On 1/8/2017 12:16 PM, Derald wrote:
George Shirley wrote:

It gets worse Derald, got up this morning to another hard freeze. Took a
look out the back door and the garden looks pitiful. Cabbage, broccoli,
etc. all look badly wilted.
Yeah, the second morning frequently is the coldest. Temp now
(right at 1 PM) is 50°. Defrocked the garden a bit earlier and hung its
wet clothes out to dry. Everything appears well save a few upper leaves
on the eggplant.
At this time the NOAA forecast is calling for low of 37°, which is
safe for everything in the garden except the tomatoes and eggplant but
I'll probably cover everything again. On sunny days, the raised beds
usually get a heat boost that makes auxiliary heat unnecessary but when
it is needed, I have on hand many many jugs of warm water to place in
the beds. Many people don't realize that when water freezes, the latent
heat released often is enough to minimize damage. My water is stored in
a room with a working wood heater so it'll be quite warm. Like the song
sez: "You got to be ready".

Yup! And the latest forecast for tomorrow is 69F and then a couple of
days in the mid seventies. After having no winter for four years, now
we're getting winter and spring all at once. Mother Nature needs to be
corrected. G

At least we had no freezing pipes, neighbor three doors south of us
didn't bother to cover his outdoor faucets and expensive water is
running down to his curb. I have those foam faucet covers that work real
well and put them on once it starts getting cold. If you need to use the
faucet the covers just pop up and stay out of the way.

At our old place we had about five faucets in all, including a couple of
freestanding one's on the big garden. Those two were insulated like
steam pipes, heavy insulation with a specialty cover for the faucets.
Didn't hurt things that I worked 47 years in the petrochemical industry. G

I need to do a specialty rig on the outdoor faucets here, shouldn't be
much trouble. I just have to remember to do it.