baby How COLD is it ?qwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwww

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Slippertalk Orchid Forum

Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
It's been a very nail biting month so far for the greenhouse. I looked at the climate control station in the house and it said the greenhouse was down to 10degrees in the coldest area and that's with both electric heaters maxed out. So out went the mini propane heater, and 20 minutes latter it up to 14! Earlier this month I went out to find frost on the inside of the metal frame. Poor orchids, I really don't like winter!
 
Barbara said:
It's been a very nail biting month so far for the greenhouse. I looked at the climate control station in the house and it said the greenhouse was down to 10degrees in the coldest area and that's with both electric heaters maxed out. So out went the mini propane heater, and 20 minutes latter it up to 14! Earlier this month I went out to find frost on the inside of the metal frame. Poor orchids, I really don't like winter!
Click to expand...

:eek: I'm assuming that's 10 degrees C. or 50 degrees F.
 
Yes. It was down to -15 outdoors last night, rather cold! I'm very grateful that we have 5 wall polycarb.
 
The 5 wall is fairly new technology I believe, and it’s supposed to provide better insulation. I guess that it does since our heating bill for the first month was only $50 more then usual and those heaters were going nearly non-stop. But I found that we had to cover all the vents and the door with layers of heavy plastic and bubble wrap. We even taped the gutter along the inside eve closed to cut down on those drafts. We wait and see what the cost of heating will be for this month, I have a feeling that we will be in for a rude surprise.

Yes the weather is getting crazier and crazier every year I think.
 
Right wingers are saying, "see there's no such thing as global warming." meanwhile ignoring the steady weather changes, drying and warming trends, etc. I guess it will take the water flowing out of the Potomac and up to Capital Hill to to convince them. :(
 
Barbara said:
Yes. It was down to -15 outdoors last night, rather cold! I'm very grateful that we have 5 wall polycarb.
Click to expand...

I was looking at the triple wall, but the five wall looks like the better buy in spite of the higher price. The difference in the 'R' factor is 16mm triple wall:2.4 and 25mm 5 wall: 3.7 . The one downside is the light transmission of 5 wall is listed at 44%, which is great for summer, but might be a liability in winter. What's been your experience Barbara?
 
NYEric said:
Right wingers are saying, "see there's no such thing as global warming." meanwhile ignoring the steady weather changes, drying and warming trends, etc. I guess it will take the water flowing out of the Potomac and up to Capital Hill to to convince them. :(
Click to expand...

I'm not a right winger (for sure), but I'm a little skeptical about "global" warming. There certainly has been polar warming, and the glaciers on mountains have been melting at faster rates than in the recent past. But in the midwest US, we've had winters and summers the past couple of years that are colder than normal, and the recent cold wave is down into Cuba! I think Europe, also, is experiencing colder than normal temps -- England was covered in snow which is very unusual.

I prefer Ernie's terminology: climate change. That certainly is happening.
 
Yes, like Ernie and I have said, it's climate change, not global warming. Extreme weather of all sorts is the norm now.
 
I agree with the above. It's about 6C here right now, but it was around -40C two weeks ago. The fact that it has warmed up so much is what is so crazy, and so harmful to the plant life. It would have been better if it stayed 40 below!
 
Aren't you in a Chinook zone, though (or at least on the borders of one)? We are supposed to be near or above zero for awhile now, starting tomorrow. That is unusual for us. We have snow cover, so if that doesn't all melt, the plants should still be fine.
 
Kevin said:
Aren't you in a Chinook zone, though (or at least on the borders of one)? We are supposed to be near or above zero for awhile now, starting tomorrow. That is unusual for us. We have snow cover, so if that doesn't all melt, the plants should still be fine.
Click to expand...

Not really. It's like that in Calgary but not here; we Edmontonians usually envy the Calgarians and their chinooks. It isn't normal for it to warm up like this here. It did this last year though too, and there were many botanical fatalities.
 
Remember too, that we are in an El Nino year. Predicted results (among other things) are cold and wet in the southeast. That's what they have, with the snow and cold. So, you could say this weather is 'normal' - for an El Nino year, anyway.
 
paphreek said:
I was looking at the triple wall, but the five wall looks like the better buy in spite of the higher price. The difference in the 'R' factor is 16mm triple wall:2.4 and 25mm 5 wall: 3.7 . The one downside is the light transmission of 5 wall is listed at 44%, which is great for summer, but might be a liability in winter. What's been your experience Barbara?
Click to expand...

Yes the light levels are lower then expected, which is a life saver when the plants all first go out there, but it would reduce the chances of spike production. Many of the orchids are still too small to bloom, but the one's that are preparing to flower are continuing to develop. I'm having more problems with the soft brown rot showing up due to the damp weather that we've been having. The metal frame just drips with condensation, which is only minimized with the coldest temperatures of winter. I'll be sure to keep you posted about the spiking habits in the 5 wall. We only moved the plants out there a few months ago in late autumn so I think it too soon to know for sure. We still plan on using the 50% shade come spring as it still gets quit bright in there on the sunny days and I'm sure that we will have some serious damage as the days grow longer.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top