Are we there yet?!

[MFJFIGS]

I can't not grow something It's a sickness, really.

A bunch of cuttings rooting on my veg grow table. A very young Vince #3 was woken up Dec 1st ?... next to my veg grow table. It needs some fattening up before the outdoor season kicks in. I am quite excited about it. I want to get a good taste of this fig next growing season. No 'one-two or even a handful of figs'... I want lots Here it is... growing good...

Some figlets formed.... If this variety is as early as they say, even at an early age, I may be tasting it in April? Early May?

I didn't expose it to hard frosts as it was very young and had lots of unlignified wood.... I brought spider mites in with it... As well, it had a large number of fig mites on it last summer, which I treated with sulfur, but I am sure some survived Had to give it a serious, hardcore treatment that no doubt eliminated 100% of the little buggers... The tree is fine.

The tent in the basement is... starting to look like a jungle...

Some more trees will be started soon.... most in March sometime, depending on the weather outside. Too cold outside -> condensation in my unheated garage on the walls. Mold can begin to grow... not good. It's a balancing act. Not even a big dehumidifier helped last spring.

Some won't be headstarted.

Very nice start, Oak. Those are amazing pictures.
I added two dedicated 20-amp outlets in the garage recently, and I am glad that we upgraded the power generator, as well.
I still need to prune my trees, and plan to do it all and crank the heat up this weekend.
I will share photos of the setup soon.

 

[Figgin' A]

Very nice start, Oak. Those are amazing pictures.
I added two dedicated 20-amp outlets in the garage recently, and I am glad that we upgraded the power generator, as well.
I still need to prune my trees, and plan to do it all and crank the heat up this weekend.
I will share photos of the setup soon.

Thanks. Exciting!

 

[MFJFIGS]

Thanks. Exciting!

What light fixtures do you have inside the 4’x8’ tent?

 

[TorontoJoe]

@TorontoJoe

Joe, I know very little about HRV systems, had to look up the acronym, so... I am not sure how the gas shop heater would help... probably because I know nothing about that... that said, my 4x8 garage tent has two sets of lights in it, and both generated a pretty decent amount of heat inside the tent, like low 30s (C) when the lights were on, and slowly went down to 18-20c towards the end of the day (when lights were off). When the lights go off, I'd run the dehumidifier to keep the humidity at 50%. Some heat and humidity would inevitably spill out outside the tent and into the garage. When it's very cold outside, condensation would form on the garage door windows and the walls - both are uninsulated. I fought that by opening the garage window to let some cold air in and drop the humidity. Seemed to help when temps outside got higher, but in mid-March, it was a bit of an issue. I need to do more testing this year.

I need to run a separate 20Amp circuit so I can run the lights and the dehumidifier at the same time. Not easy, but I will do that eventually and it should help with humidity buildup, which should help with the humidity transfer into the garage....

So, let me ask, what do you need the shop heater for? It's likely that your setup will be different from mine, maybe that's why I am puzzled.

Anyway, its all doable, just needs some testing and designing... and a dedicated 20 amp service for sure.... at least in my setup.

Reading back I don't think I explained it well. The heating and HRV are entirely separate considerations.

I'm looking into gas heating strictly for economy given that I want to heat my entire garage.

The Heat Recovery Ventilator is (supposed to be) required by code on all new homes in our area because they're so tight. The serve no other purpose than to bring in fresh air from outside and pre-heat it with interior air so the fresh air need not be heated from scratch. New houses are build so tight that the indoor air quality can really suffer. I'm actually having to install one after insulating and sealing up my 1960's house. It no longer breathes. Part of the issue is air quality but also humidity builds up like crazy. Without a dehumidifier, my house gets to around 75% humidity in winter. The HRV solves this much more efficiently but just bringing in pre-heated fresh air.

I'm not sure if there's any point for you with everything in a sealed tent, but in my garage I'm thinking so.

I actually have 240v 50amp service in my garage. I had a panel installed when I moved in for my welder. I could use that for a pretty big electric heater but at average 10 cents per kWh I think that would mean almost $10 a day to run in winter. That's why I'm thinking gas. It doesn't help that my garage used to be flat roof and I built a loft over it.... that now much heat escapes to.

 

[LaFigGwr18]

Cause of the snow we got, it killed some of my potted trees. There was some die back on all of the in ground trees. I'm waiting to see how the surviving potted trees respond.

 

[Figgin' A]

Reading back I don't think I explained it well. The heating and HRV are entirely separate considerations.

I'm looking into gas heating strictly for economy given that I want to heat my entire garage.

The Heat Recovery Ventilator is (supposed to be) required by code on all new homes in our area because they're so tight. The serve no other purpose than to bring in fresh air from outside and pre-heat it with interior air so the fresh air need not be heated from scratch. New houses are build so tight that the indoor air quality can really suffer. I'm actually having to install one after insulating and sealing up my 1960's house. It no longer breathes. Part of the issue is air quality but also humidity builds up like crazy. Without a dehumidifier, my house gets to around 75% humidity in winter. The HRV solves this much more efficiently but just bringing in pre-heated fresh air.

I'm not sure if there's any point for you with everything in a sealed tent, but in my garage I'm thinking so.

I actually have 240v 50amp service in my garage. I had a panel installed when I moved in for my welder. I could use that for a pretty big electric heater but at average 10 cents per kWh I think that would mean almost $10 a day to run in winter. That's why I'm thinking gas. It doesn't help that my garage used to be flat roof and I built a loft over it.... that now much heat escapes to.

Yeah, that needed an explanation... now I get it... just goes to show how everyone's setup can be very different, even if they live in the same city, or even on the same street...

darn... 75% is a lot to deal with. Mine has been around 38-40% all winter and up to 50-55% when it gets warmer and the furnace runs less often. I can bump up the humidity with a central humidifier if needed, but in our house, high humidity is not a winter issue, only in summer on very hot, humid days. yeah... we deal with quite different issues.

 

[bushdoctor82]

I can't not grow something It's a sickness, really.

A bunch of cuttings rooting on my veg grow table. A very young Vince #3 was woken up Dec 1st ?... next to my veg grow table. It needs some fattening up before the outdoor season kicks in. I am quite excited about it. I want to get a good taste of this fig next growing season. No 'one-two or even a handful of figs'... I want lots Here it is... growing good...

Some figlets formed.... If this variety is as early as they say, even at an early age, I may be tasting it in April? Early May?

I didn't expose it to hard frosts as it was very young and had lots of unlignified wood.... I brought spider mites in with it... As well, it had a large number of fig mites on it last summer, which I treated with sulfur, but I am sure some survived Had to give it a serious, hardcore treatment that no doubt eliminated 100% of the little buggers... The tree is fine.

The tent in the basement is... starting to look like a jungle...

Some more trees will be started soon.... most in March sometime, depending on the weather outside. Too cold outside -> condensation in my unheated garage on the walls. Mold can begin to grow... not good. It's a balancing act. Not even a big dehumidifier helped last spring.

Some won't be headstarted.

Awesome

 

[MFJFIGS]

Grow room is ready!

This is the Gate to the Safe (grow room) . There lies the precious treasure and a world of riches.

Earlier in the morning, I switched on just 3 LED tubes (T8) to prune some of the trees, within two hours the room temperature increased from 45 F° to 55 F°. Outdoor temperature was 20 F°, and inside the garage outside the grow room it was 42 F°

 

[MFJFIGS]

I will be using part of the

@TorontoJoe
@Figgin' A
@MJFIGS

I wonder when you guys are starting the season this year.
It has been a cold winter here in Massachusetts, with temperature inside the garage fluctuating between 40 F and 50 F (three car garage under the house)
I framed out a 10’ X 18’ grow room inside the garage (one stall) and enclosed it with reflective roll and put on R-30 fiberglass all around, then wrapped it all with heavy duty tarp.
I have 1,800 watt LED lights inside (mostly T8 tubes), electric heaters, dehumidifier, and two fans… and, a rocking chair.
All is in place, I just need to crank the heat up and I have been getting real itchy about it.

Who else is planning an early start inside a grow room?

I decided to use part of the grow room, so I added a divider and have all the trees inside a 10’ X 12’ space.
Previous post shows the divider / entrance to the room.

 

[Figless]

TREES ARE JUST STARTING TO BREAK BUDS MOST STILL DORMANT, FIRST TO HAVE FULL ON NEW LEAVES IS "ACE OF SPADES " OUT OF 150 VERIATIES ! USED TO LOVE RUBBING YOU FOZEN NORTH/EAST FOLKS NOZE IN 10 A WEATHER AND EARLY SPRING BUT GOD PUNISHED ME FOR MY ACTIONS AND SENT ME BLACK FIG FLY ! SO THIS IS FYI NOT HA,HA ,REALY !

On a recent trip to Santa Barbara I noted a particularly pampered GxY tree. It had to be about 13 ft tall looking very very well tended. Eric the figtator recently posted that GxY was turning out to be an excellent source of pollen. But I cannot remember if there was a Saleeb growing in that home Orchard of yours.

 

[Figless]

That is so bloody impressive!

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what lights those are

Have you considered an HRV for the garage. I've been thinking of a gas shop heater with some sort of hear recovery ventilation to fight humidity.

I've been talking to this guy Smith at this place. https://accuraseemechanical.com/. He's seems extremely knowledgeable.

Wow that looks beautiful down there. You certainly got a lot of fresh green growth in the middle of the winter. Look at that baby Vince#3 go. With all those little figlets already started in the depths of frigid February.

 

[Figless]

@TorontoJoe

Joe, I know very little about HRV systems, had to look up the acronym, so... I am not sure how the gas shop heater would help... probably because I know nothing about that... that said, my 4x8 garage tent has two sets of lights in it, and both generated a pretty decent amount of heat inside the tent, like low 30s (C) when the lights were on, and slowly went down to 18-20c towards the end of the day (when lights were off). When the lights go off, I'd run the dehumidifier to keep the humidity at 50%. Some heat and humidity would inevitably spill out outside the tent and into the garage. When it's very cold outside, condensation would form on the garage door windows and the walls - both are uninsulated. I fought that by opening the garage window to let some cold air in and drop the humidity. Seemed to help when temps outside got higher, but in mid-March, it was a bit of an issue. I need to do more testing this year.

I need to run a separate 20Amp circuit so I can run the lights and the dehumidifier at the same time. Not easy, but I will do that eventually and it should help with humidity buildup, which should help with the humidity transfer into the garage....

So, let me ask, what do you need the shop heater for? It's likely that your setup will be different from mine, maybe that's why I am puzzled.

Anyway, its all doable, just needs some testing and designing... and a dedicated 20 amp service for sure.... at least in my setup.

Okay Joe I will bite, what is a HRV system? How are you using it to economically Heat your basement? Back in the day we used to use kerosene heaters. They burnt clean, and provided lots of wonderful CO2 for the little green guys. But kerosene oil was expensive, and hard to obtain an affordable Supply. Also the heaters provided almost too much heat, it was hard to find a small one.

 

[bushdoctor82]

I will be using part of the


I decided to use part of the grow room, so I added a divider and have all the trees inside a 10’ X 12’ space.
Previous post shows the divider / entrance to the room.

You Northerners don’t mess around.