Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: If Snow is Poor Man's Fertilizer Than ...

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Del Williams" <delannw AT dlogue.net>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: If Snow is Poor Man's Fertilizer Than ...
  • Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 07:41:48 -0600


I empathize almost completely. I went through a similar ice storm
experience in western NY a number of years ago. We had generators at that
location though...couldn't let the greenhouses freeze. A few years ago we
went without power in east central Illinois for more than a week when an
icestorm literally put so much weight on the wires that the utility poles
snapped.

This year we were hit with an intermittent power outage when the first set
of big winter storms came through. We have a kerosene heater that
thoroughly heats the main floor of the house and a propane heater in the
basement to keep the pipes from freezing.

I was just about kicking myself over the water issue though. No
electricity...no pump. But I remembered that I had stocked water in heavy
plastic 5 gallon containers in the basement a year ago in preparation for
the Y2K. It was there with all the candles and other preparations. We also
installed a low water use toilet this year.

In addition, I normally sell bottled water at the farmers' market and had a
few cases leftover from the season. (Selling bottled water at the market
has been a consistently profitable choice by the way. Nothing like ice cold
bottle water to bring people to your stand at an August market). Anyway,
that helped stretch the water supply until the electricity returned.

I don't know why we don't buy a generator just to run the deep freeze and
pump for awhile each day. I lost just about everything in the deep freeze
during the ice storm. That certainly changed my view on canning vs.
freezing vegetables. If I had livestock I probably would have already
bought one. Can't imagine how you managed.

As an aside, I was also pleased to find that my uninterruptible power supply
for the computer really worked. The power blinked off and on so much that I
was thinking I ought to just unplug. But, the UPS worked great. I always
had plenty of time to save and shut down. Yeah, working on the computer by
candlelight.

This has been quite the winter already. Can't wait for January.

Del Williams
Clifton IL






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page