Photography and computing weblog of a nomadic netizen. I also post news and write about Information Rights and the Internet. My triggers are Apple products, non-free software and fascism.
Thinking of putting in an arbor & trellis for grapes this year.
For a Zone 1 grape arbor, choose cold-hardy varieties (like Concord) and build a sturdy structure with strong posts (4x4s) and heavy gauge wire (9-10 gauge) for support, as vigorous growth needs robust framework, aiming for 50 sq ft per vine with 6-8 ft height for good sunlight, using systems like a high-wire cordon or basic overhead frame, ensuring strong end supports and proper vine training.
Zone One, or Zone Two (hardiness scale) grapes refer to varieties extremely hardy for very cold climates (below -50°F), with examples like Valiant, Beta, and King of the North.
Extremely Cold Hardy (True Zone One & Two):
These varieties can survive average annual minimum temperatures well below freezing, often found in the far northern U.S. and Canada.
• Valiant: Very cold-hardy, known for flavorful juice.
• Beta: Hardy American hybrid.
• King of the North: Another very hardy option.
• Edelweiss: A white, cold-hardy grape.
Key Considerations for Zone One & Two:
• Cold Hardiness: Focus on American hybrid grapes (like Vitis labrusca crosses) or specific cold-hardy hybrids, as most European (Vitis vinifera) varieties won’t survive.
• Site Selection: Choose a full-sun location with well-drained soil and protect vines from harsh winds, using snow cover for insulation if possible.
• Uses: Valiant and Beta are great for juice/jelly; Edelweiss, and some others can be used for wine.
So, like, this sounds kinda stupid and bass-ackwards of me to say, when we live in The Year of Our Lord 2024 and have fancy-schmancy mini-split heat-pumps and 90+ percent efficient condensing furnaces and shit, but hear me out alright
Think back to your high school physics class, alright? There’s three different kinds of heat: Conduction (not applicable to space heaters), Convection (how pretty much everything that doesn’t visibly glow works) and Radiation (basically, anything you can feel without moving air)
If you get one of the radiant-style kerosene heaters, either a reflector-type (Sengoku or Kero-Sun), or one of those mop-wick stove/heater combos (Butterfly or Fire Wheel) you get the best of both worlds
Fuel burning is always gonna make quite a bit of convection to heat the air in the room BUT you also get a fuckton of radiant heat to warm YOU up immediately, along with all the surfaces in the room over time - walls, floor, ceiling, furniture, etc. all become thermal mass
AND, in addition, kerosene heaters aren’t vented, so the burning fuel puts a bunch of water vapor and humidity out into the air as well, which is INVISIBLE thermal mass in addition to the aforementioned mass of surfaces in your house
So, you can run that heater for a few hours in the evening when you’re at home and awake and turn it off before bed, and the house will still be a reasonably comfortable temperature when you wake up, even when you have whatever secondary heat (in my case, electric baseboards that are EXPENSIVE AS FUCK to run much cause the kWh cost on our light bill sucks) turned way down
Add to that the fact that the extra humidity keeps my nose from getting PAINFULLY FUCKING DRY EVERY MORNING and the fact that I, personally, enjoy the faint smell of kerosene a LOT more than the smell of the cat’s litterbox and the sink full of un-washed dishes and the pile of dirty socks, and you got yourself a winning combo
Oh, and you know the best part about the catalytic radiant-style heaters over the orange-flame or blue-flame convection ones?
THEY RUN ON DIESEL JUST FINE! In the US, since we switched to Ultra Low Sulfur pump diesel back in 2008, the winter-blend stuff that’s high in the lighter hydrocarbons and paraffins burns perfectly clean in a radiant kerosene heater. Works fine in the antique blue-flame heaters too, but the orange-flame ones you get at Tractor Supply these days tend to smoke like crazy still, no clue why.
But whatever, my broke ass will DEFINITELY take $3.35 a gallon at the corner store’s diesel pump over having to actually fire up the car and DRIVE to fill up my jerry can with $5/gallon kero at the Thornton’s out by the expressway.
