I put my figs (black mission, lsu purple, ischia, and Italian honey) in my greenhouse last week. The black mission is already starting to bud. Just curious if anyone else has started their figs in the greenhouse this early, and how soon can I expect figs? The temps are now in the 60-80s during the day and lows in the 40s and sometimes upper 30s at night. It's been cold in central PA.

hi Troy, pls introduce yourself.  Where are you?  Describe your green house.  What zone are you in?

Welcome to the forum Troy.

Welcome to the forum Troy, from another PA grower.  Sorry I can't answer adequately, I do not have a greenhouse (yet).

Do you have a way to heat your greenhouse when the next cold snap hits?

Welcome to the forum. The low temps are the most important. They might bud but will continue to grow slow. Even in the south I don't have any starting to grow except the ones in the heated greenhouse.

I guess an introduction would be nice. I'm not used to posting on forums, just lurking. Anyways, I started growing figs about 5 years ago, starting with the brown turkey, then upgrading to Chicago hardy. I started finding out about hardier figs last year, but didn't know where to find them or where to start. I propagated my other figs before and gave them away to friends. Now I am trying to root a bunch of cool varieties (ronde de Bordeaux, Florea, etc) I got from a man in Lancaster who posts on this forum.
I live in south central pa (zone 6b). I built my greenhouse last spring out of old windows (9'x13'). I insulated it with storm windows and plastic and have managed to keep it above freezing thus far with just a 1500 watt heater that hasn't been turned up the whole way. I have citrus and an avocado tree growing inside. I've been gardening since I was a kid and have always wanted a greenhouse. Now I finally have a place to escape the long cold winters.

I like how people on this forum experiment and document some of their experiences. I have a few things that I'm going to test like how soon I can get fruit from my figs in the greenhouse, grafting, testing hardiness, and exposing newly grafted plants to colder temps. I'm looking forward to joining the community.
Thanks,
Troy

Here's a photo of the inside.

Those white things sure do create a lot of clutter where figs should be. Just kidding, it looks really nice. My wife would probably appreciate me growing some geraniums but I manage to kill them. Be careful though, this fig fever is really bad and I'm running out of time to keep up with them.

welcome to the forum Troy

Welcome to the madness, Troy.  I hope your cuttings are doing well. Bill (Lancaster)

Hey Bill! Wasn't sure if I should mention you by name. I am soon going to have to get rid of those flowers to make room for my 30 some cuttings. I figured I'd test a few brown turkey cuttings in the greenhouse now to see if they can handle the cold (I'm not too concerned if they die).

Fruit needs heat units to set. Greenhouse can give you a head start if you will later move them outside. Greenhouse only will give inferior fruit. But real summer is the best way to get fruit to set (main crop).

Welcome!  You should have some great figs when the time comes.

There's nothing inferior about my greenhouse fruit. Last yr I tested one fig at 44 brix. My stone fruits routinely run 20-32 brix. If fruit is inferior in a greenhouse it's the construction, operation, or climatic limitations that limit the fruit. Figs and most deciduous fruit need high light, low humidity, a water deficit, and moderate to high daytime temperatures to reach highest eating quality.

To maximize fig eating quality try to duplicate the climatic conditions in the best outdoor climates for figs. In those Mediterranean climates it's hot, sunny, and dry all summer. These type climates with deficit irrigation also maximize eating quality of stone fruit, grapes, pomegranate, and many other fruits native to that area.

I've been growing fruit 45 yrs. My current greenhouse fruit is by far the best I've ever grown.

I grew them in the greenhouse for most of the summer with the windows open. The temperatures stayed in the 90's - low 100's. They grew a lot, but didn't produce any figs (2 year old plants). I'm thinking that the conditions were very similar to an inland Mediterranean climate. The humidity was around 30 which is low compared to the humid summers of pa. I will let you know how it turns out.
Fig nutty, how soon do you get figs on your trees?

In the Northeast, we may not get the sun intensity that Steve gets in sunny arid Texas.   I would not want a greenhouse in our area that reduces the sunlight intensity by much.  Some materials could do that.

Thanks. I'll see how things go. I'll keep a few in the greenhouse over the summer just to test it out.
Must be nice having such a long season. What varieties seem to produce the earliest?

I'll know more about earliest after this yr. But I'd think early outdoors would equal early in a greenhouse. Quit a bit has been posted on that subject. My June 11 fig was a Strawberry Verte breba. Tasted very good. It's good in fall also but quality does fall off after early October.

Fignutty if I am not mistaken your greenhouse figs are in ground? That does make a difference, and I am sure your fruit is excellent. I am sorry for confusion, I just meant to say that my container fruit in greenhouse was not anywhere near as good as sun-ripened outdoors, it was still decent fruit. I believe the person who started this thread meant container growing, but maybe I have misunderstood. Also, a small hobby greenhouse and a huge professional greenhouse make a big difference as well.

I'm no fig connoisseur. All I've eaten are brown turkey and Chicago hardy. Would someone like me really notice too much of a difference? Also, I open 6 of the windows and put the figs beside them, would that help?

Here is how it looks in the summer

With the longer days now some buds are breaking on my greenhouse figs. It is important to keep your figs warm enough at this point if they already started to break. Some brebas are forming on mine now, but I'll have to increase the heat to get them to ripen properly. 
you can expect to have a main crop early if temperatures are adequate.

With this cold snap that's coming, I will only be able to keep the around upper 30's to low 40's. Will that cause damage?