Just finished preparing a nice cozy space for my potted figs to spend the winter. I have an attached shed that is about 10 x 12 that I use to store all those christmas decorations and other seasonal items. I insulated the walls and roof with R-13 (plastic encapsulated) and installed a thermostatically controlled power outlet and an oil-filled electric heater. The plan is to stow the potted figs in this space for the winter with the power set to kick-on at 35* and off at 38*. The shed is well sealed against drafts and moisture and has an insulated steel door and concrete floor. I'll keep an ambient thermometer in the space so I can observe the temperature differential with outside in the coming weeks before the figs go away.

Lucky you. You are all set then.
I have to pick up my pots, go through The house and through two sets of stairs and finally reach the cold storage given to me reluctantly for winter storage of my figs which stays around 7C~8C`(45F) during the winter months and dark unless someone forgets to turn off the light. My plants stay dormant until the maple trees start showing buds (but still chance of good white frost).
My feeling about your thermostat set up is that it is too narrow (tight) range. You may economically set it at 30F~42F with no damage to your plants (freezing or breaking dormancy). For my own use I would have tried a little more economical (a bit wider) range.

Out here e are getting ready for summer - somewhere in the 90s this week./ The older in-ground figs are long gone, but the newer trees are getting a good excuse to finally ripen their first fruit, so am seeing several things for the first time, and there are some winners.

135-15s from USDA/UC Davis is fabulous.
GM1 is also a defintie winner.
Barnisotte looks completely different than last year, and is still a winner.
More to come soon.

yes, Jon. You are in fig paradise so no worries about thermostat set-ups, wrapping up trees, frost in spring or fall, burying plants or moving 7-gallon pots to and from the basement etc.` etc.
We have at least one advantage; we enjoy each ripened or ripe-like fig more than you do even if you pretend to enjoy as much (... we have to have some advantage since we wait so long !).

Ottawan,
I can feel for you. Even though I have a nice space to use, I still need to carry them from my elevated deck, down 7-8 steps, across sloping ground about 50 ft before I get to the shed. Nite quite as bad as yours but difficult none the less (amazing what we do for the figs). Regarding the temperature range ... I bought a realatively inexpensive (~$50) thermostatically controlled power outlet from ACF Greenhouses with a fixed temperature differential of 3 degrees so I can't control the on/off range. That's fine because I just want to keep it from getting too cold and the current set-up should be enough to keep them above freezing. I checked the temps yesterday morning ... it was in the upper 50's outside Sunday and dropped to 29 by yesterday morning. The thermometer I had in the shed showed it stayed at about 46/48 inside. I think it will drop more if the weather stays cold. If I'm lucky the heater will not kick-on very often and will keep my electric bill from getting crazy. In fact, I may have to watch that the temperatures do not warm up too much in the shed and cause the trees to start growing over the winter. I will have to watch things closely. Maybe a remote thermometer will make it easier.

Jon - Are you braggining again :o)

Ottawan is right, we work harder in the colder climates so we savor the rewards more! Must be boring to have warm weather all the time (that's jealousy speaking).

Jon im curious what month and what is the coldest temperature in ahhemm your winters?
Martin

Jon does not have any coldest month because he does not have any WINTER in San Diego! He has only three seasons: fall, spring and summer. They designate some of the weeks as winter to join the season celebrations (with a basket of ripe figs)..

I know Jon and I have it made in fig heaven but we do get frost! The poor Avocado growers in the area have to break out the old smuge pots every few years too. We actually had a few days below freezing last 'winter'. Brrr. I even got what I think would be considered a bit of snow one day. What's that white stuff on the ground? Oh, never mind, it's gone. :-)

Sue

>>> The shed is well sealed against drafts and moisture
Do not do a very good job in sealing enclosures (like I did last year!).
Without some ventilation, you will notice water condensation and mold
(this was other than my garage space - an eclosure next to the house).

>>> and installed a thermostatically controlled power outlet ...
>>> with the power set to kick-on at 35* and off at 38*.
If this is the outlet I saw advertised, I think that it is on the higher end.
I was thinking of using it as a heater-failure-alarm in my greenhouse.
Yes, I did have one GH mishap before...
In my detached garage, I have a theremostat that can go much lower,
I think last year it was set at 32*F, to control a small electric heater.
My Min/Max thermometer (a very good investment) never registered
below the "safe" 20*F, and for the last 2 years,  my garage has
been a success for winterizing figs. It has at least a leaky door....

Gorgi,
 I agree about the potential for a moisture problem and I plan to periodically air it out. I go in and out several times a week for things anyway. Overall it is very dry (I even store some power tools out there without a problem). The added moisture resulting from storing my 3 potted figs should be minimal.

The one I bought can go 30* at the low end. It has a piggy-back power outlet. http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/controls.shtml it is the ACF Prewired Thermostat

I have set-up the heater similar to you as a fail-safe in case the insulated space drops too low. Based on the last 2 days that were pretty cold out by morning (29 Mon and 34 today) the space stayed in the upper 40's. I expect that during extended cold periods that it will get colder. It may never get down below 20 in there. In case it does, the heater will take the "edge" off. We'll see how it goes by watching the temperature differential between now and when I put the figs away. Hopefully it will work out (a little trial and error). I appreciate the comments and sharing your experiences. 

Does anyone else simply bury the potted figs for the winter? Once the leaves fall I take my cuttings then tie the branches together and bury them in the vegetable garden pot and all. I do it on Thanksgiving weekend w/ the help of my youngest son.
When the frost is out of the ground (usually mid March) they are
dug up. In between, no watering, heating or ventilating. Except for the occasional injury by shovel they overwinter just fine.

I'm on LI, NY zone6/7 w/ winter in the 20F range with occasional single digits.

Hi
I saw CMDRZOG's  posting on the forum. I live in NJ and bring my potted figs in the house and in the shed. I woiuld like to try your burying method. Do you cover the whole plant?. Ever try burying the pot part and mounding the top part with dirt and leaves? I'm going to give one a try this year. I have about a dozen potted figs and some years are better than others. Anyone else use this method. Worth a try

I turn the plant on its side, the branches are tied together so the pot is actually deeper than the tree. I dig a trench the width of the garden, lay in a large tree on either side, pots on the outside, then place smaller plants on top. Then another trench the dirt from it covering the first group of plants, this trench is then filled w/ plants. Repeat until all plants are buried.
My soil is very sandy and drains well. When I started doing this I used to cover the area w/ bagged leaves (left in the bag) then a tarp. With so many people using landscapers now it is too hard to find bagged leaves (I'm certainly not going to rake them, I mow them) so the past 2 Winters the only covering has been about 6" of dirt.

I believe the burial depth will depend on the winter hardiness zone , colder zones requiring deeper burial and more top protection.

OK, This is Fall in San Diego, Saturday October 25, 2008:



The ring is 1" in Diameter, and the fig is 3+" accross. This is Raspberry Latte, only getting even better with it's 3rd crop this season.

As for the coldest month, generally our lowest temps are second or third week of December, about the same time they have the freezes in the citrus groves in Florida. That is generally a few days to a week. More extended, though less cold, periods are generally January, February and early March.

And this is fall in Ottawa:
"Environment Canada's Official Weather Warnings
Winter storm watch for Ottawa North - Kanata -
3:50 PM EDT Monday 27 October 2008
The first Major snow storm of the season likely late Tuesday and Tuesday night. This is an alert to the potential development of dangerous winter weather conditions in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements. Snowfall accumulations in excess of 15 centimeters are likely before it tapers off during the day Wednesday."

What a fall weather it is and for kids at Halloween. My plants are still outside due to procrastination. My old bones have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I have to plug my ears while taking the plants to the cold store room so I will not hear "Watch the carpet", "Your shoes...", "You are bringing a lot of dirt inside". ---.
I hope next fall I will feel that it was worth the effort.

Well, I sympathize. I woke up and looked outside and their is a good inch of sleet and wet snow covering everything. I went outside to clear off the patio awnings that were collapsing under the weight. It rained this weekend so I didn't get to remove the leaves from the lawn so they are now nice and wet and smashed into the grass. And of course, my potted figs are still outside because I was waiting for all the leaves to fall off. I am in a slightly higher elevation in northwest NJ and get the same weather as the Pocono Mountains in eastern PA - so I am sure a few of our fig friends their have some complaints this morning also. Oh yeah, I guess Jon is still picking figs ;)

Ottawan, you describe bringing tree in house very well, when i store tree's in garage i have to hear" that darn tree is poking me everytime i come home from work" but this year i made room on other side of garage so it should be pk until my other little ones grow up.  : )
 Speaking of SNOW yes we had some flurries then sleet now some cold and now this big pressure from ahem Canada is now matching toward northeast of country so our eastern neighbors will get a little taste of winter, then here it will be hitting 60 later this week a heat way for the trick or treaters.
Martin

Ottawan, i think you will feel the effort was worth it . : )
In the meantime keep the snow up there for a while longer.
Martin

Well the snow continues outside. I potted a few of my cuttings today and put them in my bay window (no sun today). Starting from the left is the Experiment Group A cutting and a Martin's Unknown both potted today. Next is the Desert King potted over the weekend that is doing very well. In the center is a crab apple seedling I planted as a seed a few months ago. Next is the Martin's Unknown potted over the weekend (also doing great) and finally is a Martin's potted today. They look like a happy bunch sitting there with the pumpkins my three boys painted last week. Notice that the nasty snowy weather outside.

Steve, those children of yours can paint nice, those pumkins look great. The cuttings look nice also and seem to be doing very well for you but no surprise there your rooting and growing skills are very good!!!
Martin

Thanks Martin. I'll have to tell the kids that my fig friends like their work. Weather is still nasty. A maple tree went down in the woods next to my house from the wet snow and wind. I'll have to tune-up the chainsaw next weekend.

UPDATE: Reference post #1

I have been watching outside temperatures vs. the temperature in my insulated shed where I have 3 potted figs stored. Yesterday morning was 11 degrees F outside and the shed stayed at 36 degrees. I did not venture out to check if the heater kicked on to account for the temperature difference. I have noted that the shed has been staying in the upper 30's to low 40's during this extended cold spell we are having in NJ. The problem I forsee is when the outside temperatures get warmer in the spring.

The shed has been staying in mid-40's when the outside temp goes into 50's during the day and 30's at night. Wondering if I am going to have an issue in the spring with these trees breaking dormancy early if the temperatures start swinging day to night. Any thoughts?

Steve,
mine are in attached garage and in early spring it gets warmer of course mine do seem to break dormancy earlier as in past i have peeked under the sheets covering tham and have seen nice buds ready to open. But for me its good as i pull sheets off and let them get sun through top panel of garage door, they also get some air circulation when we go in and out of garage which is everyday. Also when the weather is nicer at that point i start bringing them in and out of garage during day to sit in blacktop drivewat which heats up from sun and radiates into the fig pots , all this enables me to get a slight head start in our climate.
Do you have clear roof on shed for light to shine in ? I was thinking maybe you cant head start also as you have the heater and thermostat to control night temperatures once they get the buds, what do you think?
Gee what we do in the colder climates for our fig tree's like you said Jon is probably still picking or just stopped perhaps recently.
Martin

Martin,
No the roof is shingled and there are no windows so no chance of getting early light. I did get my christmas present (4FT grow light) that I may put in there in the early spring. Yes we go to extremes for our figs.
My wife says "I take better care of the figs then I do of the kids" (she's joking of course). My standard response to her is "that's because the figs don't talk back to me like my kids do."