View Full Version : Getting Ready for Frost/Winter in North Florida
Hang9392
11-30-2015, 05:01 PM
Finally finished my Hoop house/Greenhouse! it's 26'wide x 22' long x 13' height. Son (6'6") standing in North Doorway for reference. There are a variety of plants inside, 21 containers total (10 of which are black 32 gallon trash containers from Home Depot) others are nursery pots 25 gallon I believe? They are all 1 year old this month. hoping to protect form frost/winter to see if they will fruit.
Comments, concerns, suggestions????
Thanks. (Pics are in Members gallery.) Hang9392
Where are you? Edit your profile, please.
Not knowing your location, this might not help but when I lived in Jacksonville (winter 2013/14) I tarped my DC 2 times; I should have done it a third time or more because she got slightly bit. I kept potted plants on a covered porch; they were tarped a few more times than my 8' DC. It was cold that winter; it even snowed once on the southside. All plants survived and thrived even the basil which we all know is very picky. Depending on what you're growing, you may be overcompensating for winter. But why not if you can?
I don't see any pictures in the gallery...
ETA: Well, I went back in time and did find some pictures but none that were new and none of your son.
Hang9392
12-04-2015, 03:17 PM
Hooray, was able to post some pics of my plants and the greenhouse and finally, the plants IN the greenhouse. (pic size was the problem. took snipets of pic 100-200kb as opposed to original pic size of 1,000-4,000 kb). Worked great. Was even able to load 3 and 4pics at a time!
We had a night of high 40's before Thanksgiving (no frost) then back in the 60's to low 80's. (North Florida...go figure). Last night was low 50's and today's high low 60's.....looks like cooler weather is here, at least for a week or so.
Have all 4 doors open day n night right now. will probably close them once frost is predicted. Doors are large, 2- 5' wide by 11' 6" tall (2 on each end). Plenty of ventilation and easy to close and secure. Got water inside, now need light(s)....workin' it now! :woohoonaner:
geosulcata
12-04-2015, 05:23 PM
Hooray, was able to post some pics of my plants and the greenhouse and finally, the plants IN the greenhouse. (pic size was the problem. took snipets of pic 100-200kb as opposed to original pic size of 1,000-4,000 kb). Worked great. Was even able to load 3 and 4pics at a time!
We had a night of high 40's before Thanksgiving (no frost) then back in the 60's to low 80's. (North Florida...go figure). Last night was low 50's and today's high low 60's.....looks like cooler weather is here, at least for a week or so.
Have all 4 doors open day n night right now. will probably close them once frost is predicted. Doors are large, 2- 5' wide by 11' 6" tall (2 on each end). Plenty of ventilation and easy to close and secure. Got water inside, now need light(s)....workin' it now! :woohoonaner:
Structure looks great! What varieties are you growing?
We made a similar, but smaller structure for our Raja Puri bananas when we lived near Gainesville, FL and had propane heaters. Sadly, the one bunch we had didn't taste very good. Hope you all have much better success than we did. Growing bananas is so much easier where we are now.
edzone9
12-05-2015, 08:29 AM
The HH Looks Fantastic ! , Gets Cold Up There In Calahan ! , My Buddies Live Up There..
I would Place a 1500 Watt Heater in there with a thermostatic , Thats what i use to warn up my GH in St Augustine FL:08:
Ed
floridagrower
12-05-2015, 09:58 AM
For reference, check out my videos. I am in Tallahassee and none of my bananas get protection... not even extra mulch. They fruit every year.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCENQaiFeTaEb-GfQV5pvJ4w
The HH Looks Fantastic ! , Gets Cold Up There In Calahan ! , My Buddies Live Up There..
I would Place a 1500 Watt Heater in there with a thermostatic , Thats what i use to warn up my GH in St Augustine FL:08:
Ed
The need for extra heating would depend on whether your hoophouse is in sun or shade. (It gets hot in those things!) Given my experience in that area of FL (yes, Calahan is cooler) I'd invest in some big tarps to cover the "growing chamber" on very cool nights/days. Or I'd research passive solar collectors/heat sinks (think dark containers filled with water or even manure beds) in hoophouses. A fan would be nice and probably a good idea.
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