Sunday, May 17, 2009

FROST!!

Well, we didn't escape last night's cold weather. We tied the record for low temps last night.  Normally our low is around 50 this time of year.  Last night we got down to around 35.  We had scattered frost out at the acreage.  It was rather random so I'm not sure if there was a pattern to it or not- even the weed seedlings took a beating.  I lost 3 tomatoes outright and one pepper.  Another tomato looks like it won't make it.  A few others are looking a bit rough around the edges but I think most of them should pull through.  Interestingly enough, the plants that took the worst beating (including those that are totally gone) were all hybrids- even the pepper.  The heirloom varieties look like they'll weather it pretty well.   I still have a few tomatoes left that I didn't plant out and my Mom said she still has a bunch if I need them.  I also want to transplant a volunteer from the back yard here at the town house.  We planted a yellow cherry tomato once a couple of years ago in the raised bed and they have come back every year since. I have also thought about picking up a few 'fun' tomatoes at the farmer's market for replacements.  One vendor always sells heirloom varieties in lots of colors-  last year we got a green tomato, red zebras and black cherry tomatoes.  I love variety.  I also noticed that something bit off one of my Amana Orange plants. GRRR.  I really need to get that fence up.
Everyone worked really hard today.  The boys did a grand job hauling away all the rubble from the well pit.  They loaded it up into the wagon and wheelbarrow and took it down to the riding arena where we are having trouble with erosion.  J15 worked on demolishing the upstairs bathroom. Yeah, I know I said we were done with demolition.  This isn't because of mice- this is because of UGLY!!!  Someone covered the entire bathroom in dark pine paneling: floor, ceiling and walls.  There is only one window that faces North, and it looks out onto the wall of the garage!  The room is incredibly dark and hideous.  We will bring up one of the sink bases from the basement and will drywall and paint the walls. We are also planning to put in a light tunnel- a small version of a skylight- to bring in more light.  It isn't a big area but they used tongue and groove boards on the walls and it is taking J15 a while to pull it all down.
I also used my new range for the first time today.  I11 wanted soup for lunch today so I lit a burner to warm it up for him.  He was beaming that he got the first thing cooked on it.  V did get the framing done for the island.  We pulled the cabinet from the basement but it needed some repair work before we install it so it is out in the shop for a day or two.
We also took out all the boxes I packed yesterday, plus a laundry basket full of kitchen stuff.  I did actually manage to get the laundry sorted and put away on Friday afternoon so I could use the basket to carry out some things that I'm not likely to be using any time soon. I really don't see myself using my springform or bundt pans in the next few weeks.  And on top of all the boxes- we took out the sleds!  We have a kick-ass sledding hill that should be fun next winter.
Tomorrow is back to work for me.  V needs to do some writing for his job and then will likely spend the afternoon out working at the house.  It looks like the weather for the next week will be warmer and sunny- no more rain for a bit.  J15 and I will be baking bread, cookies and making cheese tomorrow night for her English project.  Just when I thought things were beginning to get under control....

13 comments:

  1. You have done alot of work there! Great Job!

    I have heard about the heirloom's being able to take more of the weather and survive.

    Have a great day!
    Blessings,
    Kris

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  2. And I didn't realize that heirlooms could take the weather better.....that's gonna come in handy up here!
    Have a great week
    Sue

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  3. I'm sorry you got hit by the frost. Don't know if we did, but I was certainly shivering last night. Interesting how the hybrids weathered it better... wonder if their hardiness is what keeps them around after all this time?
    Paneling in the bathroom sounds awful! A skylight, now that's much better.

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  4. The light tunnel is a brilliant idea! I sure hope you'll do a post on building it with lots of pictures. :)

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  5. Sorry to hear about your loss....:)
    Our plant - out date is still a week or two in the future. my tomatoes are 'busting out' of their little peat pots, I should really repot one more time...we'll see if it gets done! Kris

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  6. We froze last night - it was 32 when I got up this morning at 6:30 am. We are to have another freeze tonite - two weeks later than our usual freeze date. *sighs* Interesting note about the heirloom vs. hybrids. We covered our small garden last night yet some of the plants were still nipped.

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  7. Whew, woman! Just reading this post makes me want to crawl back into bed from exhaustion! You folks are busy! Nice work though- and your family sounds amazing and so helpful.
    All of this and now back-to-work Monday. :) Hang in there! Sorry to hear about your frost! It's been really cold at night here too--enough already!

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  8. I bet you're warmer there today! We're supposed to get up to 80 in Minnesota, even.

    Jealous of your nice gas stove...

    Lisa

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  9. I would probably have to agree with you on that as I only plant heirlooms and didn't see any sort of damage. Although, I haven't transplanted my tomatoes yet. I never do until it is pretty consistently 50 degrees at night and we have had a lot of cool overnight temps lately.

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  10. Frost, it happen here this morning and luckily I didn't get much frost up on the ridge, but the low lying areas were covered this morning. Well, at least it's not raining. I wanted to say that I love your blog. I also wanted to comment on how much work you guys have accomplished. It looks like it's coming along quickly.

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  11. Sorry about your frost damage. It's good to know about the heirlooms making it though. I love the idea of the light tunnel. We will do that in our upstairs bath too when we get to that point. My father-in-law has one & they work great. Don't you wish there were more hours in the day? :-)

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  12. That's a bummer about the frost - we had a heavy frost here Sunday night. I'm glad I ran out of time to plant the garden this weekend past! You are moving right along
    Kris

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  13. If you have sitemeter and have been wondering who has been reading all of your posts, it's me! I stumbled on your blog and am fascinated, so I had to start at the beginning. My husband is in the army, so we move too frequently to ever undertake an endeavor like this, so I will have to live vicariously though you! I can't wait to keep going!

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Glad you stopped in. I would love to hear from you.