Blessings, Darlings!
Today is almost totally cloudy, with a cold wind altho’ the actual temperature is in the mid 50’s, and it’s still a waxing moon (now more than 1/4 full.) The Super Bowl is tomorrow (not that we care) and Valentine’s Day is in two days (alas, not that THAT matters, either.)
I picked up and started using a mat for heating seeds. Not that I’m using it on any seeds – it’s under my ginger and turmeric plants. Those plants die back to their tubers in this house over the winter, then don’t start up again until damn near summer. This means I get TINY crops of them.
Unacceptably tiny crops.
Thus, investment in the mat and electricity. We’ll see if this improves the situation. The Chubby Hubby says he’s jealous of the plants, that he’d like another source of heat, especially with the newly instituted thermostat drop at night.
This last week has been very warm here, which reduced our use of propane by itself, so we can’t see if our lifestyle changes (tiny lifestyle changes) have reduced our usage. The next 3 days, tho’, will be colder so might give us some information.
I got an e-mail from our propane provider. They feel we should contact them for a refill when the tank is down to 40% full. Um, we were down to 30% full last week. The price of propane is sky high. I’m hoping the price will drop before we actually are forced to order any. Of course that might not be possible.
Oh, I DID start some seeds, but since I started Swiss Chard, and that is VERY hardy, I didn’t need to heat the seed bed at all. They are awfully leggy, since I don’t have any grow lights. But if I get a cold frame put up outside, they might do okay soon. If.
Frondly, Fern