We have had a few cold days over the last week and a little snow as well. Right in the middle of this cold spell the propane heater decided to have mood swings. One hour it would work great and then the next hour it would turn off. Wednesday it decided to turn off for much longer than an hour and by the time I made it out to the greenhouse after my class the temperature inside was exactly 32degrees. My heart sank... I had 20 tomato plants and almost as many squash and peppers that can't freeze. I rushed to get them out of the greenhouse and into warmth. I decided not to take the chance of the heater turning off in the middle of the night again and completely ruining all the progress I had made, so the tender plants are back in my apartment. The kale, spinach and arugula have stayed in the greenhouse and seem to be doing great! They love the colder temperature.
When I got the tender plants home and examined them my spirits lifted, most of them had none or very minimal damage from the freeze! Those that did get too cold have dead spots on the outer edges of their leaves, but all seem to be recovering. It didn't complete kill any of them. I am truly shocked and amazed!
Wednesday night we got the heater back up and running, but the following day the mood swings continued until it decided to just completely stop working. Last winter I used a very small space heater to keep an indoor greenhouse warm, so that little guy has been plugged in over the last few days and has stepped up and been a greenhouse hero. The little electric space heater has kept the greenhouse above 40degrees for the last several days in a row. I couldn't be more thrilled.
And in case you were wondering the worms have survived this entire ordeal. I moved the dirt around a little this afternoon just too check. I think it is a little too cold for their liking because as fast as I could uncover them they were working to bury themselves back in the dirt.
