Put to the test by this cold weather

[kenneal - lagger]

Erm, how does the cold weather help fruit trees emord.? If you tell me it kills off aphids, that'll make my day

It helps the garden generally by killing off many of the pests and diseases, including aphids.

[Vortex]

OK, that's enough.

I woke this morning to yet MORE snow & ice & lethal roads.

Don't want to play anymore - I want my normal life back!

[JohnB]

I was scraping several inches of ice and snow off a polycarbonate roof that could collapse at any time yesterday. As I was scraping, it was being replaced by another layer .

[Blue Peter]

Erm, how does the cold weather help fruit trees emord.? If you tell me it kills off aphids, that'll make my day

It helps the garden generally by killing off many of the pests and diseases, including aphids.

How do countries which don't have such cold weather, many of them major fruit growers, cope?


Peter.

[adam2]

I consider myself well prepared for the cold weather and have experienced few problems.
My mother in the West country has found it cold, and I feel that the heating is insufficient, and rather expensive being all electric.
I provided oil lamps, as well as battery standby lighting, and the lamps have seen much use on account of the heat they provide.
Paraffin useage has been about a litre a day.

I think that a small wood/coal stove would be a good idea, but mother is against the idea.

[RenewableCandy]

Erm, how does the cold weather help fruit trees emord.? If you tell me it kills off aphids, that'll make my day

It helps the garden generally by killing off many of the pests and diseases, including aphids.

How do countries which don't have such cold weather, many of them major fruit growers, cope?

Good question! I'd guess, either they're continental countries (hot summers, colder winters than ours, like Germany) or else in the absence of cold winters, perhaps the dry summers kill the 'phids off.

[eatyourveg]

It helps the garden generally by killing off many of the pests and diseases, including aphids.

How do countries which don't have such cold weather, many of them major fruit growers, cope?

Good question! I'd guess, either they're continental countries (hot summers, colder winters than ours, like Germany) or else in the absence of cold winters, perhaps the dry summers kill the 'phids off.

Or there could even be a natural balance, predators predating and what have you.

[eatyourveg]

How do countries which don't have such cold weather, many of them major fruit growers, cope?

Good question! I'd guess, either they're continental countries (hot summers, colder winters than ours, like Germany) or else in the absence of cold winters, perhaps the dry summers kill the 'phids off.

Or there could even be a natural balance, predators predating and what have you.

But much more likely chemicals are used. Which reminds me of an experience I had in Morrocco, the locals were burning piles of plastic bottles in amongst plantations of trees. Extremely noxious stinky fumes emitted, at the time the only reason I could think of as to why they might do this was for some kind of fumigation.

[kenneal - lagger]

...My mother in the West country has found it cold, and I feel that the heating is insufficient, and rather expensive being all electric.

She is probably eligible for free loft and cavity wall insulation if she's a pensioner. It would make hell of a difference.

I provided oil lamps, as well as battery standby lighting, and the lamps have seen much use on account of the heat they provide.
Paraffin useage has been about a litre a day.

I think that a small wood/coal stove would be a good idea,

A small stove would be a lot safer for an (I take it) elderly lady than paraffin lamps. Also the lamps will introduce a lot of moisture into the house which will cause condensation and mould growth in an uninsulated home. If you're not getting condensation and mould growth the house is probably over ventilated which would partly explain the cold. Has it been draft proofed, Adam?

but mother is against the idea.

They don't like change do they? "Fiddly and messy things these stoves. An electric fire is much easier!"

[treaclemine]

I was scraping several inches of ice and snow off a polycarbonate roof that could collapse at any time yesterday. As I was scraping, it was being replaced by another layer :roll:.

Really interesting to be reading about all your challenges, John. Hope I can be some use when I see you ...

[JohnB]

I was scraping several inches of ice and snow off a polycarbonate roof that could collapse at any time yesterday. As I was scraping, it was being replaced by another layer .

Really interesting to be reading about all your challenges, John. Hope I can be some use when I see you ...

You might need to wear a hard hat, as it covers the entrance to the house! I would take emergency action, but someone insisted that I do a proper Permaculture design first .

[emordnilap]

How do countries which don't have such cold weather, many of them major fruit growers, cope?

Good question! I'd guess, either they're continental countries (hot summers, colder winters than ours, like Germany) or else in the absence of cold winters, perhaps the dry summers kill the 'phids off.

Or there could even be a natural balance, predators predating and what have you.

I think the answer involves the word 'native', that is, species evolving to local conditions.

[adam2]

...My mother in the West country has found it cold, and I feel that the heating is insufficient, and rather expensive being all electric.

She is probably eligible for free loft and cavity wall insulation if she's a pensioner. It would make hell of a difference.

I provided oil lamps, as well as battery standby lighting, and the lamps have seen much use on account of the heat they provide.
Paraffin useage has been about a litre a day.

I think that a small wood/coal stove would be a good idea,

A small stove would be a lot safer for an (I take it) elderly lady than paraffin lamps. Also the lamps will introduce a lot of moisture into the house which will cause condensation and mould growth in an uninsulated home. If you're not getting condensation and mould growth the house is probably over ventilated which would partly explain the cold. Has it been draft proofed, Adam?

but mother is against the idea.

They don't like change do they? "Fiddly and messy things these stoves. An electric fire is much easier!"

The walls are solid stone and therefore cant be easily insulated.
The loft over the main living room is insulated with about 600mm, with a bit less elswhere (though all my crates of doomer supplies help a bit ! )

The oil lamps do indeed introduce moisture which would be liable to cause mould and condensation, this is avoided by use of a dehumidifier worked from an off peak supply.
Draught proofing is fairly good but probably worth improving.

Mother is opposed to the idea of a stove, considering them to be too much trouble.
It would however be cheaper, and of course proof against power cuts.

EDIT long after the original post, all the above was true when written, but Mother now has a wood stove

[JohnB]

The walls are solid stone and therefore cant be easily insulated.
The loft over the main living room is insulated with about 600mm, with a bit less elswhere

Adam, Forum 21 and Transition Minehead and Alcombe have been working on the problems of insulating and heating older houses in West Somerset. I'm not sure how far they've got, but I know one of the people who's doing most of the work. Maybe they will come up with something that might help.

[kenneal - lagger]

I've had three external insulation jobs done recently and two of those have been on cavity walled houses. The third is on a house with cavities at ground level and solid at first floor. The only completely solid wall house I have done was back in the early 80's and that was on brick.

There have been no problems with any of them.