Yes its a about time some warmer weather sets in !
snaglpus
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Hi Nick, love the GH! Can't wait to see the finish product. The Venting tape is an excellent idea. I should have used that on mine but I did not. I did however go back and add the clear silicone which was the best thing. I secured my GH using rebar attached to my 4x4 base and gravel trench. It work and the only damage I've had in heavy wind storms is the ripping off of the vent window. The panel use to pop out but the sicilione stopped that. I've repaired my vent twice and I have to repair it again. This time, I'm gonna do it my way and install a piano hinge.
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=snaglpus]
Hi Nick, love the GH! Can't wait to see the finish product. The Venting tape is an excellent idea. I should have used that on mine but I did not. I did however go back and add the clear silicone which was the best thing. I secured my GH using rebar attached to my 4x4 base and gravel trench. It work and the only damage I've had in heavy wind storms is the ripping off of the vent window. The panel use to pop out but the sicilione stopped that. I've repaired my vent twice and I have to repair it again. This time, I'm gonna do it my way and install a piano hinge.
[/QUOTE]
Hey Dennis do you have any pictures of your rebar by chance? I'm likely going to over-engineer the hell out of this thing. I'm pretty worried about the wind we get. I've even considered putting a few fence pieces with evergreens around it as wind blocks.
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=Dieseler]Yes its a about time some warmer weather sets in ![/QUOTE]
Amen! Looks like I'll still have to shuffle as early next week the night temp is supposed to dip back into the thirties, but hopefully it won't be in/out every night from here on out. I'm going to wait until the night temps are in the 50s before I start bringing a lot of the indoor figs out... but I'll of course have to try at least one a bit earlier :)
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=sppsp]hey Nick, Few years back we had lots of gnats flying around and I went to the dollar store and got sticky fly tape. The gnats population have been under control since. good luck
also, great pictures and love the warrior plant[/QUOTE]
If you look close in some of my pics you can see those same fly strips. They are messy as heck and fill up with gnats quickly. I really like the yellow "test cards" that you see in my recent pictures. They aren't nearly as messy and are much easier to put where you want them. They all help reduce the gnats, but I think I have so many plants in my office at this point that I just can't wipe them all out... not to mention the rest of the house which has them now and I can't bug bomb due to a large saltwater aquarium. Once it warms up a bit, I'll be able to move nearly all my plants outside and let nature take care of the problem for me!
Unfortunately, I can't take pictures at work... but I have a hardy chicago at my desk with a single flourescent light over it. I started it at work, as a cutting two months ago, in a 2L bottle with a dunkin donuts cup inside of it. I've since repotted it into a 3g self watering pot and it now has two branches about 3ft tall. I pinched it today to see if it will put figs on. I am pretty surprised it is growing as well as it is with just a 15W flourescent "spotlight" over it.
johnnyq627
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Took the girls out for a bit of sun today! It also gave me a chance to repot a few that weren't enjoying the cocoa shell mix and how wet it stayed.
They expect to finish the piers today. I missed most of the early spring, but it will be nice to extend my growing season to ripen those late figs.
johnnyq627
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How to know you have a gnat problem...
[URL=http://s110.photobucket.com/user/johnnyq627/media/Figs/2014Apr12/IMAG0969.jpg.html][IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/Figs/2014Apr12/IMAG0969.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
johnnyq627
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Well, the greenhouse hit a rock, literally. The contractors need to come back Monday night with a jack hammer to break up some of the rocks.
What a beautiful weekend! 70+ degrees and sunny all weekend long. But man was it windy! I had to brace a few of my taller RdBs and put their 5g SIPs inside larger pots to keep them from falling over (made me realize I'm going to have a problem this summer with my 5g SIPs).
I also planted a Bronx White that I got from Jimmy last year. It is supposed to get cold for a couple of days later in the week so I will have to protect it.
Hopefully the wind and thunderstorms tomorrow don't do too much damage and then back to the shuffle Tuesday night.
johnnyq627
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I know! The wind has been brutal also. I moved most of the indoor figs back into the house tonight. The rest will be brought in tomorrow after work. So very disappointing! Hopefully this is the last cold spell though.
johnnyq627
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Say a prayer for my large conadria! The rain today soaked the big pot and for the life of me I couldnt budge it, let alone get it back in the garage. Poor planning on my part. I tossed a heavy plastic over it, so we'll see what happens. 23 expected for a low tonight.
johnnyq627
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The conadria didn't fare well in the cold. It will likely drop its leaves and have to regrow. Enough water evaporated from the pot so I was able to drag it back into the garage. Travel over the next four days will require me to leave them in the garage.
The contractor came back with a jackhammer and was able to dig the holes for the piers, unfortunatley, they werent in quite the correct spot. So they will have to come back Monday to adjust slightly.
I would put that cutting in a gallon pot with moist soil and spray it with water a bit. Continue to spray/mist it everyday for a couple of weeks (or longer). Water the pot only if the soil looks dry.
Within a couple to three weeks the roots would have grown into the new soil and your transition period is done. Mist the cutting too. If you want to leave the pot in the container that's fine but gradually take it out.
Good luck
johnnyq627
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Thanks Rafed, I might try up potting a couple this week. The humidity difference with the leaves is what has me the most concerned.
Shailesh, I ordered the root riot cubes on Amazon.
johnnyq627
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The greenhouse piers and base have been completed. I'm hoping the vertical 4x4s will provide the structure a bit more stability in some of the high winds we get.
I'll let the concrete set today and tomorrow, then carriage bolt the base to the verticals and begin frame construction.
Also, I tested planting one of my extra figs in ground last week to see if it could tolerate the cold. I covered it with a bucket during the night, but the answer is a definite no. We'll see if it bounces back, but as of now I can't recommend planting in ground earlier than probably mid May in zone 6b.
We also made some progress on the greenhouse. We got the base set with carriage bolts and the bottom of the greenhouse connected to the base with foam in between. We also dug out the drainage pipes and a pipe to run water and electric in.
The two figo pretos were packaged extremely well and hadn't even wilted in the box. Thanks again John!
johnnyq627
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Due to a change in jobs, I had to take my office fig, a hardy chicago) home. It has been at my office since the day the cutting arrived. I rooted it in a 2L SWP and transfered it to the .5gal SWP all while at work. My office has no windows. I had it under a simple 15w flourescent spotlight. It thrived!
While I was at it, I potted some of mybroot riot cubes. Each rr cutting was hit or miss. Some had great roots with leaves, some had leaves with no roots, and aome had roots with no leaves. I'm not sure I'd use them again for rooting, it will depend on my overall success rate once complete. As of now, there are only one or two of the fifty that are dead or on their way out.
I found the Excel from USDA to be fantastic rooters, not sure about you. Looks like you're going to need a bigger greenhouse already, though.
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=Ampersand]I found the Excel from USDA to be fantastic rooters, not sure about you. Looks like you're going to need a bigger greenhouse already, though.[/QUOTE]
Kelby it has been hit or miss with mine. Some pieces rooted very well and others have been slow. The desert king has been the slowest by far for me.
johnnyq627
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Was able to make some decent progress on the greenhouse today... would have gotten a lot farther, but 40mph winds came out of nowhere today and really hindered my progress. The wind ended up sending my heavy duty ladder and drill flying. Luckily only a small dent in the metal of the greenhouse, but took us forever to find my only 7/8" drill socket that went flying!
[QUOTE=johnnyq627]Was able to make some decent progress on the greenhouse today... would have gotten a lot farther, but 40mph winds came out of nowhere today and really hindered my progress. The wind ended up sending my heavy duty ladder and drill flying. Luckily only a small dent in the metal of the greenhouse, but took us forever to find my only 7/8" drill socket that went flying! [URL=http://s110.photobucket.com/user/johnnyq627/media/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1066.jpg.html][IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1066.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s110.photobucket.com/user/johnnyq627/media/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1068.jpg.html][IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1068.jpg[/IMG][/URL] We also made a run to the nursery to get more Freys Mum mix and took a pic of their beautiful greenhouse... [URL=http://s110.photobucket.com/user/johnnyq627/media/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1046.jpg.html][IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/Figs/2014Apr26/IMAG1046.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/QUOTE]
Johnny, you my friend, have a green thumb! Your photos are incredible.. even that gardenia in the back of the photo with the "Office Chicago Hardy" (which if you need a home for ;) lol) looks so lush! Not an easy feat without good humidity!
johnnyq627
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Ok, hit my first snag... for the life of me I dont see how to connect part #72 to the crown beams... anyone who has put one of the HFGH 10x12 together have any tips?
I did some searching and found this image on a blog about assembling and earlier version of your greenhouse, where I saw this black plastic piece. Hope it is what you are looking for.
johnnyq627
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Thanks Hoosier, I got those four earlier, now I have four more that are supposed to connect to the diagnal vertical roof beam... no clue where or how.
johnnyq627
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Managed to get the greenhouse frame done, minus those four black pieces.
A note for anyone putting a hfgh together and wanting to use tubing to cross brace... use 3/4" EMT as opposed to the 1" galvanized pipe. The 1" galvanized was extremely difficult to flatten the ends of and pretty much impossible to bend the end to 45 degrees without major tools.
nycfig
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Looking good!
johnnyq627
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Unfortunately, the rain has been putting a damper on the greenhouse project. I was able to get an hour of work in tonight and get the shelf bracing in the correct spot as well as one of the EMT ceiling braces. Then a thunderstorm moved in and that was it.
I also got a couple of toys tonight. The 20" intake shutter came, along with a shutter motor and two thermostat controllers that I will use to run the greenhouse fan and intake shutter in the summer, then the heater in the winter.
The fig trees that overwintered in the garage are doing extremely well. Except they all dropped their breba. My negronne has two holding on still. I'm not sure if they dropped or if something ate them... they just disappeared.
The figs that overwintered in my office under lights have been slow to adjust, showing very little growth. The cold nights have not been helping and last night's 40 degree temp with a slight frost caused a few main crop figs to drop. Will summer ever come?
The one VdB I put in the greenhouse is doing extremely well, I was afraid it might get roasted as the temp gets into the high 90, but it seems to be loving it.
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=sppsp]Hey Nick, those fig trees are huge. Summer days hopefully will be here soon. Some place dipped to 38 degrees. Is your greenhouse finished?[/QUOTE]
The greenhouse is nearly finished. It's fully functional with automated exhaust fan and shutters, but the flooring can't be done until our patio is done and we are having trouble getting our contractor to complete/start that job. I will try to get some new greenhouse pics up tomorrow...
johnnyq627
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The figs in the driveway are doing well and growing nicely. A few have been pinched after the fifth leaf formed. Hopefully, our patio will be done by July and I can move them to the backyard.
It is a fig I believe I got from Vito last year. It was only labeled "bifere". I thought for sure it was going to be a green fig, but much to my surprise it turned black when it ripened. It is taking every bit of strength I have not to pick it and let it get ripe. It is soft, but not droopy yet. Vito if you read this and have any more info on this fig please let me know :)
johnnyq627
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I got to meet bigbadbill today also. He and his family stopped by. They brought a couple of friends along for the ride as well...
An unknown Bronx Yellow
[URL=http://s110.photobucket.com/user/johnnyq627/media/Figs/2014May24/IMAG1177.jpg.html][IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/Figs/2014May24/IMAG1177.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Bill I forgot what you said you thought the yellow might be, can you remind me?
johnnyq627
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This young Violette de Bordeau has suddenly decided to fruit and what a beautiful sight!
I picked the bifere today. Probably could have used another day, but it was just too tempting! It was slightly sweet witb a bit of crunch. Decent for this early in the season.
Another Vito Bifere ripened and was droopy today. It was excellent, especially for it being so early in the season here. After the last two days of rain, I was afraid it would be watered down.
Well done, Nick. I am jealous. Any brebas on your other varieties starting to ripen?
johnnyq627
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[QUOTE=bigbadbill]Well done, Nick. I am jealous. Any brebas on your other varieties starting to ripen? [/QUOTE]
Hey Bill! Nearly all of my breba dropped or were eaten by something. Only the negronne has a few left and they are very small still. Not a huge loss since they usually aren't all that good. I'm not sure if the cold made them drop or if the birds found them. I never saw many laying on the ground, Im just not sure if something ate them before or after they dropped.
johnnyq627
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Black Madeira, you are an evil mistress!
My first one started to ripen and it was a dandy! I mean fist size!
It was still AMAZING! There was something different in the flavor that just had a wow factor to it. My wife was amazed as well and asked when the next one would be ripe.
The next one is a few days away from ripe, but began splitting also. Tonight's storms likely will not help matters.
My RdB continues to fail to live up to expectations. The taste from both trees has been average and somewhat bland.
Speaking of underwhelming... The Melanzana I got from Bills Figs is apparently not a self polinator. I got two breba off it last year, none this year, and the main crop has turned color but been dry inside both years. It is time to move this one to the trash heap unless someone in the area wants it...
![[outside+front+top+corner+7-31]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Fx-YC8Cle8s/RscmLy4wwwI/AAAAAAAAAE0/OMtbTAYHZGM/s1600/outside+front+top+corner+7-31.jpg)