Extending the season... on the wrong end!

[TorontoJoe]

Growers in the north east doing what they can to stretch the season is nothing new.... Whenever this discussion comes up, I always insist people is to do it at the start of the season.... Because the days are longer.... This time, I'm not taking my own advice... I'm taking a leap and hope it's worth the effort. Why am I even considering this in the fall given how short the days are getting... this time I'm adding light.. as much as I can!

@Figgin' A , this is the project that I was referring to. Anyone who's been down this road... I'm not to proud to listen to any wisdom.

Why am I doing this? While the summer was super hot and sunny, the month of May ... the time when my trees would be waking up was a total bust. It was cloudy and rainy and colder than any May I can remember. That compounded with some typically later figs coming earlier and normally early figs coming late... I decided I had to do something to save some trees with heavy fruit set. It's been a weird year all around

I probably would not have done this if I'd not found this particular type of temporary greenhouse on clearance. Instead of all the posts and nuts and bolts, this thing works like a pop-up canopy. Huge time saver



Having learned from experience the hard way, I anchored at every corner with cinder blocks.

Ok... the light. I'm not going to share exactly what light this is that my friend lent me. It's made as a industrial work light. It's

• 3,520 foot candles @10 feet
• Daylight-Balanced at 5600K

I download photone and got this reading at 30 cm



I got this at one metre



Is it bright?



It doesn't spread over as large an area as I like but It'll have to do for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to put it on a timer and install a heater with temp controller.

I need to go back to the calculator to determine the right number of hours to run this to achieve 30-40 DLI

Now comes the difficult part... I feel like I just built a bomb shelter and I have to decide who gets invited in.

I called it for the day.... I had some other important stuff to take care of....

 

[DCallahan]

I think you have a great thing going, but please plan on venting it. You can and will experience very high temperatures during sunny days.

Who's the lucky in-ground trees to get sheltered?

 

[superdave336]

I like that pop up greenhouse!

 

[TorontoJoe]

I think you have a great thing going, but please plan on venting it. You can and will experience very high temperatures during sunny days.

Who's the lucky in-ground trees to get sheltered?

Temps are still consistently in the low 20'sC (72-75F) but it does drop as low as 12C (55F ish) over night. I don't expect a freeze for a while yet but I need to keep things going for some trees that got a really late start.

It has two big screen windows that I plan to open every morning so not worried about that. The experiment for me... and what hopefully makes this different is adding light... as much as I can !

I'm still trying to decide who gets to go in... It's not that big so makes for difficult decisions. Definitely some Adriatic's. BMKK is full of big figs that haven't swelled yet. Definitely Mehdi's Famous Fig

 

[TorontoJoe]

I like that pop up greenhouse!

Dude! It's so much easier than the ones I'm used to. My wife and kid would always run when they thought it was time to put this thing up..

This new one goes up in a couple of minutes. I think the biggest they come is 10x10 or 12x12 maybe

 

[Figgin' A]

.... Whenever this discussion comes up, I always insist people is to do it at the start of the season.... Because the days are longer....

I do it at the start of the season because the trees are smaller. MUCH smaller. I can stuff a lot more in a given square footage.

I don't know if I have any words of wisdom for you... you seem to be on the right track... I'll just share a couple of thoughts and observations.

When my Tia Penya was almost done fruiting back in July, I moved it to a pretty shady area of my back yard - 3-4 hours of sun - to make room for another tree that was about to start ripening. To my surprise, Tia Penya produced a few very, very tasty and sweet figs despite the shade. I think it has accumulated enough sugars that being in the shade for the remaining 2-3 weeks before ripening wasn't a problem.

Heat is key right now. If I were to do it, I'd hang that UFO in the garage and move some trees there. That way, I'd have plenty of heat day and night in my unheated garage that feels very warm, which speeds up the metabolism of the plants and hence ripening. I could place more trees there. Sure, less PPFD, but that may not be a big issue right now, given the observation I mentioned above.

Anyway, we are all following our own paths. Your approach may work quite well; you'll never know until you try. Good luck. I am curious to see what results you will get.

 

[TorontoJoe]

I do it at the start of the season because the trees are smaller. MUCH smaller. I can stuff a lot more in a given square footage.

I don't know if I have any words of wisdom for you... you seem to be on the right track... I'll just share a couple of thoughts and observations.

When my Tia Penya was almost done fruiting back in July, I moved it to a pretty shady area of my back yard - 3-4 hours of sun - to make room for another tree that was about to start ripening. To my surprise, Tia Penya produced a few very, very tasty and sweet figs despite the shade. I think it has accumulated enough sugars that being in the shade for the remaining 2-3 weeks before ripening wasn't a problem.

Heat is key right now. If I were to do it, I'd hang that UFO in the garage and move some trees there. That way, I'd have plenty of heat day and night in my unheated garage that feels very warm, which speeds up the metabolism of the plants and hence ripening. I could place more trees there. Sure, less PPFD, but that may not be a big issue right now, given the observation I mentioned above.

Anyway, we are all following our own paths. Your approach may work quite well; you'll never know until you try. Good luck. I am curious to see what results you will get.

I was thinking 25C overnight minimum for the time being and allowing days to get to 30+. I have it rigged so I can keep the greenhouse at least as warm as the garage 24/7 but the light will be much easier in the GH.

The other thing is that I have drip emitters already plumbed out to inside the GH. This should make it much easier than watering a bunch of trees in the garage. Not to mention the in-ground tree in there.

Some of the trees I plan to put in there may be more than 2-3 weeks from ripening... (I know) This should be an interesting experiment... If nothing else, I'm stubborn.

 

[Figless]

@TorontoJoe @ all y'all just a thought a couple of strings of Costco LED string lights, which use very little power along your perimeter. And a couple of 30 watt LED spotlights will certainly increase your perimeter helping you to achieve the coverage in your pop-up Greenhouse for very little wattage. I am agreeing with @Figgin' A that a few degrees of added Heat especially at night might be more important than you think. We used to employ this trick to add a month or even more to our vegetative growth in our hemp greenhouses in Northern California. Since coverage was an issue for you I thought I'd mention it. We used to use 2 led 20' string lights on my 10' × 20' plus GH in Berkeley plus 2 or 3 well aimed Floods or spotlights to add a month to Summer they worked in Berkeley CA but also in Eureka CA which gets much colder

 

[FigVicious]

Wow, this post is exactly what I'm doing. My pop-up greenhouse, 8x12, just came in, and I am putting all my late-season fig varieties in there. I live in NJ and im toying around with this to see what happens. I can also use the greenhouse to get an early start on them in spring. I'm currently planning on adding a greenhouse to my yard, and I'm in the process of doing my research on a good greenhouse, the cost of materials, etc. I'm going to need to anchor the greenhouse to the foundation, so before I make an order, this pop-up is perfect for $230 off Amazon. It opens like an umbrella; you add the cover, and it's done. I plan to add the flat cinder blocks my buddy gave me to the perimeter to keep it from possibly blowing away in a storm. Let's see how it goes.

 

[Vitooch1]

Love the dedication you have there Joe especially on the last run of the season. I’m too figged out to keep going but hey this is why we love growing figs to extent its limits. I just my biggest batch to my father in law and he was in heaven. Lol he made sure to eat them with a nice bread. I’m just waiting on my inground fig tree to ripen.

 

[TorontoJoe]

Wow, this post is exactly what I'm doing. My pop-up greenhouse, 8x12, just came in, and I am putting all my late-season fig varieties in there. I live in NJ and im toying around with this to see what happens. I can also use the greenhouse to get an early start on them in spring. I'm currently planning on adding a greenhouse to my yard, and I'm in the process of doing my research on a good greenhouse, the cost of materials, etc. I'm going to need to anchor the greenhouse to the foundation, so before I make an order, this pop-up is perfect for $230 off Amazon. It opens like an umbrella; you add the cover, and it's done. I plan to add the flat cinder blocks my buddy gave me to the perimeter to keep it from possibly blowing away in a storm. Let's see how it goes.

I'm curious about this umbrella style... Do you have a link to the one you have?

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

Growers in the north east doing what they can to stretch the season is nothing new.... Whenever this discussion comes up, I always insist people is to do it at the start of the season.... Because the days are longer.... This time, I'm not taking my own advice... I'm taking a leap and hope it's worth the effort. Why am I even considering this in the fall given how short the days are getting... this time I'm adding light.. as much as I can!

@Figgin' A , this is the project that I was referring to. Anyone who's been down this road... I'm not to proud to listen to any wisdom.

Why am I doing this? While the summer was super hot and sunny, the month of May ... the time when my trees would be waking up was a total bust. It was cloudy and rainy and colder than any May I can remember. That compounded with some typically later figs coming earlier and normally early figs coming late... I decided I had to do something to save some trees with heavy fruit set. It's been a weird year all around

I probably would not have done this if I'd not found this particular type of temporary greenhouse on clearance. Instead of all the posts and nuts and bolts, this thing works like a pop-up canopy. Huge time saver

View attachment 13782View attachment 13783View attachment 13784View attachment 13785

Having learned from experience the hard way, I anchored at every corner with cinder blocks.

Ok... the light. I'm not going to share exactly what light this is that my friend lent me. It's made as a industrial work light. It's

• 3,520 foot candles @10 feet
• Daylight-Balanced at 5600K

I download photone and got this reading at 30 cm

View attachment 13790

I got this at one metre

View attachment 13791

Is it bright?

View attachment 13792

It doesn't spread over as large an area as I like but It'll have to do for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to put it on a timer and install a heater with temp controller.

I need to go back to the calculator to determine the right number of hours to run this to achieve 30-40 DLI

Now comes the difficult part... I feel like I just built a bomb shelter and I have to decide who gets invited in.

I called it for the day.... I had some other important stuff to take care of....


View attachment 13793View attachment 13794View attachment 13795

The most amazing anchors I have ever used are these:

Amazon.com : JumpSport Heavy Duty Durable Trampoline Anchor Safety and Stability Kit Set Includes 4 Screws and Straps for High Winds : Trampoline Parts : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : JumpSport Heavy Duty Durable Trampoline Anchor Safety and Stability Kit Set Includes 4 Screws and Straps for High Winds : Trampoline Parts : Sports & Outdoors

a.co

I used them on our trampoline, and even during a nearby tornado that took shingles and siding off of houses, my trampoline was the only one that stayed anchored tight to the ground!

If you have a link to your setup, could you please share the link here? I have access to a free setup, but would need to buy the covering.

 

[TorontoJoe]

The most amazing anchors I have ever used are these:

Amazon.com : JumpSport Heavy Duty Durable Trampoline Anchor Safety and Stability Kit Set Includes 4 Screws and Straps for High Winds : Trampoline Parts : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : JumpSport Heavy Duty Durable Trampoline Anchor Safety and Stability Kit Set Includes 4 Screws and Straps for High Winds : Trampoline Parts : Sports & Outdoors

a.co

I used them on our trampoline, and even during a nearby tornado that took shingles and siding off of houses, my trampoline was the only one that stayed anchored tight to the ground!

If you have a link to your setup, could you please share the link here? I have access to a free setup, but would need to buy the covering.

Those look solid. I have good soil here but it's heavy enough to work well with anchors like those. In the past I have used the ones made for keeping dogs leashed.

I think I mentioned that I learned the hard way that things can go bad very quickly if these small, light greenhouses are not secured well



I'm sorry... I don't have any links to my setup. I live and work in a world with too many links... In my personal life, I'm trying to cut down

 

[figologist]

@TorontoJoe Check out how I was growing citrus in the pacific northwest in a similar fashion - I did it even without grow lights!

 

[FigVicious]

I'm curious about this umbrella style... Do you have a link to the one you have?

EAGLE PEAK Instant Pop-up Greenhouse, Indoor Outdoor Plant Gardening Green House, Roll-Up Zipper Doors and Side Windows, Heavy Duty Walk in 12x8 ft, Woven PE Cover, White​

 

[grasshopper]

You can add mylar thermal blankets to the side walls of the greenhouse to increase light coverage for the lower canopy or the trees will drop those leaves.

I found some varieties are more sensitive to low light than others as I ripen them in the garage with shoplights in my first season here.

The temperature for fruits to continue to ripen is 20c/68F at a decent rate while maintaining a complex flavor profile. I tried 55, 60, 65, 70, 75. BM types would be noticeably less sweet and even a bit off taste if light is insufficient, less so with the Etnas.

Yeah, watering in the garage is a pain in the neck.

 

[Vitooch1]

@TorontoJoe how about your inground are you also extending its time?I’ve not been able to eat anyfigs and it’s loaded to the max. I’m talking hundreds of figs. I might have to build a bigger box and place a heater for this winter. Not sure what I’m gonna do this season but next season I wanna be able to wake it up by end of April.

 

[MFJFIGS]

Last year, I swore no more extending the season, for all the right reasons. Ripening figs in cool fall temperatures, here in MA, is not something I want to do.
Yesterday afternoon, the forces were so overwhelming I gave in. I have dozens of Black Madeira and Adriatic types figs that need a week or two max to ripen. It is going to be in the low 40’s for two nights only then, luckily weather forecast looks promising: 5 days with highs near 80F°. So, yesterday and this evening, I brought the trees inside the grow room and switched on the lights.
My in-ground trees still have anywhere between 30% and 50% fruits on, and many are about to start ripening. Hollier & RDB are loaded, it is odd enough they are behind Mt. Etna types this year.

Tough season to be a fig grower in New England.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

Those look solid. I have good soil here but it's heavy enough to work well with anchors like those. In the past I have used the ones made for keeping dogs leashed.

I think I mentioned that I learned the hard way that things can go bad very quickly if these small, light greenhouses are not secured well

View attachment 13840View attachment 13841View attachment 13842View attachment 13843

I'm sorry... I don't have any links to my setup. I live and work in a world with too many links... In my personal life, I'm trying to cut down

I remember these pictures from I think a year or so ago. What a mess to clean up.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

Growers in the north east doing what they can to stretch the season is nothing new.... Whenever this discussion comes up, I always insist people is to do it at the start of the season.... Because the days are longer.... This time, I'm not taking my own advice... I'm taking a leap and hope it's worth the effort. Why am I even considering this in the fall given how short the days are getting... this time I'm adding light.. as much as I can!

@Figgin' A , this is the project that I was referring to. Anyone who's been down this road... I'm not to proud to listen to any wisdom.

Why am I doing this? While the summer was super hot and sunny, the month of May ... the time when my trees would be waking up was a total bust. It was cloudy and rainy and colder than any May I can remember. That compounded with some typically later figs coming earlier and normally early figs coming late... I decided I had to do something to save some trees with heavy fruit set. It's been a weird year all around

I probably would not have done this if I'd not found this particular type of temporary greenhouse on clearance. Instead of all the posts and nuts and bolts, this thing works like a pop-up canopy. Huge time saver

View attachment 13782View attachment 13783View attachment 13784View attachment 13785

Having learned from experience the hard way, I anchored at every corner with cinder blocks.

Ok... the light. I'm not going to share exactly what light this is that my friend lent me. It's made as a industrial work light. It's

• 3,520 foot candles @10 feet
• Daylight-Balanced at 5600K

I download photone and got this reading at 30 cm

View attachment 13790

I got this at one metre

View attachment 13791

Is it bright?

View attachment 13792

It doesn't spread over as large an area as I like but It'll have to do for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to put it on a timer and install a heater with temp controller.

I need to go back to the calculator to determine the right number of hours to run this to achieve 30-40 DLI

Now comes the difficult part... I feel like I just built a bomb shelter and I have to decide who gets invited in.

I called it for the day.... I had some other important stuff to take care of....


View attachment 13793View attachment 13794View attachment 13795

My husband hopes those cinder blocks hold up to a strong wind. I have to say they wouldn’t at our house. Staunton is the Shenandoah Valley and it’s at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. The winds come down those mountains and across our property howling and whistling like an out of control train. sometimes the wind speeds reach 60-70 mph. BTW we just love your cat. He’s beautiful.