Re: [gardeners] Wednesday evening in the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Thu, 16 Dec 1999 10:54:06 -0600
Jane Burdekin wrote:
>
> George,
> Good luck with the freeze. I would love to see your 2 lb lemons. My aunt
> had a lemon "bush" in so. Calif. that used to have huge lemons. I never
> weighed them but we used to use 2 lemons to make a huge pitcher of lemonaid.
> That was the best stuff. We used to cut a lime in half dip it in sugar and
> suck on it, that was the best treat. Those were the days, then off to the
> beach after the fog burned off. Think I will have to do that again real
> soon. Unfortunately the lemon bush is gone but they still have the lime, a
> tangerine, avacado and a couple of orange trees. I really envy those
> growing conditions. Hope all goes well.
>
> Jane
>
> Weatherman told us at the 5 pm news that we could expect temps around
> 29-30 degrees F tonight. Miz Anne and I got out and covered the citrus
> trees with plastic and I set the heater up in the greenhouse. Will go
> out and turn it on about 11 pm.
>
> We picked the last of the kumquats, about 2 pints, and about 25 lemons.
> I think I'm going to borrow my friends digital camera and take a picture
> of the bigger ones. Maybe set a tennis ball by the side of them so a
> true comparison can be made. I'll let those that are curious know when
> I'm done. Some folks have difficulty visualizing a 2 plus pound lemon. I
> know I still have a problem realizing how big this variety of citrus
> gets.
>
> The rest of our garden can pretty much handle the minor freezes we get
> down here so don't expect a big problem with the morning thaw.
>
> George
We made it through okay. My recording thermometer mounted outside the
greenhouse indicated we had a two hour low of 28F. That's generally not
long enough to hurt anything. We usually only get one or two freezes of
that magnitude each winter. My little greenhouse heater, electric, kept
the temp inside there at 40F most of the night. I checked it at 3 am
when my bladder got me up and then again at 5:30 am when the alarm clock
got me up to go to work. I'm very pleased with the heater as it is a
recent garage sale acquisition. Has a tip-over switch, overheat warning
light, and a very decent thermostat. Plus it pulls either 1300 or 1500
watts and has a metal case. Found one just like it at Home Depot, same
brand and model, for $24.95 plus tax. I paid 5 bucks and it was in the
original box and had only had light use.
Right now it's about 50F and bright sunshine out there. Looks like
another beautiful day here in SW Louisiana. A beautiful day here is when
the temp is less than 90F and the humidity is less than 95%. <VBG>
George