http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll155/triplembeagles/figs/

Nice plants looks like you are going to get a nice crop of figs
How big is the greenhouse?

The size is 14x40 and it's open on 2 sides which i close in winter. These are all figs

Thats a lot of growth is the persimmon astringent or non.?

[QUOTE=mario]The size is 14x40 and it's open on 2 sides which i close in winter. These are all figs

[/QUOTE]

Hi Mario,

I envy the greenhouse. :)

What part of Italy do the figs come from? I have a black and a white from Calabria, two from Amalfi and one from the Genoa area. They are first year cuttings with no fruit yet. I hope you post some more pictures once they mature.They look really healthy and productive.

Frank

I would love a greenhouse, you are very fortunate to have one congratulations!!!!

Mario ,
Looks like ideal fig habitat. I'm really jealous.

How do you deal with the big temperature swings on sunny days in the Winter ?  Do you heat it for the winter and not let them go dormant ?

Looks great Mario!  I look forward to coming to see you!!

Jim the persimmon is non astringent i believe!! it is called vanilla persimmon in italian it grows the size if a big apple and it turns yellow inside and it tastes like vanilla it also stays hard like an apple. Frank, the figs come from the molise region that is were i was born.Tomorrow i will post pictures of first figs to ripen in green house and try to identify one tree at a time. Blb building greenhouse was the best thing i have done i have figs outside and every winter they die and then come back in spring but they die all the way to bottom this year the 2 trees i had in greenhouse came out from top never died back. Farmer i wait till trees go dormant in nov. and close all sides on greenhouse and they stay dormant till spring when i open it back up

Hi Mario,
Love your greenhouse.  What will you use to close the sides of your greenhouse for winter?

Fantastic greenhouse Mario! It's nice to get a look at it. Is it situated north/south lengthwise? 

I really do want to pay you a visit. I hope that offer is still open :) . Hopefully Sara & I can still coordinate to visit on the same day.  

I owe you a return phone call don't I Mario?  -Will do.

I look forward to those figs ripening. You may very well get a positive ID on some of them once you post some pics of ripe fruit here.

That is a really great greenhouse, could use one like that in my yard.

Texas i use steel panels, i just srew them to the frame it takes about an hour.

Mario, your greenhouse is amazing.   Do you continue improving it? do you mind telling us how much you estimated having spent to build it?

I spent $620 for light panels for roof and one side, rest of material I had from work. I estimate it would cost around a $1000 to built .
I just screw panels on front and side in winter and take them off in spring. One hour worth of work each time. I also plant greens on bottom of 
figs, for eating and the fall plantings last well in to the winter. If I ever find the time I plan on attaching another section on west end of the garage
and have more fruit trees.

Beautiful Greenhouse!  We almost made an offer on a house that included a greenhouse, but JD thinks just because there's a greenhouse is no reason to make an offer when the actual house wasn't that great!  Can you imagine? 

I wish I would have taken photos because the owner had rows of berries in these huge rectangular structures with bird netting across the top and down the sides.  He protected fruit trees under similar structures too.

You did a great job on your greenhouse!

Suzi

Sweet!  Mario, what type of fig is that in the 3rd photo?  I love the leaf.

Steve, that is a Salce fig. The one in next picture is also a Salce but with round leafs. It looks like a total different fig but by the time they get to be 3 yrs old the leafs change and look like picture number 3. Weird I cant explain it.

Mario, Greenhouse looks awesome and the figs are breath taking! Extremely jealous! Wish I had your set up. Maybe one day. Thank you sharing the photos.

Mario,

Does the Salce go by another name?  Can't find it on Jon's listing of fig varieties.

Jon's website does not have every fig in the world. There are several members that have some figs that Jon do not have. Jon does have one of the largest collections "online".

Yea, I understand Dennis, but I have found so much useful info on that part of the website I was kinda surprised when I fianlly found something that wasn't listed there.

Nice greenhouse, Mario!

Even with the ends open, does it get pretty hot in there in the summer?  Do you use fans to circulate air?

What are the large green hoses on the ground?  I've got ideas that maybe it's radiant heat but it doesn't sound like you provide any heating for it.

Thanks for sharing!

Steve, I don't believe anybody had this fig until my father brought it over from Italy. Now there is a lot of them out there, but they all come from me. I didn't name them Mario this or Mario that, I just give them their dialect name from Italy. This is a rare fig even in my hometown there is very few left because nobody works the land anymore.

Mario,

    That's a tremendous start on your greenhouse! It's funny to look at the pictures, though. It looks like you have jailed your figs, which is ironic, because we know you set plenty free. (My Salce are going great guns.) Keep us updated on this project.

Wow, Mario.  What a beautiful greenhouse, and so large!  My grandparents are from the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy, and my grandmother used to have a fig from that area she brought with her when she came to the US.  I have no idea what it was, but she said it was the most favorite fig from where she lived. When she moved, she'd either take the plant or take a cutting.  She moved a lot throughout her life, and I wonder if she kept up the practice all the way to her last home.  I should see if I can take a peek into her last house's backyard, since it's in my general neighborhood.  She ate figs every day, and ate lemons everyday.  She felt it was part of being able to live a long life and have good health.  She lived to 98 and passed away in her sleep, so she must have been on to something!  How special have figs from your area in Italy.

Harvey, it gets very hot in summertime but the greenhouse is on a hill and it gets a nice breeze most of the time, also figs love heat the more the better. The green hose is from a 1500 gal. water tank that is on the side of greenhouse and it catches rain from gutters on the garage . I mostly only use rainwater the hose is 1-1/2 " when i open it it only takes about 5 minutes to flood the greenhouse, very quick way of watering.this year I had to cut all the tops off all those figs they were over 10' tall. Dale, I would rater jail them then loose them to the winter I would never forgive myself after all the trouble my father went through to get them here. Dale, I put a package in the mail this morning for you. Patty, Emilia Romagna is a beautiful region of Italy I have been there, but then again is there any bad region of Italy? Patty, my grandmother was 88 when she died and died in her sleep, she drank wine till the day before she died, she always said water was only good to wash with.

Oh my gosh, this makes me so nostalgic and a wee bit sad, Mario!  My parents and grandparents are gone, now, so it's just my sister and me to carry on our traditions.  My grandmother also drank wine every day of her life.  They had their own vines and made their own wine back in Italy (just about all her neighbors did).  Being Italian-American, our diet sort of became "Americanized", and I'll never forget when she saw us drinking milk with our pasta and Marinara sauce.  I thought she was going to turn green!  She said NO ONE ever drank milk with Marinara sauce, it was "bad for your stomach".  Instead, they would allow the older kids to have watered down wine, and the younger kids had mineral water.  And, we have her and my husband's limoncello recipes (my husband is also of Italian extraction), fortunately.  We make limoncello here and we've gotten the "seal of approval" from Dave's mom (her parents are also from the Emilia Romagna region and Sicily).  Please keep me updated on how your Salce figs do.  I wish I could find out what fig my grandmother so loved.  I have been able to collect the lemons from her area, but haven't been able to ID the fig.  I would just kill to have that fig - a last memory of my grandparents and my dad, and to pass on to my girls, who all like to garden!  (Maiden name is "Marconi", btw).

So many of us are trying to connect with our heritage. My fathers family came form Calabria, Italy. I know his parents grew figs, grapes & hot peppers!  Made their own wine and sausage also , the pepper seeds came from Italy as well as the figs. We used to say that you only passed the pepper over the food and that was hot enough . Don't think I ever saw anyone actually eat a whole one !! No fig trees still grow at their old home(s), nor does anyone have the pepper seeds any longer, sad . My Dad just passed a few months ago at 93 and also drank red wine daily !! Something I do now . As kids we always had wine at the dinner table .

I hope you are able to find the fig tree your family grew, Patty.

Mario , thanks for the pictures. Your greenhouse is wonderful ! We have an area here at our FL home that will eventually be made into a greenhouse.

Such stories. Back in the '80s, we visited the house in which my grandmother was raised, in a little town south of Youngstown. Her sister still lived there.  Dad, (pictured in my profile) took me down into the cellar and he was instantly transported back to his youth. "There is where the sausage hung."  "Over here is where they made wine." you coudl see the sausage bench and the wine stains on the floor. In the wall we could see a stone oven where the bread was baked. Wow, gives "cottage industry" a whole new meaning.  So with Mario's pictures of his home town, I can see where my folks came from and why they were so self-sufficient. Now what's left? What they grew. Thanks Mario.

they can be expensive, if you do it properly