Sunday night, the thermometer by the back step seemed to hover near freezing, and I pulled the strips down from the shelf to get ahead of the first hard freeze.
The two drums in the garage get rotated now, so I tested them first. Both barrels tested fine.
I ran a strip on the well water at the kitchen tap, then drove over to Ruth’s Tuesday. Her hand-dug well under the wooden lid needed a look after the last rain. We didn’t test anything there — she just wanted to know the cover was holding.
He’s not wrong. The lab bottles stay in their case by the door until spring, or until something smells wrong.
The first year I kept a log, I skipped the pre-freeze test and found a drum low on chlorine in January. Now the rotation happens in October, whether the thermometer asks for it or not.
Marta at the extension office gave me a fresh sleeve of bottles Thursday. I dropped them in the case by the door.
If you want the steps laid out straight, watch the full video before you fill a tank.
The strips came out clean. The drums are set for winter. What I still don’t know is whether the rain barrel diverter will freeze up before the garden’s done — but the tomatoes looked frost-bit last week, so it may not matter.