image from Old Farmers Almanac 

​Good morning, clear blue sky but the temperature at 7:30 AM is at 2.8F( -16C) with a wind chill of -14F (-26 C).  high today of 19F ( -7C) with a low tonight of 9F ( -13C). But looking ahead Saturday high of 47F(8C) and Sunday high of 53F(12C).  Just a touch of winter what is coming but then warming up.  That will be an awesome weekend.  Stay warm for sure and stay safe.  Australia temperatures are 35C (94F) with rain this weekend for them.  Time when I wrote this for them is 12:40 AM on Friday.
Have you ever heard of  Sinterklaas Cookies?  If so let me know.  Interesting about St Nicholas Day Dec 6th.  
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St. Nicholas Day Traditions, History, and More  by Catherine Boeckmann
Was Saint Nicholas a real person? Is he the model for Santa Claus and Father Christmas? Find out about the history of St. Nicholas Day and the traditions associated with this holiday (leave out those shoes!).
Saint Nicholas Day: The Feast of Sinterklaas
At the beginning of the Advent season is St. Nicholas Day (December 6, or December 19 on the Julian calendar). 
St. Nicholas was a bishop who was known for his good deeds, especially for the needy and children. He often gave generously and anonymously (without anyone knowing the gifts were from him). Nicholas was officially recognized as a saint in the 800s, and in the 1200s, Catholics in France began celebrating Bishop Nicholas Day on December 6.
Many European countries celebrate the Feast of Sinterklaas—also known as St. Nicholas—starting on the 5th of December, the eve of the day, by sharing candies, chocolate letters, small gifts, and riddles. Children put out their shoes with carrots and hay for the saint’s horse the evening prior, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. (Sound familiar?)
In Belgium and the Netherlands, a fellow dressed as St. Nicholas would arrive (often by steamboat from Spain) in mid-November. He would then spend the next weeks checking if children had been good and done their best that year. On December 5 (Netherlands) or on December 6 (Belgium), he would then usually ride a white horse (or a donkey) through the towns, handing out gifts. It was the Dutch pronunciation of his name—Sinterklaas—as well as Dutch traditions that made their way to America. These led the way to the name Santa Claus and the gift-giving tradition.
For many European countries, this simple gift-giving day in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the meaning of Christmas itself.
Leaving out Shoes
The most common way to celebrate St. Nicholas Day is to leave shoes out for St. Nicholas to place small gifts in. Socks are fine, too.
Traditionally, the gifts are simply small candies or coins—little items that bring a lot of joy to children. If you wish to celebrate this tradition, leave shoes or wooden clogs by the door on the evening of December 5.
In the morning, the shoes will be filled with small delights (candy canes, spare change, foreign coins).
The Candy Cane
The candy cane also symbolizes St. Nicholas, representing his staff. Add small candy canes to the shoes, or decorate your tree! We won’t tell if you eat a few candies on the way!
Sinterklaas Cookies
A traditional treat on St. Nicholas Day is Spicy Sinterklaas Cookies, also known as speculaas. These are spicy ginger cookies, often baked in a mold shaped like St. Nicholas!
Other traditions equate St. Nicholas with Santa Claus, which means that St. Nicholas comes on the night of December 24, leaving presents for children to open on December 25. What day does Christmas fall on this year?
St. Nicholas History: Who Was the Real St. Nicholas?
In the 3rd century, in the village of Patara in Turkey (part of Greece in those days), a wealthy couple gave birth to a boy they named Nicholas. Tragically, while Nicholas was young, an epidemic took the lives of both of his parents.
Having been raised as a Christian, he dedicated his life to service, sold his belongings, and used his inheritance to help the poor and infirm. Eventually, Nicholas became a bishop, and his reputation for helping children, sailors, and other needy people spread far and wide. For this, the Roman emperor Diocletian persecuted and imprisoned him (and other religious men)—but only until the Romans realized that they had so filled their prisons with clergy that they had no place to put the thieves and murderers. So the Romans let the religious men go free.
Upon his release, Nicholas continued his charity work until he died on December 6, A.D. 343. It was said that a liquid that formed in his grave had healing powers. This and other legends about Nicholas fostered devotion to him and inspired traditions still practiced today.
Is St. Nicholas Really Santa Claus?
A few legends of St. Nicholas relate to the story of Santa Claus—one about gift-giving and the other about children.
In one tale, a poor man had three daughters and no dowry for any of them, thus eliminating their chance of marriage and increasing their risk of being sold into slavery instead. Mysteriously, as each girl came of marriageable age, a bag of gold (or, in some versions, a ball of gold or orange) was lobbed through a window and landed in a sock or shoe near the hearth. The unknown gift-giver was presumed to have been Nicholas, and the tale inspired the placement of stockings or shoes near the fireplace where they were filled with gifts.
Another legend dates from long after Nicholas’s passing. In his home village, during a celebration on the anniversary of Nicholas’s death, a young boy was kidnapped to become a slave to a neighboring region’s emir. The family grieved for a year, and on the anniversary of the boy’s disappearance, they refused to leave their home. Good thing: As the story goes, Nicholas appeared, spirited the boy away from his captors, and deposited him in his house—with the gold cup from which he was serving the emir still in his hand. This once again established Nicholas as a patron and protector of children.
Nicholas was celebrated as a saint within a century of his death and today is venerated as the patron of children and sailors, captives, travelers, marriageable maidens, laborers—even thieves and murderers. He is the patron of many cities and regions, and thousands of churches are named for him worldwide.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/st-nicholas-day
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365

image from pixabay.com 

Good morning, IT is cold out.  13F(-11C). with wind chill it feels like 3F ( -16C)  26F(-3C)  high today    14F( -10C)  low tonight.  JUST Darn cold.  Now what is the temperature in Sale Australia 73 F (23C) high  with 82% humidity.   Remember they are in spring soon summer while we are in this fall soon wintertime.  They are also in the same growing zone as Florida.   In October when we were there it was perfect weather for us.  Not too cold, not too hot and humid. 

I am feeling the less amount of sunlight during this time of year.  I don’t know how people in Alaska can deal without any sunlight during this time of year.  Here is the reason why less sunlight.  Stay safe, stay warm. 
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The Darkest Time of the Year (and the Earliest Sunsets)
Why the Earliest Sunset of the Year is NOT on the Solstice  by Bob Berman
Does it feel darker this time of year? Many folks think it’s darkest on the winter solstice. But it’s in early December! Bob Berman explains this phenomenon.
To most of us in North America, this is a dark time of year—and you’re right. The sunsets come exceedingly early. It might surprise you to learn that the earliest sunsets come several weeks before the winter solstice, not on the solstice, as many would guess.
This puzzles people, but it’s a reliable yearly sequence.
Now this is what is happening in Australia the southern hemisphere with their sunrise and sunset. 
City                 Sunrise          Sunset           Hours of daylight    Solar noon as of Dec 3rd
Melbourne   05:49 am      08:30 pm      14:40 h          01:09 pm
Compared to Iowa on Dec 3rd
Sunrise/Sunset                   Daylength
6:52 am  5:11 pm               10:18:31
When is the Darkest Day of Winter?
First comes the earliest sunset, in early December.
Then there’s the winter solstice half a month later—on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere—the day with the fewest minutes of daylight.
Finally, another 2 weeks later, in early January, we get our murkiest morning—the latest sunrise.
In early December, North America slams bang at the low point of afternoon sunshine. And since far more people are awake and aware of things at 4:30 PM than they are at 6 in the morning, in a very real sense, you can forget about the solstice and the official “shortest day of the year” in terms of daylight.
The Darkest Time of Year
So far as what most folks actually experience, early December is the darkest time of the year.
For example, in Boston, the Sun started setting at 4:13 p.m. on December 3 and won’t start setting later, at 4:14 p.m., until December 15.
Of course, the degree of darkness varies, depending on how far north you live. The time the clock reads at sunset also depends on how far east or west your home sits relative to your standard time zone.
Why is the earliest sunset well before the winter solstice?
Simply put, it all reflects the reality that tropical sunsets hardly vary throughout the year, while polar sunsets change wildly through the seasons. If you lived smack on the equator, like in Quito, Ecuador, your minutes of daylight would never budge throughout the year, not even by one second.
By contrast, our northern friends in Canada and Alaska experience the most radically short days in December.
But wherever you live, before the winter solstice starts, the afternoons will start getting brighter!
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/when-darkest-time-year
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365

images from pinterest.de 

      Good morning:  We had white ( snow) on our roads and on the grass.  The sun is out but the temperature is only 21 F ( -6C).  Only melting where the road crews put out sand.   But better than 8 F (-13 C) on Sunday morning.   Dec 2nd and we are having a touch of winter.  We burn wood for the house, shop and greenhouse so Larry has been working up wood since we got back from Australia.  He has cut lots of big logs into big rounds. Then from the big rounds he will put them in the splitter.  We have three outdoor wood burning stoves.  One at the shop also burns waste oil that heats up the water that goes thru a radiator for shop heat, then the water is pumped to the greenhouse wood stove to heat up water with wood and then pumped thru the greenhouse back to waste oil outdoor furnace to heat up with waste oil and starts the rotation again thru the 2nd outdoor stove. By adding the waste oil outdoor furnace he has cut down the amount of wood by 1/3, so that is helpful.    We have one at the house that heats up our hot water and the house with hot water that the outdoor stove heats up. So yes, it takes lots of wood for this project.  As he would say it is his exercise program. 

What I just learned from this article is  After repotting, don’t water the plant for a week or so. Wait at least a month before fertilizing so as not to burn fresh roots accidentally.  I have many to repot and I would love to be out in the greenhouse doing that now, but still working on plant plug order.  With the snow on the ground, cold temperatures and the sun is out the temperature in the greenhouse is at 60F.(15.5C). 
If you have a jade at home, here is how to grow more of them and it is really easy. 

Growing Jade Plants: Lighting, Watering, Repotting, Propogation, and Pests  by Catherine Boeckmann
Jade plants are succulent houseplants, which makes them fairly resilient. Plus, they’re capable of living a long, long time with proper care. See how to care for your jade plant as well as how to easily propagate a jade plant from a spare leaf.
About Jade Plants
With their thick, woody stems and oval-shaped leaves, jade plants have a miniature, tree-like appearance that makes them very appealing for decorative houseplants. They live for a very long time, often passed down from generation to generation, and reach heights of 3 feet or more when grown indoors.
Jade plants adapt well to most homes’ warm, dry conditions. Keeping the plant watered during the growing season (spring, summer) and drier during the dormant season (fall, winter) is essential. However, even during the growing season, the soil should be allowed to dry out thoroughly between waterings, as jade is very susceptible to rot.
Jade plants may be grown outdoors as landscape plants in areas with a mild, dry climate year-round (typically Zone 10 and warmer). They are very susceptible to cold damage, so in locations where temperatures get to freezing or below, it’s best to grow jade in containers and take them indoors when it gets below 50°F (10°C).
Jade plants also make fantastic bonsai!
How to Plant Jade Plants
Choose a wide and sturdy pot with a moderate depth, as jade plants tend to grow top-heavy and fall over.
Use soil that will drain thoroughly, as excessive moisture may promote fungal diseases like root rot. An all-purpose potting mix will work, though you will want to mix in additional perlite to improve drainage. A 2:1 ratio of potting mix to perlite is great. Alternatively, use a premade succulent or cacti potting mix.
After planting a jade plant, don’t water it right away. Waiting anywhere from several days to a week before watering lets the roots settle and recover from any damage.
How to Start a Jade Plant from a Leaf or Stem-Cutting
As a succulent, jade plants are very easy to start from single leaves or cuttings. A stem cutting is a great method when a branch of your jade plant happens to fall off. Just put that cutting in the soil, and you have a new baby plant or a gift plant! If you have time, however, you can propagate from a single leaf!
Propagate before the weather gets cool. And make sure you start with a well-established plant.
For a stem cutting, ensure you’re using clean clippers or scissors to take your cutting, which must be 3 to 4 inches long. If you’re using a leaf, it must be the complete leaf, that includes the small pointy bit that breaks off from the stem.
Once you have your leaf or cutting, allow it to sit for several days in a warm place; a callous will form over the cut area, helping to prevent rot and encourage rooting.
Gather your pot and a well-draining potting mix. Use soil that is slightly moist but not wet.
Lay the leaf on top of the soil horizontally, covering the cut end with some of the soil. If you have a stem cutting, place it upright in the soil (prop it up with a few small rocks or toothpicks if it won’t stand on its own).
Place the pot in a warm place with bright, indirect light. Do not water.
After a week or two, the leaf or cutting will start sending out roots. Give the plant a gentle poke or tug a week or so after that to see if it has rooted itself in place. If it hasn’t, wait a bit longer, testing it (gently!) every few days.
Once the plant seems to be firmly rooted, water it deeply and carefully. Use something like a turkey baster to gently water the plant without disturbing the roots too much. Make sure that you don’t just get the surface layer of the soil wet, as you want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not towards the surface.
Let the soil dry out between waterings and keep the plant out of intense direct sunlight until it is well established.
Jade plants should receive at least 6 hours of bright light each day. Young plants should be kept in bright, indirect sunlight; large, well-established jade plants can handle more direct sunlight.
Kitchens and offices with south-facing windows are typically great spots with just enough light, as are western-facing windows.
Jade plants that are kept in low light can become leggy and top-heavy, making them susceptible to damage if they fall over, or become unable to support their own branches!
Temperature
Jade plants grow best at room temperature (65° to 75°F / 18° to 24°C), but prefer slightly cooler temperatures at night and in the winter (down to 55°F / 13°C).
Note: Jade plants are not frost tolerant, so if you keep yours outdoors during the summer, be sure to bring it inside once temperatures fall to around 50°F (10°C) in autumn.
During winter, move jade plants away from cold windows and keep them out of drafty areas. If exposed to cold temps, jade plants may drop their leaves.
Watering
Watering jade plants correctly is very important! Improper watering is the number one issue that most people experience with their jade plants.
When the plant is actively growing in the spring and summer, it will require more water than at other times of the year. Water jade plants deeply (meaning that the soil gets sufficiently moistened throughout—not just at the surface), then wait until the soil has mostly dried out before you water it again. This means that you could end up watering it once a week or once a month—it depends entirely on how quickly the soil dries out in the environment where you keep your plant.
The plant may go dormant in the fall and winter, causing it to slow or pause growth entirely. During this time, it won’t need much water. Water it less often than in the spring and summer, allowing the soil to dry out fully between waterings. Large, well-established jades may not need more than one or two waterings throughout their entire dormancy period.
Try to avoid splashing water on the leaves while watering, as this can expose them to rot in a humid environment.
Jade plants can be sensitive to salts in tap water, so water with filtered or distilled water if your tap water is not ideal.
If the plant starts to drop its leaves, if the leaves look shriveled, or if brown spots appear on the leaves, it indicates that the plant needs MORE water.
If leaves become squishy and waterlogged, the plant is getting TOO MUCH water.
Fertilizing
Jade plants don’t require high levels of nutrients and should be fed sparingly. Use a diluted mix of a standard liquid houseplant fertilizer or a fertilizer made for cacti and succulents.
If you prefer using your own fertilizer, you can use our Organic Homemade Plant Fertilizer.
Repotting Jade Plants
Jade plants don’t mind being root-bound in a small pot. In fact, keeping them root-bound will keep the jade smaller and more manageable.
Repot young jade plants once every 2 to 3 years to encourage growth. With older jade, repot once every 4 to 5 years or as necessary.
Transplant in the early spring, just before the growing season begins.
After repotting, don’t water the plant for a week or so. Wait at least a month before fertilizing so as not to burn fresh roots accidentally.
Wit and Wisdom
To persuade a jade plant to flower, keep it root-bound in a small pot and hold back water. Cooler temperatures in the winter promote blooming, too.
Jade plants are one of several plants with the nickname “money plant” and are seen by some as a sign of good luck and prosperity.
Due to their long lifespans and resiliency, jade plants make fantastic gifts that can last a lifetime and be passed from generation to generation.
Susan Mahr of the University of Wisconsin–Madison tells us, “The Khoi and other Africans used the roots for food, grated and cooked, eaten with thick milk. They also used the leaves for medicinal purposes.”
Pests/Diseases
Mealybugs or scale may hide under stems and leaves. To remove the pests, use a spray bottle of water or wipe the insects off gently with a bit of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel or cotton swab. Repeated applications will be necessary to remove the pests’ offspring. If the plant is too heavily infested, it may be better to take a clean cutting from it and start anew.
Powdery mildew can be a problem but is fairly uncommon indoors.
Root rot is caused by excessive moisture in the soil. Let the soil dry out between waterings.
Shriveled or wrinkled leaves are signs of a thirsty plant in need of more frequent or deeper waterings.
Waterlogged and squishy leaves indicate that the plant is getting too much water.
Leaf drop is a symptom of watering issues, too.
Taken  from https://www.almanac.com/plant/jade-plants till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365