wordwiz said:
I don't recall saying or insinuating you were - stupid that is.
You didn't., but you don't seem to grasp that I am fully aware of the limitations and risks of the system I have selected to house my plants. Really, I am. You also seem a bit frustrated that I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in grossly over-engineering a simple hoop house. Up thread I posted a link to my dream solar greenhouse. If I were going to expend that much money and effort, it would be toward that, not toward a temporary, experimental structure.
I wrongly presumed the concern was not those mild winter days when the sun is bright and the outside temps are moderate, I was thinking more about the weeks when the sun doesn't seem to shine for a few days in a row and the warmest it gets is 20 degrees. Your record lows are in the negatives in January and single digits in the second and third months.
Ya know, that thing about records is that they're, well, records. They don't happen but rarely, or they wouldn't be worthy of comment. I'm trying to remember when the last single digit day around here, too; and I think maybe it was 4 or 5? years ago?
I did mention,in fact in a response to you, that with my luck this would be the fist winter in 3 or 4 years where we had some bitterly cold weather. (Not that I wouldn't welcome it, the fleas have been horrible around here the last two summers.)
Well, if you are only planning on doing it this one year, then it makes more sense. Again, I presumed wrongly. I figured if it worked this year, you would try it again next year, and maybe the following year, and perhaps the year after that - you know - LONG TERM!
Long term I want my solar greenhouse. And I mean WANT! Plus I'm just not interested in building some expensive and ugly wart of a heating system in the middle of my yard on the off chance that this is going to be one of our rare, bitter winters. Remember, too, that I said I was trying to bring this in under a certain budget.
Uh, that's one thing I've learned not to do. Did YOU skip over the part of my experiences using a kerosene heater?
Well then, you saw where I said I was probably going to keep an eye out for a small kerosene heater on sale to sooth my worries for the few bitterly cold nights we have, right?
BTW, what are you using as the main source of heat should a frigid blast of winter hit?
Right now?
Gently pat their leaves, and tell the peppers, "Gooo tooooward the liiiight."
The hoop house is an experiment. Sometimes experiments fail.
