here this morning with a light dusting of powdery snow. This was the first morning of the season that I had to hand-carry water to the chickenhouse because their water bowl was frozen solid. It won't be long until I have to rig up another water warmer from a concrete block and an old lightbulb.
I spent yesterday afternoon building and stocking a new bird feeder. Glad I did. our first visitor this morning was a titmouse. It took a few hours for its buddies to follow suit, but by noon, there were several hungry birds visiting our new feeder.
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Post by john on Jan 3, 2022 7:53:55 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 3, 2022 8:32:20 GMT -6
That was a crazy temperature difference! I hope they keep that record low over on their side of the world.
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Post by rdback on Jan 3, 2022 11:00:08 GMT -6
Low last night was about 25F, but cold enough to drop 5-6" of snow. Sure is pretty, especially if you don't have to go out in it, lol. Tonight's forecast is 14F. I foresee a lot of slip-sliding around comin up. Hello 2022!
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jan 3, 2022 14:00:22 GMT -6
Well, it's now been cold enough, long enough, to nearly kill anything sensitive to sub-freezing Temps. - including my beefsteak tomato, okra and tropical milkweed.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 3, 2022 14:30:04 GMT -6
Dang cold weather. That's how I lost all of my muscadines last year.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2022 21:33:36 GMT -6
Mkay, had muh cold. Now I'm ready for spring.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 5, 2022 9:43:49 GMT -6
Our hard freeze at he beginning of the new year seems to have been too hard for most of my garden. We had been forecast for about 30 on Saturday night, though we often run above the forecast (not always). It dropped to 24, and it looks like those temperatures did in almost all my annuals. I’m sad because I had had some lovely brassicas that I was waiting to harvest until they had been touched by frost since that improves the flavor. Instead they got blasted by freeze and are turning to mush: kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage all appear gone. Even my rhubarb and artichoke look horrible, but I’m hoping that the central growing points were perhaps spared. I might salvage some Napa, and I didn’t remember to check under the dead peppers to see if they sheltered the sugar snap peas.
I have a couple of rhubarb and pea seedlings inside and am trying to decide whether to restart broccoli or cauliflower. I know I should do more kale, but I’m feeling discouraged after such a hot fall and such a devastating freeze. Thankfully my perennials don’t seem too hard hit, and I am grateful for that. Even if I can’t get a blueberry crop again this year, I’ll still have the plants for a future year.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 6, 2022 17:36:09 GMT -6
Bon, You crack me up! I was just thinking about the end of summer when we were all ready for some cold weather. Chrysanthemum, I hate to hear about your cool season crops getting pounded by the hard freeze. I think plants around here succumb to the shock of widely varying temperature swings more than if it was just plain old cold weather. Things that might not otherwise destroy them if they had been eased into it seem to be really hard on them during the fluctuations. I've had turnips live through the whole Winter before, after being frozen solid, but the same type of freeze will kill them if it has been near 70 in days prior to the cold snap. Our forecast is calling for temperatures in the low teens tonight. Currently, it is 23 degrees with a 20 mph North wind. I've lost two cover crops this season, due to 50 degree temperature swings over a 48 to 72 hour time period. I don't think they would have died if it had been steadily cold the entire time, otherwise my cover crop would not have survived our negative 15 degree cold spell last February. The cold burned the tops back some, but didn't destroy them like it did this year.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2022 23:34:23 GMT -6
I lost my Austrian peas after the freeze. I don't think it was the cold as much as the severe drought.
It's too dry for me to water. On a positive note, the wheat - the smaller grass - still looks good.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 9, 2022 11:46:46 GMT -6
A change for the better? Usually, a sundog means a change in weather. I saw a sundog night before last. However, sundogs are fleeting and by the time I walked from the garden all the way back to the house to get a camera, it was nearly gone. I still got a picture of it, but not as bright and intense as it was when I first saw it. The sundog can be seen as a dot of light in the space between the tallest tree and the right edge of the photo. It barely still has its rainbow effect. It was much more brilliant when I first saw it, but I didn't have my camera with me. The sun is all the way to the left of the frame.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 9, 2022 15:49:33 GMT -6
heavyhitterokra , I think you are exactly right about the extreme swing in the weather being the cause of so much loss. The fact that we had had very little cold this fall and winter was why I was worried about my bushes and trees like blueberries and citrus. I can tell that there was some burning, but they look like they came through pretty well considering what they experienced. Had I really anticipated a drop to 24, I would have broken out the frost cloth. As it is, I was surprised but very thankful that there wasn’t worse harm done (as far as I can tell so far). I think my artichoke may survive as well, so that’s extra good news. It’s a gorgeous day down here today, but this is the time of year I stay inside more than I would like to because of cedar pollen. I’m enjoying sunshine through the windows, though.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 9, 2022 19:28:41 GMT -6
I hear ya. I wasted my day today because of high winds. It was about 50 degrees and sunny as all get out, but the 25 to 30 mph winds made it kind of unpleasant to be outside.
Sunny days this time of year are few and far between, I hate it when I waste one that way.
Here, we are all on lockdown, because one of our household has covid. My youngest son and I were both sick with a stomach bug Tuesday and Wednesday, running a low-grade, 99-100 fever for both days. somewhere along the way with so many days in bed, I lost track of the days and thought it was Friday all day long yesterday. I didn't realize it was Saturday night until about 8:00 pm and nearly forgot to call anyone to tell them I wouldn't be at Church today to pass around the Communion elements. I also missed our seed saver's meeting.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, as I think we are all on the mend now. Our house is a wreck though, so tomorrow will have to be spent trying to catch up on cleaning, doing laundry, and washing dishes.
It does look like we are in for several wonderfully sunny days this coming week though, so it ought to be a bit more cheery around here than it was during last week's cold and cloudy days.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 10, 2022 8:12:38 GMT -6
It was 14 degrees here this morning at 7:00 am, but it's forecast to be a sunny day and 50 later on. The chickens and I are looking forward to 50. When I pour hot water in the chicken's water pot, it looks like I'm pouring hot lead, from all the steam and sputtering on top of the ice.
Free-Full-body Cryotherapy anyone?
At least the days lately have been getting warm enough to melt the ice later in the day. Last year, I'd have to dump the ice out every day in order to add more fresh water. There were enough little ice blocks laying around out near the chicken house to build a small igloo. When it snowed, those hidden ice blocks proved to be toe-stumpers and ankle-busters. This year, I'll be more careful about where I throw them.
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