Posts Tagged ‘solar panels’

But it’s a dry heat…

The tomatoes are starting to provide a return on the ridiculous amount of water they demand.  In successive weeks we saw “harvests” of ½ lb, 1 lb, 1 lb, 4 ½ lbs, and 5 lbs.  They’re coming in, and in the right order (we have about 7 varieties), but just slowly.  We can see that soon we’ll be in full swing.
We’ve seen some splits but not too many.  The Romas get a little mushy on the end, but that’s expected with that species.  The heirloom breeds we have coming up are of a beautiful ugliness that only a brave or very hungry person can appreciate.  I think that means we did it right.

Summer veggies will not be our thing.  We’ll keep growing a small amount of them, but the trees will be where it’s at.  Our soil will be a year better, so we’re going to try some fall and winter crops while the trees do their tree thing.

We’ve been prepping and finishing the interior stucco.  Dan wonders why we are doing it in the 100 to 105 degree heat.  I reply that the work is inside and the manure hauling, decidedly outdoor work, is being saved for late September when it cools again.

One of the good things:  Even in this heat, the insulation job we did gets us as much as 10 degrees cooler inside during the worst part of the day.  And 95 really isn’t that bad.

We have a 15-watt PV panel that provides the power for lights, music, and a DC fan at night.  It will soon be replaced by a 60-watt panel we are building ourselves.  It’s easier than you might think.  Check this link out for a description on how to build a solar panel.