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Figs in the Greenhouse

Hey Guys
I hope someone can advise me on what to do
I have my figs in a small home made greenhouse
I have a small heater that keeps the temperature at above  2C  35F over night
there is no danger of them freezing
My concern is on sunny days the house is like a sauna it gets to about 30C  90F degrees even if its only for a few hours at a time is this going to harm the plants
I'm not home to open the window or the door to keep it cooler during the week
in the weekends I can keep the temps down no problem
any advice,thoughts or ideas would help
this is an experiment but I don't want to lose any plants in the proses if I can help it
I have some of the trees in ground in the greenhouse and some are in pots
the pots I can move to the garage but I would rather not if they would be OK in the greenhouse

Thanks to all


If your heater is a plug-in type then you should consider using a timer.
You can set it to stay on all night and turn on and off several times during the day.

Don't know if there are any plug in heaters with a built in thermostat, At least I haven't seen any.

Good luck

You may want to install a exhaust fan on thermostat control.

Ooops, looks like you did the same mistake about the GH
as I originally did.  I thought about the heating, but not
"enough" about the cooling; specially on a bright sunny winter day.
I had 2 autamatic opening vents on the roof; but not enough!
I had seen temps exceeding 100+ *F. My soln. was to
hang-upside-down,  with a baffle to divert air out, two
(cheap - thermostat controlled) Lasco 2'x2' box fans.

They did the job perfecly!

Many plant nurseries use a white overwintering plastic on their hoophouses when storing potted plants to cut down heat gain on sunny winter days. May need ventilation as well , but the white plastic diminishes the greenhouse effect to some degree.

I have killed many trees in my greenhouse in the past. Using a heater and a cooling fan are very important to keep temperature regulated.
The easiest and the cheapest way to add the cooling is to get an attic fan that comes with a thermostat. It's only $50 at home depot.
In the winter you want your trees to go dormant specially if the temperatures drop down to 35°. Do not allow temperatures to go above 70° by setting the fan thermostat to kick in at that temperature.
I now have a greenhouse filled with tropipcals and figs.

I have a greenhouse in zone 6a Toronto and I use a heater with a timer to moderate the temp.  It does not come on at all between 7 am and 4 pm and then comes on every two to three hours for 20 minutes at a time at night until about 6 am.  During the winter it sometimes gets a bit warm during a very sunny day, but nothing to worry about in my opinion because at most it will be warm for a few hours from say 1 pm to 230 3 pm then it cools down outside considerably even if its sunny.  And on partly or fully cloudy days, it is very cool in there.
One thing to note with my greenhouse is that it is 16 x 8 and I line the inside with a combo of bubble wrap and poly tarp during the dormant season as a form of insulation. I think that diffuses the direct rays of the sun during a bright sunny winter day therefore keeping it cooler.
Mario, I wonder if the small size your greenhouse is the reason it gets so hot?
Nas

Thanks Guys
I have a thermocube I think that's what its called its a plug that as a thermostat build in
it turns the heater on at 35F and shuts it off at 45F
it seems to work fine if the temperature is cold outside what I was concerned about is how hot it gets on sunny days 80's to 90's if its a full day of sun and how it effects the plants will they break dormancy even if its only a few hours when its sunny
The green house is 8x12 and I have it double wrapped in poly

Thanks again

marjo,
 
In our hoophouse, we have three zones.  The heated South side has heat from the wood outdoor furnace that comes on around 50 - 55 degrees.  The North side gets residual heat from the South and rarely gets below 30 degrees.  The addition built last year, mainly for figs has no heat at night and the temp drops to about the same as outside.
 
The addition is on the East and heats up quickly on sunny mornings and can get over 70 degrees.  The South side takes a little longer to receive the sun but heats up immensely because of the smaller size.  If I am not available to open the divider doors to the North, it can surpass 95 degrees.  The North is more moderated, and the fig trees in there go dormant.  This is the first winter for in-ground trees on the South, but it looks like they are going to hold most leaves, not sure about all the figs on the King. 
 
Despite the high temps, the trees that go dormant have bounced back just fine in the Spring and wait until then to leaf out.  Sometimes ones in pots leaf out early, but it hasn't been a problem, if extra cold comes, I just move them to the heated side for a few nights. 
 
I expect yours will do fine despite the drastic temperature shifts.  I have been surprised at how well mine have done despite that situation. 
 
Trees in the addition died back to the ground last winter, but roots survived without protection, except for one that died.  Those grew spectacularly this year and I have added root protection in the form of straw for a little more insurance.

Thanks Elizabeth
That makes me feel better I was just at the greenhouse and its about 36F inside
the outside temperature is at 19F its twice as warm inside than it is outside
I really appreciate all the comments and ideas  from all
I know Winter is here for a bit longer but I feel I had enough of it already

Can't wait till the day are longer and warmer


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