What a Bummer! Fire and Ice

Well all of the work is for not.

I have a dilemma, I lost almost All of the plants in the Green House.

It’s True!

It was Heart Breaking to walk into the greenhouse and see what had happened.

Let me tell you the story, as you all know, I have been looking for a woodstove that I could afford to heat my newly build green house. Months of work digging, building, and insuring that everything was in place, but I never found a Wood Stove that I could afford to heat the area.

Well, I went with a Kerosene Heater to temporarily heat the area until I could get the proper heater for all those wonder Tropical fruit and palm trees, as well as the Patio plants that need to be stored overwinter. That didn’t work out to well. As I was heading out to the greenhouse the other morning I noticed that it looked DARK, well the kerosene heater did a Burn Out and soot was covering everything! The Plants, Plastic, counters, everything! What A Mess! The fans blew the soot to every corner of the greenhouse.

So I guess I will dump everything into a  rock pit and clean all that mess out. Then to top it off the extreme cold took it’s toll.

I sure wish someone out there could have helped me with that wood stove that I was looking for. Well there’s always next year. Luckily I had a temporary extra layer of plastic inside the green house to help insulate from the cold, and after looking, I will be able to remove that layer, dispose of it and them I’m going to power wash the outside layer, it didn’t get much if any soot on it.

So, Once again, I ask my Friends, anyone have a wood stove out there I can purchase?

You put your heart and soul into something like this and in a few short hours it is all gone. As most of you know, my wife and I lost our Home a few years ago to a house fire, and we lost everything in that one. This wasn’t as bad, we only lost plants, luckily it didn’t burn down the green house.

As A Note….. Mr. Toad is fine!

I went in the green house yesterday to start dumping the pots out when Mr. Toad came out of his Toad House, Thanks to my sister-in-law for the Gift this Christmas of the Toad House, I think it saved His or Her life, I plan to feed him or her the rest of the winter. The water fall was fine so Mr. Toad still has running water to drink, and YES I DID FLUSH OUT THE WATER!

Doing a project like this is a learning experience and I’ve learned a lot in the last week, not a good way to start the New Year 2014.

I wish you all the best in the New Year and pray you all stay safe, and remember Not to Burn the Kerosene Heaters in your Home when you go to sleep, Put them out and set them outside so you don’t kill yourself from those Toxic Fumes.

Fall Flavor during the Week-End

Lemon Tree in Pot

Fall Sun Flowers

Fall Sun Set looking west across the field.

Great News!  It’s the Week-end! So glad we all made it thru the week,

But let’s start with a serious matter,

I want to keep in mind the people in Bolder CO, God keep them safe, and for those in Sea Side Heights NJ, where a lot of friends live, God keep you strong. My family and I will keep our thoughts on you.

Todays Garden Tip:

Protect the tropical plants, Now! Time to plan the move inside, if you need to move them as I do in zone 6. Tropical plants, like lemons, limes, citrus, don’t like it below 42 degrees F., If you want to get fruit this year in the winter and early spring 2014, you need to watch the temp closely.

We have our citrus in pots.

Keep your watering at a fair rate, as to not Rot the roots. A little dry is better that soaking wet all the time. But don’t dry out completely or your fruit will drop. Now if I’m not stating the facts correctly, if someone else has had better luck with a different method, let me know, no hard feelings here, I love to hear good ideas. I’ve not produced much fruit yet, but I’m still trying.

Well enjoy your week-end, I know that here it feels like Fall, pumpkins are starting to make their showing along with the corn stocks and Fall Mums. I can’t wait to share the fall photos with every one.

Keep those in mind that need prayers for help, and remember your neighbors and friends, along with family.