I am surprise to see you back home from the Dakota’s. I didn’t know they still have them big animals, anyway glad you survive that ordeal. Steve I plan my winter workload starting January first. I pretty well knows how much my trees are growing by now. It was tight last winter, so i’l try To have a smooth transition .

Don't remind me.....I Have to start my basement grow area expansion soon, need more lights, tables another timer

Steve, it always comes down to room. I pretty much have all the basics ready to go like Bob from last season actually. I also get all the re pots, Fish Emulsion spraing done all summer so I won't have problems with roots or bugs. I do this as summer goes along.

The biggest thing I have to do is wash out the greenhouse, and prep the shelves and decide which ones stay and which ones will go, and yet it seems I always end up with more than the previous year. Crazy and crazy how fast fall approches. I could almost feel it today with the grey clouds, darker day, cooler temps, no fragrance of summer, no barbecues, and an early sunset..Ugh(((

Where I live (PNW), we have a late start to the growing season. Temperatures don't really start remaining consistently warm until about late May, but the warm temperatures will continue until about the middle of October.

So the growing season is not really "half over" yet.

If your operation is small, I guess you don’t do nothing, for me it is 4 season full time. I like to slow down big time. Start given away lots of stuff.

Have more than that not showing. Need to build one of this thing soon.

I think I can built it for around $70..for parts, welding free. Solid 16” tires $30.. HF. Steel $20..

Anyone put potted Citrus in a greenhouse for winter? I don't currently have a Citrus plant, BUT, I may get one next spring and overwinter in my greenhouse, I just need to see IF I can get my greenhouse to stay at LEAST 25F over winter. I am planning on using a room heater type of heater with extension cords, OR wrapping lights (C-9 NON led) around the plants that are not very hardy. I have a 12X8 greenhouse, so I wonder IF I'd need 2 heaters. I am not sure how much heat would stay in, though.

poaky1, go to this site to determine your heating requirements: http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/heat-calc.shtml

Make sure you use an extension cord that has the proper rating for use with your heaters or you might have a fire.

poaky

Think carefully on getting a citrus tree. Citrus trees are very hard to grow in containers. Decent tasting citrus fruits are readily available at lo costs. Any tree you see at nurseries are grafted to the wrong root stock.. My citrus trees take up more care time than my 3 fruit orchards , home ground level + rooftop garden , and my community garden. I grow kumquats ($7.99/pound). sweet lemons and figs both not purchasable. I have picked enough kumquats and lemons over the past 3 years to equal the volume of 1 large grapefruit. I have picked enough figs to fill a 5 gallon bucket over the same time period..

Most people here are growing citrus as a hobby. I am growing citrus for serious food production All of my gardening is for food production and is not a hobby for me so my views are different from many others.

My Fukushu kumquats are the best looking and most trouble free trees.

Steve

What Steve said.

I grow citrus in containers mostly as a hobby. They do not produce much fruit but take a lot of care and they are difficult to keep alive and healthy. I started seriously growing figs in containers last year and have about 25 trees. Figs are much easier to grow.

When I put my greenhouse stats into that calculator it said NaN. I don't know what that means. I did have to guess of the height of the sidewalls of my greenhouse. I just know it's a 12X8. It's one of the Amish made ones that is delivered already put together, it has 1 vent, plus the door has a screen that you can put up to close the window. I guess I should just measure the height of the sidewalls. I was told that I could buy a cheap room heater and that would work. I am using Heavy duty and medium duty extension cords. I bought a heavy duty cord that has multiple plug in ports on it. I was thinking about using C-9 NON led lights wrapped around some plants like my baby Windmill palm. Those greenhouse heaters aren't very cheap. I will have to think on IF I want to buy one of them or just use a room heater. I got that suggestion from somebody on this forum that grows to zone 9a temps in his zone 5 or 6 in his greenhouse, I do NOT know his greenhouse size though. I asked BUT he hadn't replied. I am in zone 6a SW Pa. My greenhouse is up against the South side of my house, brick wall, so, maybe some heat would be added, BUT, really, IF it's -8F outside I am guessing not much heat to add.

Is your greenhouse single layer or double layer glazing. Mine is 4 layers of glass and I use a Pelonis heater set at 55F for the lemon tree. I used a 25 watt and two 13 watt CFL daylight bulbs for the 4 layer glass Fukushu Enclosure, and a 23 watt CFL for the Valentine Enclosure

Steve

I THINK it's twin walled panels and the lower part of the walls have solid wood or composite the last 3 feet. The guy on this forum said he uses a 1500 watt heater in his, he had used 2 of them in the coldest temps, BUT, I am not sure about his greenhouse's size. I may be able to post a pic eventually.

Figs are zone 7a or 7b, right? I'd be happy to get a few oranges on a Mandarin orange patio citrus tree.

Hardy Chicago can go in ground in zone 6. It will be killed back to the ground below 10F but it fruits well on first years growth.

Steve

Citrus is definitely much harder to grow than Figs.... but easier to grow than other tropicals such as avocados or mangos etc etc. If you only get 1 or 2 citrus trees, you should be fine... it's when you get 5, 10, 20 different trees... lots of work and not much production.

I have a Ponderosa Lemon (1st tree ever and it flowers year round, big fragrant flowers) and I have a Blood Orange... just flowered this Summer so we'll see how it does fruit wise. I keep mine inside my house by a sunny window during Winter and they do fine.

Omg! Already half over? thank you for the reminder Steve. All my trees are now repotted in rootmaker pot with 5-1-1 mix. Ouf... it was quite a job to repot them all and if I will have to repot one more tree I will probably faint.

We finished to assemble the new greenhouse and now we are working to insulate it as much as we can for winter.

We bought rigid panel to insulate the north side. We also sprayed the aluminum frame with polyurethane. I will also have to buy a pool solar cover to put on it. Amyway, lots of work before we are ready for winter!

You might consider a long narrow bench about 10” high so that your pots are of the ground. In the winter the ground temps should not transfer temps into the pot. A 4 by 8 sheet of styrofoam split 3ways, each 16” wide, if your press for time.Good luck, Bob.

Hi again, my computer isn't letting me post pics, so, I will just tell you that my greenhouse has twin walled panels on the roof and most of the area of the walls, and wood or composite on the last 3 - 31/2 ft of the bottom. I may try a hardy Fig next season. I do want to see just how good it holds in the heat and IF I can heat it to a zone 8b at least and add some NON led C-9 lights I can have it in the greenhouse for winter, OR keep it there until it gets to the coldest time in winter. Last winter was a zone 7a for me here, BUT, you just never know what you will be getting here.

Growing the Citrus and semi tropical plants isn't likely for me here though. I am trying a small Windmill palm in the greenhouse this year. I was inside last winter, BUT, my moms cats chewed all the fronds off, it did grow more this year though.

I've seen in the plant catalogs how it says zone 6a for the "Brown Turkey fig" and Poncirusguy, you mentioned the "Hardy Chicago" being zone 6 Inground hardy, is that once they get biggish, or even while small? AND, Is the fruit really good, or just okay?

Years ago, a lady I worked with had a potted Fig she brought indoor for winter and had fruit every year from it, she likely had a giant window or patio to put it by. We have cats, so, well, you know, no plants gonna do well indoors for me, and the only good window is by my mom's bed, so, I am going to be using the greenhouse for most of the overwintering, I do have a window in the basement that is a south facing window, BUT, I would'nt want to use it anything but for short term. Thinks get forgotten down there as far as watering. Later.

Brown Turkey figs set fruit on second years wood. Fig trees will be killed back to ground level every year 9 out of 10 years so no second year wood. The fig buds on second year wood are kill below 18F so 99 out of 100 years you will get no figs from a brown turkey fig tree. Hardy Chicago bears fruit early on first years wood and very early on second years wood. You will get first years wood figs every year

and second year wood figs every 100 years. Hardy Chicago fig is your only choice for reliability in production. A fully ripe hardy Chicago fig will blow your socks off in flavor.

Steve

Okay, Thanks, where have you bought the Chicago hardy fig trees from? I know I can do a websearch, BUT, IF you know offhand a source, hopefully mail order, so I can buy one. I may get one soon If they are not too costly. I won't expect fruit for a year or so, BUT, IF it does get fruit on it next spring it will just be a plus.

hardy chicago

I ordered a 4 inch plant Hardy Chicago. Money is tight or I'd have gone larger. I will surely need to add extra heat in a small shelter within my greenhouse or it will die on me. Once larger it should be fine. I am guessing that a small 4 inch plant will NOT be very hardy.

They grow like weeds so get the 2 inch size and get several. The company is good with shipping charges in favor of its customers

You can protect your figs using fairly simple methods, wrap tree in burlap or frostcloth (at this point I dont bother for my inground) and place a protective cover over it - drill a few small holes on upper for air circulation. One fig is in a pot brown pail - in a hole dug into ground dug up in spring, one fig is in ground blue pail.

I keep my in ground small, I dont feed the birds, it will get close to 10 feet tall at end of summer. The goal is to get thick stalk and arms so its not completely growing back every year - main crop only. Although I was thinking of making cover slightly taller and wider to get a few Breba figs. For babies your good to go like this. FYI this was pruned neater later.

I'm in zone 7B NYC

It looks like my message sat for an hour before it posted. The rest is true.

pot diameter is 11 inches. 4 months growth since 4 inch rooted cutting started setting on new growth.

Steve

I got 1 4 incher. I am not sure about planting inground the first year. I will pot and put in the greenhouse until next spring. Maybe next year it will go in the ground.

As for shipping, they charged me $12 bucks, unless they will adjust the cost. I don't see anything in my email about my purchase yet, which is odd, I usually have that in my email minutes after buying plants. I'll just have to wait and see I guess.

You can call them on the phone. I agree that the pot is the best idea for thus year.

I have NOT gotten anything in my email yet, so, I am thinking my purchase had NOT gone through. I will be checking my credit card info now after ending this email. I am kinda glad because I have just emailed a friend that happens to have the "Hardy Chicago" Fig already in his greenhouse and I can get it for the cost of shipping. Hearing that he has them, I am going to ask that he send me one, unless my credit card has been charged.

There has NOT been anything on my credit card where I had purchased the "Hardy Chicago" fig tree, SO, I emailed my friend that has them in his greenhouse, and had offered me one. I am going to get one from him. He usually offers things free to me, if he wants anything for them it's usually shipping, BUT, he usually doesn't ask for anything. He is great at grafting all kinds of trees. It's his hobby. I am NOT saying this will be grafted though. I am glad that my sale hadn't gone through. It looks like you don't add heat, just cover, but, you are zone 7b and I am zone 6a. I am guessing FULL SUN is needed, right? I have a place that I could plant it, and there's access to a plug and I could use some lights for a bit of heat, BUT, it is in partial shade. I COULD get creative and find room, BUT, it says zone 6a hardy,so, it should be, at least root hardy in zone 6,right? If NOT, it isn't a zone 6a hardy plant. I guess IF the roots are fine in zone 6a, technically it IS zone 6a hardy. I'll just get fruit on the new seasons growth like someone has mentioned. Sorry for not knowing exactly who mentioned that. I have lottsa emails to go through, I only go online a couple times a week, maybe once a week IF I have been busy. Thanks for all the help Poncirus, Bklyn Citrus and anyone that has posted. Later guys.

I mistakenly "liked" my own post.

My friend won't be sending the Fig until next spring, so, I will try and update then. I hope that I will remember to.