Plaster in Winter

["Claire Sierra" <dalala@mars.ark.com>]

Hi Strawbalers,

We finally have our masonry heater completed and are now ready to plaster
our bales here in British Columbia. Because of work commitments we will only
have time to do the outside.  We are leery of starting because we have had
three weeks of damp foggy weather and the outside of the bales are starting
to get that black moldy look on the ends. We are planning to use a stucco
rather than a lime plaster because of our damp climate.

My first question is, will it be safe to plaster now? We plan to shave off
that moldy stuff but will the cement stucco inhibit further drying of the
bales (already in place a year!)

My second question is although our weather is fairly moderate the
thermometer does drop below freezing on occasion. How does this affect the
stucco?

.......Claire