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Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Well - it seems like each fig has a few little budding leaves on it. The three year olds have no dieback - and the little guy had just a bit of dieback. That's pretty cold hardy, because it was well below freezing in that shed for several weeks. One night it even got down to 6 degrees! But it seems like those two 150 watt bulbs and the lights worked out. What a relief...

Of course now I started reading all these threads about borer beetles... so there's that to look out for.

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Thanks Jake - that's great news - especially since I decided to leave them in until it gets above freezing around here. Hopefully that's tomorrow!

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Those 150 watt bulbs really made a difference out there - I wish I had used them last Friday. They kept the shed at 11 or warmer - pretty good considering the temps last night. It's about 21 in there right now and 6 outside. Not sure what my electric bill will look like after this two have run for 36 hours straight though... I'm definitely looking forward to warmer weather.

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Hey great figloo John! Thanks for that input - definitely some great ideas there. If this winter has taught me anything it's that I need to prepare a setup that will allow me to safely keep the temps out of the danger zone! I have some work cut out for me this summer...

Well - tonight is supposed to get down to about 9 degrees around here. I went with the same setup as last time, but put two 150watt bulbs in the light fixtures that I have in the shed. They are up near the ceiling - so I'm not sure that will help warm the air in there... but I figure it's worth a shot. Outside temps are at 31 now and the shed is at 38.

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Well, I think larger lights would have been a better bet - my thermometer said it got down to about 6 degrees out there! I'm still hopeful that they'll pull through since it was just a short time. These guys are definitely used to a bit of cold from the past winter. I'll post here in May (that's when they usually start waking up) to let you know if they came through and how much die-back, etc.

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
Yeah - I would have used the larger ones if I had them, but I started switching over to LED lights and I only had those little guys left! They put a little heat out - I'm hoping it's enough to keep it above single digits.

Subject: Arctic blast coming - questions about space heater use Replies: 44
Posted By: E512 Views: 1,918
 
This is only my second year with figs - and I was a little unprepared so I decided to go with the Christmas light method here in NJ. I had two one year old figs in an unheated shed last winter and night temps got down to about 11 degrees for a week straight. I did nothing and they both came back strong. They are in big 20 gallon or so containers. This winter I have three in there - when the forecast came out I wrapped the pots in insulation. Then today I strung some little white lights all around the branches - I have no tarp and right now it's about 16 in there. I'm not sure if this will work or not - but I'm pretty sure the roots will be ok because they're in a lot of dirt - so hopefully all won't be lost! 

I'll let you know how low it gets and (if I remember) I'll post whether or not they survive!