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Winterizing your Home

September 30, 2021

There are some easy, free, or cheap steps in winterizing your home while the weather is still warm. One is cleaning out your gutters and eaves to allow melting snow to get away from your home. A clogged eave can allow melting snow to dam up and run down the wall of your home.

If you have ceiling fans, there is a switch to change the motion of the blades to move in a clockwise direction. This allows the warm upper air to push down to the floor.

If you have the older single-pane windows, you can get insulation film for the inside of the window. This will keep up the top 60% of the inside heat from leaking out. Using heavy curtains also helps. One of the best things I did was to replace the old windows and storm windows you a to put on every fall with double-pane energy efficient windows.

If your windows leak around the outside edges, use rolled weatherstripping putty to seal the warm air from leaking outside. Any remaining gaps around the door or windows can be filled with caulk. If the home is older, you can pull off the moldings and fill the gaps with insulation or caulk.

Draft guards are a good idea if you have a small exterior gap. These guards are placed under the door and will slide with opening and closing.

Replace your furnace filters to keep your furnace running efficiently. Using a programmable thermostat or one use can use on your phone greatly helps. You can turn down the heat when you are not there and turn it up before you get home. Department of Energy states you save 1% for every degree you lower on your bill.

If your water heater pipes are in a cooler area like a basement, get pre-slit pipe insulators or batt-style wrap for your hot water pipes.

If you have a fireplace, check it for obstructions and soot. There is a new product on the market, the chimney balloon use to run up your chimney.

If you are doing major upgrades like installing new windows or furnace, there may be federal tax credits so check with your accountant.

Flowers (annual and perennial), Garden almanac, Vegetables

Fall is Coming to the Garden

September 30, 2021

As fall is coming to the garden, it is time to prep it for winter. Start by clearing off all of the debris and remove it by bagging, composting, or burning. This reduces the number of disease spores and insect eggs for next year. Now is a good time to till because spring seems to be more hectic for time.

*Cannas being stored over the winter in a box with dry peat moss*

In the annual bed, dig the non-hardy bulbs like glads and cannas after the foliage turns yellow. Store them in paper sacks in a dark, cool area after they dry for a week. Do not scrape off the excess dirt, leave it attached to the bulbs.
In the perennial bed, leave the foliage on it catch the snow and help insulate the crowns of the plants.

Hybrid tea mounded with leaves for winter protection in cold climates

Same way with roses, I never cut them back until spring. The tender hybrid tea roses can be mulched with 12 inches of straw or hay.

Store your garden seeds in a cool, dark area that is not humid. Mason jars work well for this purpose.

Bring in all your houseplants and herbs before a freeze. For the lawn, you can be a winterized fertilizer anytime after October 1. Be sure to winterize your underground sprinklers and lines if you have them.

Astronomy

Night Sky Tonight

September 27, 2021

Jupiter resides in Capricornus this month in the night sky tonight. With a telescope, you can see the giant red spot.

Saturn is found in the sky all night in the constellation of Capricornus east of Jupiter. A great site in a small telescope with its rings and southern polar region showing along with some of its larger moons.

Venus can be found easily looking west setting 2 hours after sunset. It is the brightest object in the sky beside the moon and the sun setting after the sunset. Venus appears to scoot south because of its location with the earth’s orbit. The planet is in the Libra constellation.

Coming soon the Orionid meteors around October 2 to November 7. That’s when Earth is passing through the stream of debris left behind by Comet Halley, the parent comet of the Orionid shower.

The summer triangle made up of Deneb (Cygnus), Altair (Aquila), and Vega (Lyra) is found looking above the eastern horizon. The triangle is visible all night during the summer. Vega is the brightest star of the three.

The constellation of Sagittarius the Archer which you can spot in the south early in the night. Lying east of the scorpion, nowadays it looks more like a teapot than an archer.