WOW, you've lived up to your name :-)

Any advice on citrus and figs varieties for Aggieland?

Beautiful trees, fantastic job.

Tell me again, size of your greenhouse?

Greenhouse is 32 by 54 by 16ft tall. If doing again I'd go about 12ft tall. Otherwise not much to improve. The evaporative cooling system works well in this climate. Nov 1 to Jan 1 will be chill cycle, 39-54F. Bloom by the end of January. Apricot harvest starts about mid April. I'm still eating grapes, figs, blueberry, pluots, and plums. Just ate a 24.8 brix Flavor Treat pluot.

The biggest advantage of a greenhouse in this climate is for spring freeze protection. Many yrs I harvest apricot before the last freeze outdoors. Production of greenhouse is many fold outdoors on an area basis ~100 fold for apricot. This allows tasting of lots of fruit every year and clear opinions about eating quality.

I can't recommend varieties for central TX. But do like Strawberry Verte fig in the greenhouse.

Here is a link that might be useful: greenhouse fruit production in west Texas

This post was edited by fruitnut on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 16:36

Hi Fruitnut,

The greenhouse is awesome. Can you share what kind of reflective fabric you used on the ground?

Thanks

Alex

Alex:

I've used Extenday reflective fabric. It's primarily intended to increase light in the tree canopy thereby increasing brix and color. They also sell fabrics and materials designed for other purposes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Extenday USA

Fruitnut that's a very impressive setup!

Interesting setup. I don't know how you handle it all? I just have a backyard, yet what I produced kept me very busy. I'm actually kind of sick of it. I'm still harvesting fruit daily. I was soaking wet by the time I finished today. The reflective fabric is cool. For my lights I use a reflective product. More like foil but has a diamond pattern to increase even light reflection. Probably made for pot growers but works well to keep light in my light rack. Light cannot penetrate foil, but I don't have all sides covered. Still it increases effectiveness of lights.

What's the temp. in your greenhouse on the hottest summer days? In the Middle East, evaporative cooling keeps greenhouses at around 95 degrees when it's 120+ outside.

Really nice fruitnut...a lot of good work is evident in those photos. Do you have a job outside the home too, retired?

I'm retired after doing agricultural research 30 yrs for Texas A&M.

I can keep my greenhouse at about 90F in summer. Our dew points are around 60F in summer and below 32F in winter. If summer dew points were 40F and outside 120F I might hold 95F inside. Would have to try and see. But at any rate with enough air flow over the cooling pads it's the most effective cooling system in general use. Central air could do better but would cost many many more times than evaporative cooling, think a big house times 10.

WOW. You are very, very good at what you do. Your 'name' is quite the understatement.

FN,

Very nice and neat. A beautiful sight.

Tony

Fruitnut, I have watched your greenhouse grow and change over the past few years. Its always inspiring and fabulous. Do you do it all alone? Does your cooling system precluded any varieities you'd like to grow? What is the name of your reflective ground cover. Wasn't it white in the past? You always have the earliest apricot harvest of anyone. You are so lucky and smart! I always enjoy seeing pictures of your greenhouse and outdoor growing areas. Mrs. G PS just returned from a month in the south of France, all of the peche de vigne were over for the year. Apples still on trees there and are grown vertically and not over 9 feet tall and filled with apples. Planted about two feet apart. Very interesteding All are under nets. Mrs. G

Lord

Mrs G:

I have a little help. But it doesn't take all that much time. Maybe 2-3 hrs a day on average. A half hr today. I'll probably have the Extenday fabric back on the ground after next season. But I might go with a more natural look and just put down mulch. This is a great climate for a greenhouse. About 80% of possible sunshine all year long. Even in winter 10 hrs bright sunshine most days.

It is an amazing site and your work is much appreciated! Mrs. G

Yes it's awesome and I want one too. Maybe once I retire.
Thanks too for all the help the last couple of years. You saved me much heartache! Many were just little things, like how to best align a multi-grafted tree. I would have never thought of it. What I mean is most vigorous to the north, and telling me what pluots were most vigorous. I might have had to remove the tree if not for your insight. The tree is doing super well. And many other little things, sometimes told to others etc, that helped me too. It's great to have you here!

Beautiful Fruitnut,
You are so organized and smart. Like many others have said: thanks for all the wonderful advice. It was because of your advice that I was able to grow pluots in Georgia successfully! You are awesome and I am so grateful that we have you (and others as well) to go to for advice. You are, indeed, one great master gardener and I gotta tell you that I really love your greenhouse. Again, thanks so much for all you do, give and share!

Can you give us a rough breakdown of the 264? How many apricots, apples, etc?

Loving the citrus! And by keeping everything in a greenhouse, you keep (most) critters out?

Nice fruitnut.What's the plant in the bottom right of the NW corner shot? Brady

OMG fruitnut I love your set up. I just clicked on your post out of curiosity. I was amazed and inspired. And once I read that the tree spacing is only 18-24 inches I felt even better. I'm currently in the "making" of my garden. I decided to go with the high density planting of backyard orchard culture. I chose not to go with 30" recommended spacing for hedgerow but instead with 36". I was still doubting that and reconsidering to go with 4 feet. I haven't seen much examples or opinions of such close planting so coming across your post gave me hopes and reassurance. Of course my set up is different because I'm planting outdoors and in Dubai, like the other side of the world, but still. Thank you for sharing your greenhouse. Keep up the great job.

WOW...you're a real Fruitnut!

Sorry guys my computer crashed and burned so it's taken a while to get another shipped in and running.

The fruit at bottom right in NW corner is a Columbia Star blackberry I took off it's trellis in order to move from pot to in-ground.

The greenhouse gives full control of weather related losses like freezes, wind, and hail both tree and fruit. The only serious pest issue is spider mites.

I started out with about equal plum, pluot, peach, and nectarine. Most peach and plum cultivars were removed in favor of better tasting and sweeter nectarines and pluots. The later being about 25% each of production. Apricots would be third. Have a lot of figs right now but am just started evaluating cultivars.

Excuse me fruitnut,I should have been more clear.The one next to the Blackberry,with the big leaves,is the plant I had a question about. Thanks,Brady

Brady:

That's a rather forlorn sweet cherry that was transplanted in the replant last winter. It didn't grow much this summer and looks weak but should bounce back next yr. Things are so crammed in it's hard to get a good picture and hard to see what's going on.

Despite the close spacing I'm pretty confident I can avoid excessive vigor and over crowding. Most of the trees planted last winter are covered in flower buds. Nearly 100% will fruit in 2nd leaf. I did a bit of summer pruning in first leaf, especially nectarine and peach on Lovell..

I would be interested in the performance and fruit quality of Lovell vs Krymnsk 1, especially if they are planted in the same soil. Fair to assume that Lovell would be more vigorous.

I have a little experience to date. Plums on K1 look pretty normal. But peach and nectarine almost look like those genetic dwarfs. The internodes are very short and tree small. Fruit has been very high brix and medium to small.

How is pollination handled?

jimmy:

I order a hive of bumblebees. They last about 6 weeks which is about the bloom period. Pluots, apricot, and blueberries start blooming in late January. Sweet cherries end in early March.

I tried Mason bees the first yr to no avail. Honeybees don't like to be in greenhouses. A couple yrs I pollinated by hand with good results but it takes 1-2 hrs per day. Hand pollination is doable for a few trees.

Fruitnut,

I've always greatly admired your work. It's so neat, organized and amazing.

Could you please take pictures when the trees are in full bloom and post them for us to admire?

Amazing, just amazing
No need to say more

Camp Verde

The pluot bloom is very fragrant peaking in early Febr. The citrus bloom in March is as well. The nectarines are the prettiest and mostly come in Febr.

Nectarine:

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Little pompoms of pluot bloom:

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I am speechless. Just WOW

Fruitnut,

Thank you for the beautiful pictures. It makes me want to grow pluot, just for the flowers!

Fruitnut, Seeing the fan in the nectarine picture gave me a thought- you have such tight spacing in the rows, could you just use a leaf blower or strong fan to take the place of bees? I remember seeing a Jon Clements video a while ago where he was pollinating with a blower. But, I think he may have actually been shooting pollen out the blower. I know- sounds funny.

Your pictures are inspirational. Someday I want 2 greenhouses like you have. I'd use one like you do, getting winter chill. The 2nd, I'd like to heat during the winter to grow a 2nd crop to truly produce year round. If one was to spare no expense, there could be a large walk-in refrigeration unit (35-40 degrees) to put potted plants in for long enough to meet chill hours, then move them back into the heated greenhouse for winter production. If you get the timing right, you could grow any fruit at any time. Of course, that assumes enough sun in the climate. That wouldn't be where I currently live, but that doesn't worry me, as I'm sure I'd be retired before trying something like that.

Bob:

My understanding is that peach and nectarine are wind pollinated. So the pollen must float around on the wind. Some other stone fruits have wetter pollen and aren't wind pollinated. I do spray a light mist of water on the nectarines once a day during bloom. Don't know if it really helps but I think it does.

I'd be concerned about excessive humidity and water in a greenhouse in CT especially in winter but even in summer. It's an issue even here in summer. I'm forced to hold back on water as much as possible. If I don't the fruit can be big and watery. Outdoors I don't have that issue, mostly the opposite.

@Bob, I am glad to know I'm not the only one who can think of the big fridge as a means of getting potted plants their winter chill. I thought it was so bizarre that I even feel stupid thinking about it let alone talk to someone about it. I once thought that those big beverage chillers, you see in restaurants, could easily accommodate 2-3 small potted trees or shrubs. I got this idea when I really really wanted to grow berries such as raspberries and currants.

jesus.....christ...

you are the man. that is one hell of a setup you have going there. great job.

FN...

When I grow up.... I wanna be just like you.

Mike

WOW!

That's one Holy Smoke of A Green House set up!

Tom