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Thursday, December 30, 2010

oh so cold...

We're heading back into a deep freeze here in northern Wyoming.  Single digits will be the HIGH today.  Can you say, BURRRR????

And tonight is supposed to get really cold... double digits below zero!  Yikes!!!



URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
338 AM MST THU DEC 30 2010

.A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LIGHT TO
MODERATE SNOWFALL ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. WHILE THE HEAVIEST SNOW
HAS ALREADY FALLEN ACROSS THE AREA...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF
2 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED TODAY INTO TONIGHT ALONG WITH SOME
AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. WITH TEMPERATURES MAINLY IN
THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR HIGHS TODAY EXPECT EVEN A MODEST WIND TO
PRODUCE WIND CHILL VALUES WELL BELOW ZERO.
My little hoop house experiment continues despite the cold! 
HOOP HOUSE Temperature this morning just before 7AM... 39.7 degrees F.
OUTSIDE Temperature... 7 degrees!
I have beautiful living, thriving greens including beet greens, arugula, spinach, swiss chard... and the broccoli seeds that I sprinkled in the soil months ago have sprouted!
I swapped out the shop light for a warming lamp in my hoop house the other day and even though it's a blustery 7 degrees F outside... inside my hoop house is a cozy 39.7!
Tonight it will be really frigid with double digits below freezing... so I'll add an extra layer of covering on the inside of the hoop house over my plants taking extra care to cover the plants on the outer edges.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Toni!
    Glad to see you're still keeping it going--though you're better at braving the cold than me. We've lost a ton of snow over the past week, but I still can't get my garden gate open. Maybe THAT'S why I let the cold frame go.........
    Nah. Just lazy!!
    Stay warm!
    Sue

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  2. Wow, what an amazing story of the little hoop house that could. Your blogging of the hoop house has inspired me to give it a try next year. Fresh salads in the winter time would be an absolute delight.

    Have a great hoop house day.

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  3. What a cute comment Dave... the little hoop house that could... I really like that!!! I'll look forward to reading about your winter experiment!

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  4. Good luck with our frigid weather. We are getting a warm up at the end of the week. And the blizzard was great for my tunnel. The rock wall leaked in cold air so everything was really frigid, but with the blizzard it is all tucked away. It maintains between 31 and 32. But later this week it might all melt out. We might get up to 50. I'm betting I'll have a chance to harvest again. Though I haven't looked in there for a while.

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  5. This is so interesting - how do you harvest without letting in all the cold? And does the warming light also help provide light for growing?

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  6. Hi Sande, thanks for stopping by my blog! I don't harvest on days when it's bitter cold. Sometimes it's over a week before I get out there! Yes, the light seems to help the plants to grow. I've got broccoli sprouts!!!

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