been thinking about rain protection. with forecast looking more and more like a repeat of last yr, i might have to come up with a rain protection. 

i thought about just covering the top of the pot, but that makes watering inconvenient. and there might be mold and what not growing on top of the soil. 

so it need some way to ventilate and accommodate a drip system. sort of like those reed hat you see in chinese painting fishermen uses, but with support to rest on the rim of the pot.  but that still leaves figs out in the open... maybe i'll tie those cocktail umbrella on the figs...

greenhouse

not an option. not enough space for it. and of kids playing ball around here.

If you can't do a GH then your only option is to use large patio umbrellas.  But Gh is your best option.

Clear 55 gallon trash bags.  Cover each plant and tuck the open end under the pot.

unless i can have something like this..i don't want greenhouse.. lol

http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=173&with_photo_id=23819615&order=date_desc&user=616650

Pete,

I plan on putting some of the bigger/older plants out in a couple of weeks. I am planning on putting them along the side of the house facing the east. Thinking of going to the local nursery and buy some of their used greenhouse plastic (approx. 10'x25') and purchase some 2x4x10. I want to line up side to side approx. 5ft apart each and staple the greenhouse plastic over them with approx. 5ft or 6ft  at each ends loose/flaps so I can pull down and secure the sides.

I would line up the pots along side of the house and place the plastic cover over them on an angle against the house and use rope or chains from the inside to secure to the ground. That way it doesn't blow away on windy days.

Basically a temporary greenhouse/shelter for the first month or so.

Set some 4x4s inground with a few slats on top when it rains drape tarp over secured with bungie cords.
or
as some suggested afix patio umbrella "but" over the dark types only.  ; )

Please excuse my ignorance, but here in arid southern California, we pray for all the rain we can get. What bad effects do your potted figs experience when it rains?

Hi cyberfarmer,
Right now, besides flavorless figs, splitting and souring, I don't think of anything else :) .
It is not funny at all: last year while some "Dalmatie" figs started ripening, the rain set in for a week .
The zone of the eye of the 3 figs I was expecting, turned brownish, and I had to cut that zone before swallowing the rest - skin included !
You could as well have problems with roots rotting due to too much moisture.
Here, leaves don't suffer from rain, they even get bigger after a rainy week .

The figs can do anything from lose flavor because of too much water up to and including splitting wide open and tasting nasty.

Hi bullet08,
I like that project !
Just buy some land...

jdsfrance, 

i would buy some land.. as soon as my kids are off to college and i have some spending money. lol 
by the way, what is your name? do you like being addressed jdsfrance? or something else? 

I insulated my building with some sandwiched foil-foam-foil stuff. You can get a similar foil-bubble-foil at Lowe's. I wrapped my roof catchment water tank with it over the winter and it's been holding up to the weather pretty well, so, I'm thinking of using that to wrap my root environments. It's not as durable as sheet metal, but not nearly as likely to damage the plant either. And, I already have some on hand. I have a kind of different set up in mind that I'll be trying. I'll be posting about it as I go. But, our last frost date is May 10 so it will be a while till I move stuff out and have to mess with it.

grey, thanks for the tip.. now how is that going to help me with rain protection? :) 

I'm going to cut out circles a bit bigger than the pots, cut in to the center, cut out a hole for the stem, put it on, put enough overlap at the edge to pull it into a cone shape, and staple it together. I'm just looking at keeping rain out of the pot. If you want the whole tree dry that takes a different solution. Or, maybe, just let it get wet then take a blow-dryer to it. If you put the right conditioner on it before the rain you could probably get it to shape up nicely.

Are the problems caused by the tree drinking too much water? ...or do you need to keep the leaves and fruit dry?

Send me your white types i'll give them permanent protection.  ; )

Dieseler,
You should buy a "goutte d'or".
Do me a favor, put her next to your best black figtree ... Just a test ...
My "Goutte d'or" or the weather turned some dark figs to light colored ones last year. I'll see this year if it is the case once more .
If that happen in your orchard, I'll know that "goutte d'or" was the culprit ! ... Thanks a lot for your help :)
Dieseler, you could keep your trees and still jump to the other side :)