WEATHER this week - Page 4

Thought I would share what weather we woke up to today in central Brittany!!

Artjak the can furnace is basically a box of black painted cans behind glass Cold Air enters at the bottom and exits as very hot air at the top. Which is ducted where it is needed (eg heating a  chicken coop) . Temperature went from 38 degrees F input to 130 degrees output. There are a number of idea's with a similar theme one i liked was done in 71 where a series of pipes was laid under slabs circulating water from an outdoor pool.  

Heres a strange idea told to me by my local nursery that itis better and warmer for the plants if you open the vents when a frost is due, he reckons closing the vents actually makes the plants colder.  yesterday he said it was 7 degrees warmer than the outside air! This I do not understand

http://biomet.ucdavis.edu/frostprotection/Principles%20of%20Frost%20Protection/FP005.html

This kind of explains things, in a way which makes my head hurt. But I think the critical part is the conversion of latent heat into sensible heat. When water vapour condenses there is a release of energy which is the latent heat converting into sensible heat this warmth helps protect the plants slowing the temperature drop and delaying the formation of ice. If all goes well the morning sun will provide the heat back into the greenhouse before the frost can form. I think trying to delay the dew point by trying to avoid heat escaping ends up causing damage as the water vapour will directly form ice.

The Air vents ensure the dry air in the greenhouse gets replaced by moist air which can then release more heat inside the greenhouse. If you didn't vent then the temperature carrys on falling till ice is formed. Your heat source runs out. 

Not as cold as yesterday here in West Lancs. No sign of the white stuff and the sun has got his hat on

Ground still too hard to work on though.

It's now sunny today in Brittany!!! Hooray!! I can get back out into the garden. (well, once the snow has melted) Still loads of it though and quite compacted. Thanks to our neighbour, we are not snowed in anymore and we can see civilisation again!! Let's hope this is it for the bad weather.

The Fens; Snow flurries/sun! How mad is that?

Just had 4 bare-root magnolia trees delivered.  I had 4 bags of ericaceous ready for them, but just found the bags are frozen solid.  Typical!  Fortunately, the roots are wrapped, so they should survive until the weekend by which time the compost will (hopefully) have thawed enough to plant them!

we have another problem: 10 Weeks in a row 40 degree celsius on average, 10 weeks no rain and the rain time starts in May...same, same, but different.

How a bit of sun makes the plants perk up !!

Brumbull wrote (see)

Was having a decent day until i read the local newspaper, apparently we (Mids) are going to have siberian blast and severe frost at night with MORE snow on the way next week ! !

Sorry people, hope they have it WRONG !!!?

If pray would help, I pray for you, honestly! 

Be patient chaps & chapesses, it will eventually pass.  We aren't half way through March yet, there is plenty of time.  Better to sow late and let things catch up than sow too early & loose everything.  Around Sunday the wind is going to swing back round to the East, so the temperatures will drop again, don't think we're done with the White Stuff yet.  I do hope we get some spring, but after last year I'd settle for going straight from winter to Summer.

Thats the bags of MPC into back garden just need to get them stored in the shed, BUT guess what .......................... its just started RAINING ! 

Better rain than snow.  It's the Gale Force Winds I hate, I either go and get the boy in the car, or walk.  Still have a massive walk right through the school grounds, by the time I've put the baby & pushchair in the car, I could've walked there.  Trouble is, when windy he insists in walking behind the pushchair so I end up treading on him or falling over him.

Oh, the joys of Motherhood!

Alternating between driving rain & trying to sleet, will probably turn to snow when it's dark (like it did yesterday).