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Winter precip continues

A carrot grows in the snow.
For the last week, temperatures have barely been above freezing, and some days haven't been out of the 20s.

Keeping the greenhouse warm for seed starts has been more challenging, as several times the propane bottles have run empty.

The propane heater in the greenhouse has been able to keep interior temperatures in the 60s even when it's in the 20s outside, but pepper seeds and similar crops needs temps in the 70s or 80s to germinate. No-show's and damping off have been the result of the cool, wet climate indoors.

Most of all, the days have been cloudy. The lack of direct sunlight is leaving the seedlings that have come up a little stunted. Basil has almost ceased growing at all. Two trial hydroponic tomato plants are almost dead, and a trial eggplant that has had a fruit growing for about 3 months now is just remaining static, and the eggplant is turning yellow, not purple.

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Temps plunge

Colder winter weather has moved in after a weekend in the 60s and 70s. The high today was 28 degrees, and the lows are in the mid 20s. The greenhouse ran out of propane last night, and the temperature inside was about 54 when I discovered the heater was out at 3:34 A.M.  Even with the Mr. Heater Big Buddy propane heater on its high setting, the temperature inside only reaches 60 when it's 28 outside. At night, the heater keeps the greenhouse in the 50s. A tray for sprouting peppers is near the heater so that it can stay in the 70s to aid germination. The rest of the plants and germinated seed should fare well in the 50s. Elsewhere, rain barrels have frozen over, and icey precipitation has accumulated on the ground.

Gourd harvest

Today, the gourds were harvested, just before a quick rain. The vines grew in 10 Bato buckets in an outdoor hydroponic system. They were started as plugs back in late May and grew through the summer.