Brutal Cold Continues, Setbacks, Fireplace, Potting Up

 

Outgrowing the Greenhouse

April has averaged 20 degrees colder than normal. Because of the heavy clouds dumping a steady rain/snow mix for basically the entire month, we've produced less electricity with the solar than we did in March. It is absolutely grueling. At this point in the year, it is getting a little tiresome to be bitten with a cold shock every time you go outside or move from under a blanket. My marathon is only 9 weeks away, and I had to cut a planned 14 mile run short to 12.5 because of the howling, freezing wind on Saturday.

That, and fears of global nuclear destruction, have re-inspired dreams of a fireplace. We had an estimate for an efficient wood burning insert on Friday that looks promising. It took some doing to find an appliance that would fit in our tiny fireplace. At 20" high, it is about 2" shorter than every fireplace I could find but one, the IronStrike Striker C160. 

We need an alternative source of heat. We live in Minnesota, and, should the power grid go down for any reason (weather, Russian hacking, etc.) the biggest weakness in our current survival plans is that we have nothing other than our natural gas powered furnace to keep us warm. (We do have a tiny propane heater, and 72 hours worth of gas for it. It's better than nothing, but that is not a long-term solution.)

Also, natural gas prices doubled this past winter. We used about the same amount of gas to heat our house, but paid nearly twice as much for it. It's a limited resource, so the price is unlikely to go down.

It's a good time to get a biomass stove. There's a federal tax credit, including installation, of 26%. New wood burning stoves are 75% or more efficient, and designed to minimize particulate pollution. Wood is a renewable resource.

And finally, having a hot fire burning will make our evenings much more comfortable.

We may not be able to go completely over to heating with wood, but we should be able to make a considerable dent in our fossil fuel use. 

This past Saturday was supposed to see us rake the straw back from over the strawberries. It is still pouring down snow this morning, so this seemed ill-advised. Perhaps this coming weekend, depending on the forecast. 

It's still too soon to order garden dirt. We've calculated that we need 4 more cubic yards for the new raised beds. 

Some of the tomatoes and peppers have outgrown the greenhouse (see above.) Quite a few of them, actually. I've set up a two level table in the window near my desk to handle the overflow. Basil and cilantro and brussels sprouts were planted over the weekend and went in. Meanwhile, I spent two afternoons moving various other plants into larger pots and trying to figure out how to maximize the greenhouse space. 

On a day like today, it is difficult to believe that we will ever be moving plants outside, or that it will ever be properly warm again.