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View Full Version : Northern Growers: How are you getting on this winter?


51st state
12-20-2009, 08:24 PM
My bananas are so far...so good really, we've had some frosts especially for the last 4-5 nights (min. - 5C). The Basjoo, Sikkimenses (I have some hybrids in) and Yangtze Valley are outside protected by a thick mulch and a fleece. All the rest, are overwintering in my polytunnel, which is lined for the season with a bubblewrap.

I have a new 4kW air to air heat pump heating system keeping the polytunnel at a Min 7-8C, shortly to be supplemented by a 3kW air to water sub soil heating system. Will try and put together schematics if people would like to know how I've brought it all together.

How's everyone else getting on?

Scuba_Dave
12-20-2009, 08:43 PM
Just great

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/Daveywb/xmas/oswego1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/Daveywb/Home%20Stuff/Dec202009.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/Daveywb/Home%20Stuff/Dec202009e.jpg

51st state
12-20-2009, 08:58 PM
Wow...

Fun for the kids though

jwmahloch
12-20-2009, 10:35 PM
Thats crazy how much snow you guys on the east coast got. We only got a dusting of snow in St Louis which will all be gone when its 40 degrees tomorrow. My greenhouse is staying a consitant 58 degrees with my electric heater. I just bought a kerosene heater from a guy on criagslist yesterday, its my emergency backup in case of a power outage. You never know, we might get blizzard in the midwest. That would suck for my plants to die. After I checked the BTUH rating on the kerosene heater I realized that its twice what I need but I will be ready if the powers out and its cold as #### outside.

Scuba_Dave
12-20-2009, 10:57 PM
I don't have anything in my greenhouse
Not fully insulated yet, 1st winter with it closed in
It was 12 degrees outside....32 in the greenhouse
It went down to 7 one nite, not sure how cold it got in there
I still need to make 4 storm windows, maybe next year I can winter stuff in there

jwmahloch
12-21-2009, 09:48 AM
Good luck with your greenhouse. you might try using bubble wrap on the inside panels as insulation. I used double sided tape to put mine up, make sure the bubble side is against the panel. I think the large bubble wrap works the best. Right now I only have the side panels insulated. I just ordered more from a seller on ebay. Much cheeper than buying retail. Another important thing is to insulate the inside of the door. You might check you the greenhouse megastore.com. they have a calculator to determine how powerfull of a heater you will need. Look at the BTUH rating. I have found out that my 1500W electric heater will keep my greenhouse at 58 until the outside temp gets down to about 20, below that I have a small kerosene heater that I have used a couple times in addition to the electic heater. Another thing that really helps is a solar powered roof vent opener (I bought one on ebay for $25).

I also have plants in my basement under grow lights, my plants in the greenhouse seem to like it bette.

jwmahloch
12-21-2009, 09:50 AM
I forgot to say that I am also going to use bubble wrap on the roof. when I get it in the mail, it will be my christmas weekend project.

LilRaverBoi
12-21-2009, 05:39 PM
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/Daveywb/xmas/oswego1.jpg

Is this pic from this year? We haven't had that much snow this year, but I know I've seen drifts as high as the L side of the photo on my road (in Iowa) more than a few times. It sucks, cause 5-10 mph winds start filling in the middle (one lane that's cleared out with 10' walls on either side) and it does NOT blow back out. So unless the plow has just gone, you're pretty much snowed in or out....even with a truck...even tractors get stuck in that condition. And if you're like me and drive a civic hatchback that has been lowered 3 inches lower than stock....well...don't even THINK about it :ha:
I just bought a kerosene heater from a guy on criagslist yesterday, its my emergency backup in case of a power outage. You never know, we might get blizzard in the midwest. That would suck for my plants to die. After I checked the BTUH rating on the kerosene heater I realized that its twice what I need but I will be ready if the powers out and its cold as #### outside.
Yeah, St. Louis has been SEVERE WEAK SAUCE when it comes to snow since I moved there. Worst storm I've seen (wouldn't even consider it a 'blizzard') was 4" of snow....and that melted in less than a week. And as for the power outage...that's how I lost my original two bananas a few years ago....massive ice storm in Iowa that wiped out power for our entire town for a week. And your kerosene heater must be a much different type than I'm envisioning, cause all the ones I've seen require electricity to run in addition to the kerosene.

jwmahloch
12-21-2009, 05:47 PM
My kerosene heaters do need electricity, just kerosene and 2 C batteries for the ignitor. You can start it without the batteries with a match/lighter The large one I just bought has a BTUH rating of 23000 so it would be able to heat a large garage, probably more than I need for a 6x8 greenhouse but I will be ready if the power goes out. I also have a small british kerosene heater that I use on nights that get below 20, its the old fashion kind that is built like a lamp, all I need is kerosene and a match. I have learned not to turn up the wick too high because it sooted my greenhouse the first time I used it. I wiped most of it off, there was a black film on the inside of my greenhouse and it was in my fan as well, a real mess. But apparently the plants like it since the breath CO2.

sandy0225
12-22-2009, 07:41 AM
so far so good, here north and east of Indianapolis. We did lose a panel of polycarb in the crazy wind a couple of weeks ago, but it was in the unheated greenhouse, and it's fixed now. We're working on making our 36x26 greenhouse into a 26X96 greenhouse for spring, but it's getting too cold right now. It'll be done by the time we need it though. The bananas are starting to plump out on my ice cream banana a little, slowly.
We haven't gotten any real snow to speak of, the ground is white, and we're getting just a dusting every day. Just enough to keep the ground covered which is good for the perennials. It could keep this up all winter!

51st state
12-23-2009, 09:15 PM
[QUOTE=sandy0225;115191] We're working on making our 36x26 greenhouse into a 26X96 greenhouse for spring,QUOTE]

Wow, I could really do with one of those. How do you heat it? Is it a greenhouse or a tunnel?

sandy0225
12-24-2009, 07:46 AM
it's like this:

Round Style Solar Star Greenhouses - 20'- 38'W - FarmTek (http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_greenhouses_accessories-ft1_professional_greenhouses;pg104853.html)

polycarb endwalls, vents in the end to reduce heat, roll up sides, double poly with inflation fan to keep the plastic in place and for heat loss reduction. This one is going to have infared poly on it, to help more with heat loss. We originally purchased the 26wx36 long and now are adding 60 feet more length on it to make it to 96 feet. We have another 26x36 just like it already that we grow heirloom tomato plants in the spring for sale. We had the entire house full of tomato plants last spring and plan on doing that again this year, 165 varieties in total.

mushtaq86
12-25-2009, 10:21 AM
All of my nanas are doing OK,growing very slowly,as the temp i have set is of min 10c, in the greenhouse,with elec fan heater.

ChineseBanana
12-13-2012, 03:11 PM
Can anybody tell me if you can successfully micro-climate say Orinco pups in a 6b zone using insulation from some sort of electrical heating element that might be like an outdoor electric blanket? Is there such a product and would this be effective under say 10 inches of leaf or other artificial insulation? Any thoughts or wishful thinking?

pushak513
12-13-2012, 04:48 PM
alot of people wrap palms with bubble wrap then a heating cable and bubble wrap overtop of that. I think the plug is called a themocube. it comes on at 20 degrees and kicks off at 40 or somthing like that. If it works for palms it should work for a nana

Abnshrek
12-13-2012, 06:41 PM
alot of people wrap palms with bubble wrap then a heating cable and bubble wrap overtop of that. I think the plug is called a themocube. it comes on at 20 degrees and kicks off at 40 or somthing like that. If it works for palms it should work for a nana

A heat-tape kicks in @ & keeps whatever is wrapped between 38-45F.. :^)

pmurphy
12-13-2012, 06:57 PM
Up here on the "wet" coast of BC Canada we do not get much in the way of snow (little or none most winters) but we do get rain....lots of it. And cooler temps - average night temp is around the 2 C (about 36 F).
My bananas are either wrapped in landscape fleece (similar to felt that I ordered in from England) and sheets of poly or they have been moved into the heated greenhouse (again I wrapped this in the fleece and then poly to keep in the heat)

Abnshrek
12-13-2012, 07:13 PM
Up here on the "wet" coast of BC Canada we do not get much in the way of snow (little or none most winters) but we do get rain....lots of it. And cooler temps - average night temp is around the 2 C (about 36 F).
My bananas are either wrapped in landscape fleece (similar to felt that I ordered in from England) and sheets of poly or they have been moved into the heated greenhouse (again I wrapped this in the fleece and then poly to keep in the heat)

Sounds like an insulated rain coat for nanners? :^)

pmurphy
12-13-2012, 07:28 PM
Sounds like an insulated rain coat for nanners? :^)

It does tend to keep them from rotting - that and planting them on "high ground" for drainage :)

kaczercat
12-13-2012, 07:45 PM
plants are still growing both in greenhouse and inside, some faster then others hope everyone else's are doing fine

pushak513
12-14-2012, 08:53 AM
I have a few in the basement. one basjoo is rotted to the corm so its dry docked for now 2 of the cavendish went all crazy and put out leaves twice there normal size so the P stem is falling over but the mekongs are doing great. The siam ruby is upstairs in a window and has 2 pups comming up and a new leaf rolled out.

Hammocked Banana
12-14-2012, 12:13 PM
No deaths yet...was late getting my lights set up. Siam ruby was the worst, developed a spot of rot near the top of the stem that I was monitoring. I noticed it was making its way deeper so I chopped it down to about 1 foot of p-stem. It's got a new half leaf that's almost pushed out so hopefully it's gonna make it. Basjoo pup is finally rooted and pushing out new (slightly deformed) leaves. My tiny, what I thought was an ensete when I bought it, now appears to be another basjoo, which is fine, is doing really well and has about 5 new big leaves. My grand naine is right under my 2' 8tube t5 and is exploding with growth. It's choking a little bit like when they go out first thing in the summer but it should sort itself out soon hopefully. Papayas are also finally recovering.

Sure is hard to find the right balance of keep alive/keep growing/don't grow too fast and hit the roof by January!! I'll get some pics of my jungle bedroom once I can find some time to organize pics.

Abnshrek
12-14-2012, 12:36 PM
No deaths yet...was late getting my lights set up. Siam ruby was the worst, developed a spot of rot near the top of the stem that I was monitoring. I noticed it was making its way deeper so I chopped it down to about 1 foot of p-stem. It's got a new half leaf that's almost pushed out so hopefully it's gonna make it. Basjoo pup is finally rooted and pushing out new (slightly deformed) leaves. My tiny, what I thought was an ensete when I bought it, now appears to be another basjoo, which is fine, is doing really well and has about 5 new big leaves. My grand naine is right under my 2' 8tube t5 and is exploding with growth. It's choking a little bit like when they go out first thing in the summer but it should sort itself out soon hopefully. Papayas are also finally recovering.

Sure is hard to find the right balance of keep alive/keep growing/don't grow too fast and hit the roof by January!! I'll get some pics of my jungle bedroom once I can find some time to organize pics.

I hear that about papaya's mine were very small when I got mine in sept.. I think they have grown a foot already, but don't like being right next to the window.. We had a hard frost last night.. I did kill all my peacock ginger, and one costus.. man that sucks. :^)

pushak513
12-15-2012, 06:47 AM
No deaths yet...was late getting my lights set up. Siam ruby was the worst, developed a spot of rot near the top of the stem that I was monitoring. I noticed it was making its way deeper so I chopped it down to about 1 foot of p-stem. It's got a new half leaf that's almost pushed out so hopefully it's gonna make it. Basjoo pup is finally rooted and pushing out new (slightly deformed) leaves. My tiny, what I thought was an ensete when I bought it, now appears to be another basjoo, which is fine, is doing really well and has about 5 new big leaves. My grand naine is right under my 2' 8tube t5 and is exploding with growth. It's choking a little bit like when they go out first thing in the summer but it should sort itself out soon hopefully. Papayas are also finally recovering.

Sure is hard to find the right balance of keep alive/keep growing/don't grow too fast and hit the roof by January!! I'll get some pics of my jungle bedroom once I can find some time to organize pics.


No rot to speak of on the siam but it does seem to dry out really fast. I am cutting off dry bits from the tip of the P stem and the old leaves on the P stem peel back daily and dry up. it just keeps getting skinny by the day. do you have this problem with yours?

Hammocked Banana
12-15-2012, 12:51 PM
Not with my Siam ruby bc it has no leaves to evaporate water, infact I have the fan blowing on it a lot to keep it dry. I do have the leaf sheath problem with my basjoos though, I try to keep them trimmed up just to help keep the spider mites in check. I could see this being even more of a problem with a SR bc I find they have weak stems indoors with insufficient light, this is what lead to my rot I think, the leaves were too heavy for the stem to support strongly and it kinda put a lot of stress on the one side of the p-stem. Do u use supplemental lighting at all?

Its interesting that u say they dont like being near the window. I will have have to monitor their temps a bit more. I do have most of them jacked up right under the lights now though. I think they are also grumpy bc*some*are in small pots. I transplanted a few to see if they respond well.

LilRaverBoi
12-15-2012, 12:59 PM
No rot to speak of on the siam but it does seem to dry out really fast. I am cutting off dry bits from the tip of the P stem and the old leaves on the P stem peel back daily and dry up. it just keeps getting skinny by the day. do you have this problem with yours?
I always had that problem with my SR during the winter. P-stem would get thinner and thinner till it eventually fell over (then pups would replace it). Also, leaves would get more slender during winter.

As far as my plants are concerned, things are doing decent thus far. Ensete glaucum lost all of its leaves when I transplanted it to the pot but has 3 leaves now and is growing slowly/steadily. Basjoo rotted and died for some reason....stupid thing hardly grew all summer and then died once I moved it inside. Definitely not a 'success' to speak of. All the other bananas are growing very slowly with the exception of my Ensete maurelii which has really taken off since I moved it inside. Elephant ears are doing just fine except for Jacks Giant which got heavily infested with aphids (which it seems to get every year even though no other plants really do). I tried battling them, but with my leg being broken, it's difficult to really commit to such actions, so I pulled it out of the pot, chopped off the plant, cleaned off the soil, dried it out and now it's in the basement dormant. Still have a few aphids lingering on other plants that I'm dealing with. That's pretty much it for now.

Hammocked Banana
12-15-2012, 01:17 PM
My EE got mites pretty bad too and the one plant kinda rotted above the corm and snapped when I was moving it to clean it one day. Only one little "pup" left to replace it and some clovers which I'm leaving for now to fix nitrogen in the soil. Do EE ever have more than 2 leaves per plant? As soon as mine pushes out a 3rd leaf the first one dies off...

pushak513
12-16-2012, 10:01 AM
depends on the type really I have had some of the darker ones (black coral and a black runner, and a hybrid) have more than 2 at a time but it dosen't last long guess thats just the way there bred. makes them want to fall over as well

designshark
12-16-2012, 10:20 AM
All is fine here, all I have is a decent Basjoo sucker pup and a 3' Basjoo I potted in late August. I had a couple very small spear pups that didn't make it. It's a warm day here I'm thinking about peeling away my tarp to check on my outside contraption.

Hammocked Banana
12-16-2012, 05:43 PM
All is fine here, all I have is a decent Basjoo sucker pup and a 3' Basjoo I potted in late August. I had a couple very small spear pups that didn't make it. It's a warm day here I'm thinking about peeling away my tarp to check on my outside contraption.

Pictures please!!!