TorontoJoe
Administrator
Sometimes, occasionally.... I try to post something that's of actual, practical use 
I hope this helps others growing figs in cold climates and like the original, Electri-fig-ation method, I hope others find their own ways to adapt and improve on the idea.
As these well protected trees get bigger and bigger they start to wake up later and later every year. We've had some discussion about trying to get the trees to wake earlier in the spring by applying warm water to the root zone....I don't know how well that works. I've been hinting around trying to figure out something to get the root zone warmer... earlier. This is what I came up with.
For the heat source I decided on this Warmly Yours deicing cable. 60ft at 5 watts per foot (From the US, everything in feet for your enjoyment )
There are definitely cables that are designed to be buried, and for this purpose, but they were all configured in a loop. You'll see momentarily why this would be a problem.
I could probably have just buried the cable but I wanted to give it some protection. I ended up feeding into some irrigation mainline tubing.
Next I needed a hole. So I got digging.
Getting the cable to fit the hole correctly was a bit finicky. I had to pin it all into place as I went along.
I also needed to leave enough space between to let the roots through.
Everything in place I backfilled the whole thing with some fert and a shinynew tree.
I decided to leave both ends of the cable/tubing above ground. I figured by doing this, if the cable ever fails, I can use it as a fish to pull another one in through the tubing. I really don't want to have to ever dig this up. It's not very retrofit friendly.
I think I'm going to build some extra protection around the above ground bits so they don't get caught with a weed trimmer.
I realize the real test will come next spring to see if this really works. In the short term I'm going to try and get my hands on a probe thermometer. I'll plug it in for a few days and see if it's any warmer than around other trees. I think the plan will be to plug it in late March or early April. Basically when I'm ready to remove winter protection up top and be prepared to protect a growing tree. I hope 300 watts will do the trick.
Finally, I'm sure you're all wondering what tree I did all this for.....
I hope this helps others growing figs in cold climates and like the original, Electri-fig-ation method, I hope others find their own ways to adapt and improve on the idea.As these well protected trees get bigger and bigger they start to wake up later and later every year. We've had some discussion about trying to get the trees to wake earlier in the spring by applying warm water to the root zone....I don't know how well that works. I've been hinting around trying to figure out something to get the root zone warmer... earlier. This is what I came up with.
For the heat source I decided on this Warmly Yours deicing cable. 60ft at 5 watts per foot (From the US, everything in feet for your enjoyment
)There are definitely cables that are designed to be buried, and for this purpose, but they were all configured in a loop. You'll see momentarily why this would be a problem.
I could probably have just buried the cable but I wanted to give it some protection. I ended up feeding into some irrigation mainline tubing.
Next I needed a hole. So I got digging.
Getting the cable to fit the hole correctly was a bit finicky. I had to pin it all into place as I went along.
I also needed to leave enough space between to let the roots through.
Everything in place I backfilled the whole thing with some fert and a shinynew tree.
I decided to leave both ends of the cable/tubing above ground. I figured by doing this, if the cable ever fails, I can use it as a fish to pull another one in through the tubing. I really don't want to have to ever dig this up. It's not very retrofit friendly.
I think I'm going to build some extra protection around the above ground bits so they don't get caught with a weed trimmer.
I realize the real test will come next spring to see if this really works. In the short term I'm going to try and get my hands on a probe thermometer. I'll plug it in for a few days and see if it's any warmer than around other trees. I think the plan will be to plug it in late March or early April. Basically when I'm ready to remove winter protection up top and be prepared to protect a growing tree. I hope 300 watts will do the trick.
Finally, I'm sure you're all wondering what tree I did all this for.....
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but I hope your method works Joe just makes things much easier. I love the heat coils. Thanks for experimenting. I gotta say that’s a clever idea 
