Protect Cold Sensitive FRUIT TREES Without Electricity: GAME CHANGER!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- In this video, I show you how to protect cold sensitive fruit trees without electricity for FREE! This is a game changer, and it will revolutionize how I grow cold sensitive trees in my climate. This easy, dirt cheap cold protection method makes it possible to grow more cold sensitive fruit trees than I thought possible!
I've been using incandescent lights to protect fruit trees from cold damage for years, but the big Texas Freeze of February, 2021, was a wake-up call. How do you protect a fruit tree from cold if your power goes out? I needed to develop a completely passive way to heat fruit trees without electricity, and I did. This free heat method easily provides TEN DEGREES OF COLD PROTECTION!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 How I've Protected Cold Sensitive Trees In The Past
1:41 The Texas Freeze Event That Changed My Thinking
2:57 My Method Of Free Passive Heating
3:28 Where To Get The Pickle Barrels
3:48 How The Passive Water Barrel Heaters Work
5:37 How I'm Protecting My New Citrus Trees
9:22 My Citrus Trees Fully Protected With This Method
9:45 Installing A Plant Jacket For Cold Protection
10:58 Cold Protection Results: Full Scientific Data Analysis!
17:16 Why This Is A Big Deal For Colder Hardiness Zones!
19:42 Final Thoughts On This Tree Protection Method
20:23 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to protect fruit trees from cold, want to know about the things I am growing in my vegetable garden, are looking for any gardening tips and tricks, or have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, please ask in the Comments below!
**************************************************
VISIT MY AMAZON STOREFRONT FOR PRODUCTS I USE MOST OFTEN IN MY GARDEN*
www.amazon.com/shop/themillen...
**************************************************
VISIT MY MERCHANDISE STORE
shop.spreadshirt.com/themille...
**************************************************
SUPPORT MY SECOND CHANNEL!
/ 2minutegardentips
**************************************************
EQUIPMENT I MOST OFTEN USE IN MY GARDEN (INDIVIDUAL LINKS)*:
Miracle-Gro Soluble All Purpose Plant Food amzn.to/3qNPkXk
Miracle-Gro Soluble Bloom Booster Plant Food amzn.to/2GKYG0j
Miracle-Gro Soluble Tomato Plant Food amzn.to/2GDgJ8n
Jack's Fertilizer, 20-20-20, 25 lb. amzn.to/3CW6xCK
Southern Ag Liquid Copper Fungicide amzn.to/2HTCKRd
Southern Ag Natural Pyrethrin Concentrate amzn.to/2UHSNGE
Monterey Organic Spinosad Concentrate amzn.to/3qOU8f5
Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer (BT Concentrate) amzn.to/2SMXL8D
Cordless ULV Fogger Machine amzn.to/36e96Sl
Weed Barrier with UV Resistance amzn.to/3yp3MaJ
Organza Bags (Fig-size) amzn.to/3AyaMUz
Organza Bags (Tomato-size) amzn.to/36fy4Re
Injection Molded Nursery Pots amzn.to/3AucVAB
Heavy Duty Plant Grow Bags amzn.to/2UqvsgC
6.5 Inch Hand Pruner Pruning Shears amzn.to/3jHI1yL
Japanese Pruning Saw with Blade amzn.to/3wjpw6o
Double Tomato Hooks with Twine amzn.to/3Awptr9
String Trellis Tomato Support Clips amzn.to/3wiBjlB
Nylon Mason Line, 500FT amzn.to/3wd9cEo
Expandable Vinyl Garden Tape amzn.to/3jL7JCI
**************************************************
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Me on TWITTER (@NCGardening) / ncgardening
Follow Me on INSTAGRAM / millennialgardener_nc
**************************************************
ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8A
**************************************************
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
© The Millennial Gardener
#gardening #fruittree #fruittrees #gardentips #viral #video
![5 Reasons Your Fruit Trees AREN'T GROWING [And How To FIX It]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FWsaiKgCXFY/mqdefault.jpg)
Are you growing any cold sensitive vegetation that requires protection? Let us know in the Comments below!
This is a great idea. I have an idea I think you should experiment with. Attach a bug magnifying glass on one of the barrels directly over the water and let the sun heat it up a bit more and compare the temp of that barrel cs the one without the magnifying glass. Sure it won't heat up all day but there is gong to be a good 2 to 3 houses of good solar magnified energy going in it.
hi all my bamboos are top dead after a rough canadian winter. can the barrels work in zone 5?
This is a game changer. I am in Texas and lost my only 3 citrus trees during the February arctic freeze. Those trees gave me wonderful fruits in 2020. Thanks for the wealth of information you share with us all the time. I look forward to your videos always. By the way, I was lucky to get some fertilizers on sale for the first time, thanks to your video.
Ugh! That’s painful to hear. Are the rootstocks still alive so you can graft some scion wood onto? This method would definitely give you a big edge. 10 degrees can make all the difference. I’m glad to hear you scored some cheap fertilizer!
Two of the rootstocks are still alive. I have never grafted anything before but willing to try any opportunity I get.
@@marykate4048 Sorry for your loss.
I'm in Texas too and that freeze was brutal! 🥶❄️🌨️
I will def use these tips❗Love the food grade barrels tip 🥒 because we don't want toxic materials on our produce👎 Since then I got StoneWater Artscapes to build me a greenhouse. 🤩 It's held up this cold so far with plants currently all growing nicely a year later. 🌵🌱🌿🪴🥔
Sorry to hear about this 😞
I have 9 one year old .blood orange. Orange lemon .and meyer lemon trees I grew from seed they are in a small plastic greenhouse. At the moment it's the 3rd of December in Ireland and they seem to be doing good .I germinate the seeds last winter and I think it helps the plants adapt to cold if they germinate in winter .it's working for me and I hope this information helps you. Thank you and best wishes from Ireland 🇮🇪
Adding a water barrel or two to a greenhouse is a really popular way to add “free” heat. You may want to give that a shot! It works. Thanks for watching.
Good info, thanks. I am in North Texas (8a) and had -5F last winter. I did not lose any citrus, loquats, feijoa, or pomegranates. I used the "heat cable" from the big box stores normally used on water pipes and wrapped in a coil on the ground around the tree. Make sure they don't touch the trunk. I then used industrial cling wrap from Costco wrapped around concrete reinforcement wire (also big box store) to make a mini greenhouse. Based on your videos I bought plant wraps like you have and I think I'll try the water barrel idea. I'm going to try adding caged water heaters like we use for livestock water troughs to heat plus the heat cables. Like the heat cables, they are thermostatically controlled and will not use electricity when the sun is out. I have not been brave enough to try cara cara, but that would be my dream along with avocados! I used a 5000 series generator to power the heat for my plants. We did not use for the house and only used on the orchard.
Heating the water is an interesting idea. If you can simply heat the water barrels (safely, without being a fire hazard), then use the plant jackets to enclose one barrel per tree, you pretty much have a bulletproof setup. That can be a lot simpler than running lights, and you won't have to deal with bulbs burning out. A Washington Navel orange is hardy to around 20-24F as-is, so they can survive unprotected in Zone 9a on average years when established. That makes them one of the hardier sweet oranges. If you can add 10 degrees of protection like I can with this method without any heaters, I think a Cara Cara is totally feasible since it's nothing more than a mutated Washington Navel. You'll just want that "edge" for the colder years where we have bad freezes.
@@TheMillennialGardener You could use a water heater designed for aquariums. Many aquarium heaters out there rated for 55 gallons and higher.
@@TheMillennialGardener Bulletproof if you don’t get a power outage, or if you have a generator. But if the water was heated UNTIL the power outage, you’d still do well unless the cold snap and power outage both go on too long, and still the water barrels would put you in better shape than most.
Isn’t science wonderful? One of the reasons I love your channel is the thoughtful and technical way you approach common problems. Keep pushing the envelope.
Thank you! Having real data and not just making guesses is very important. I don’t want to guess if this will protect my trees, because if I guess incorrectly, they could die. It is nice to know exactly how well these work, and they work well!
Here comes winter! Using all your suggestions, all great ideas. I live in San Antonio and hope we don’t have another Snowmageddon!
This was really inspired by what happened to you guys. Usually, you're a fairly save Zone 9a. This takes electricity out of the equation.
I am 7b. I am growing 5 of the trees that you have mentioned with no fruit. I found you and I won't stop watching. But I really need help to produce fruit.
I'm not yet at the "put it in the ground" stage - but I learned quite a bit during the freeze, moving my plant pots around and studying leaf-by-leaf how they reacted. That freeze was no joke for the Carolinas! Even the National Weather Service bulletins said that we were experiencing "conditions like early January".
That was a really crazy 8 days! I had 25.3, 25.5, 26.2, 27.9, 28.0, 28.2, and 32.0!! 7 freezes in 8 nights, IN NOVEMBER! That’s crazy! Those are truly January freezes. We earned this December warmup. This 76 degree weather is amazing!
love it, also check out a frost blanket which protects to 24 degrees and lets light through, I just bought onr but will also look for a free old barrel
So awesome! I'm in zone 8a also and am learning at lot from you! Thank you!!
I'm glad it is helpful! Zone 8 is proving to be an extremely versatile climate if you plan ahead. With a little ingenuity, you can grow cool-loving plants like strawberries, blackberries, apples and peaches, and warm-loving plants like citrus, avocados and bananas for fruit in-ground!
This was the most in depth citrus protection video I’ve seen, very inspiring! I live just north of you in 8a VA, my Meyer lemon and satsumas which are still very immature survived 28 degrees in pots without any damage. They are pretty tough trees!
An in-ground, established Meyer lemon should be able to survive down to around 20F (although the fruit can be destroyed at higher temps). Satsumas like Owari and Brown Select can take down to around 12F when established for very brief periods with minor damage. Duration of the freeze is really important. The challenge with these trees are getting them through the early years until they become established, and protecting against those "annual minimum" and "generational" events, where even mature trees can be killed. These passive methods can do *a lot* to ensure success. What I like about this method is you can buy a large 144" plant jacket and one of these barrels and put your tree in the jacket with the barrel inside for weeks at a time, since the plant jackets allow light through. They can make it through week-long outbreaks like that. Putting some outdoor rated incandescent mini-lights underneath is also a smart idea.
@@TheMillennialGardener is it enough light penetration to ripen their fruit? The only citrus that has fruit for me this year is kumquats.
I was in Lubbock, Texas for the record freeze. It was cold so long that I don't think a barrel of ice would help in a situation like that 🙃
You’d be surprised how long it takes for 60 gallons of warm water to freeze through. But really, you can always get two. Two barrels, some strand lights and a plant jacket...whatever it takes. No method is bulletproof, but it gives us a fighting chance.
Wonderful information! I’m in North TX zone 8a and lost two citrus trees (among other trees) in the crazy storm.
I imagine countless thousands did. When we had our record duration freeze here in January 2018, palms that were 40 feet tall and decades old were killed. The city took a full year to clean up. There was so much death everywhere. I’m hoping these measures will keep us prepared for the next one, because it will happen again.
Very cool DIY off-grid solar heaters! Genius idea. Thanks for sharing the video brother.
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for sharing ... I hope to double up with water barrel and brick heat. I'm in zone 8b.
Exceptionally helpful - thanks!
Thanks so much! Fabulous idea, and thanks for the data to back it up. I’m already implementing it with a couple of tall black trash cans I have (unfortunately not food grade), and some 5-gallon carboys. Now to find some pickle barrels….
I don't think "food grade" is necessary. It's just a bonus. The good thing about "food grade" is that when the end of the winter comes, I can use all that old water to water the plants...so that's a bonus! A trash can is a good idea, too. I will say these barrels are incredibly stout, though. They'll outlast a trash can for a very long time.
I still have trauma from that 2021 freeze (Dallas). Lost every single plant except my marjoram and my lemon balm which came back the next year. Thanks for this tip
I’m in South Carolina with several citrus trees. This is going to really help me. Thank you so much!!! 😊🌱
You're welcome! Are you coastal or inland? Much of coastal SC has a wonderful citrus climate. Inland, it's totally doable with a little protection like this.
I am in the midlands. We’ve had a few 20’s and 30’s nights already. I just covered them and hoped for the best. They are on a south-west facing wall. Now that you’ve shared this knowledge, I can protect them even better. 😊🌱
Another great video with great information! Thank you 😊👍Dale was ready to eat😁
You’re welcome! Dale is always ready to eat. I don’t think he could stop himself if food remained 😂
Hello fellow North Carolinian 🙌🏼 I’m also in North Carolina 🌱 just found your channel today thanks for all your tips!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching, neighbor!
That's great data, thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
This is great information!! Thanks so much for sharing 💜
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching.
The leaves on your avocado look amazing- thanks for experimenting for us zone pushers. I just bought a 3feet tall Lila and even came with some bark. I think I will wait till February until putting in the ground, also have a satsuma and a guava. I'm in zone 8b.
I would urge you to wait until last frost to plant your Lila. Give it til April 1 or so. They don’t do well when young. I got some tip burn at 25F on the new growth and had to remove some dieback even now. Lila is a BEAUTIFUL tree. Stunning, really.
@@TheMillennialGardener thanks yea I’ll make sure to wait until after the last frost.
I am growing coffee plants in San Diego. It gets just cold enough that I need to keep them near a brick wall to get some radiant heat throughout the nighttime.
I believe San Diego’s record low is 21F. It may be a good idea to have a barrel or two on hand if you can find these pickle barrels. My coffee starts taking damage in the 40’s. They begin to struggle to uptake nutrients and yellow some. I bet this would help keep them healthier.
great video, i was going to ask to measure the temperatures until i saw the next part :)
Vraiment super votre vidéo it's very good 👍
One other good tip I heard is having multiple small covered compost bins surrounding the edges or inside the cover. The heat being generated can be appreciable. Just feel their outsides on a cold day. Passive heating from water barrels are a good idea even a container like plastic dustbins might be an easier alternative.
Thanks for your efforts are much appreciated.
I've heard people using compost, but it is ultimately unreliable. I prefer my methods of protection to be consistent, because if it fails, you can lose years of hard work. The thing I like about the water barrels is they are very reliable, and if you add incandescent lights or find a way to safely heat the water barrels, you can have peace of mind.
Wow, great idea and terrific research as usual! I'm looking into this technique...zone 8a, Central Texas.👩🏾🌾
So far, I'm very impressed. I think these barrels plus the addition of lights can be a pretty bulletproof setup.
I'm in Raleigh and my first-year Owari Satsuma took the 24F freeze like a champ without protection. Even the new shoots are in perfect condition. Everything around it was killed off, three pepper plants and a bunch of Lion's Ear. I planted the Owari based on your videos!
Citrus in Raleigh! Yeah! I am happy to spread the joy! Definitely get yourself a barrel, though. Raleigh can get pretty cold, and while a young Owari can take the 20’s, it won’t do well in the teens. I think you’d definitely want a water barrel, some strand lights and a plant jacket.
I'm also near Raleigh; would love to hear if your Owari makes it through the winter! I'm planting some Yuzu trees in the spring, they are supposed to be very cold tolerant 🤞
Thank you so much for the excellent video. To maintain the heat in the barrel can we use the heater that we use in the fish tank. First time this winter I am going to use your ideas. Thanks again!!!!
Wow. You just straight up changed my world man, thanks. I’m in zone 7b, I’ve heard about water barrels but never would have thought it was such a big difference. I’m so excited I might start planting loads of citrus! And I’m going to pack my greenhouse with these water barrels and I think I could start planting in February if not earlier. 10 degrees is mind blowing, thank you so much for tracking that data!
I would recommend you get yourself a Brown Select satsuma as a trial. Make sure you get it grafted on trifoliate rootstock so it will dwarf it and be more cold tolerant. They are earlier than Owari and can survive 12F when established. Call Stan McKenzie at McKenzie Farms in Scranton, SC. He will ship you one. Tell him I sent you. You’ll get a great deal! I get all my grafted citrus from him.
Brown Select is extra early, super high quality and nearly seedless. Planted on a southern exposure of your house with a water barrel on each side, it will thrive with a cover on chilly nights.
@@TheMillennialGardener can’t thank you enough, I will definitely be buying the brown select from them. Very priceless information for me, I’m so excited!
I use water in my greenhouse. Lots of water. The freeze is on my channel and how the plants did.
@@TheRainHarvester My area doesn’t get snow, looks like I’m in a warmer zone. Also looking at your video, idk the way you setup the water doesn’t seem like it might be ideal since a lot of it is under the plants (not exposed to direct sunlight) and also uncovered which I think would make the heat release much faster and not store as well. Also I think black containers do make a huge difference in sun absorption. I’m going to be setting up like 10 of these black 55 gal barrels and electric heaters as a backup. Pretty sure I could grow year round that way for relatively cheap
@@sk8yard I have 70 black barrels. I used to have them in direct sunlight in the greenhouse. The problem was heat transfer. If the barrels are exposed to sunlight, then the plants are not near the barrels. The barrels had too much volume per surface area and so the heat would not escape the barrel to warm the plants at night. Some kind of radiator is necessary.
So I switched to this method. My bed still heats because of direct convection to water (not shielded by barrel). The heat release is more. In one of the two videos I point out the radiative (foil) blankets i put over the water and plants. That made a greenhouse inside a greenhouse. The blankets were removed during the day. It was a pain to trek out there in the snow, but it saved the plants.
I also have black barrels under the water bed laying on their side, filled. They get direct light, but aren't able to give the heat to the plants as well as the open water bed.
Really good work on this! Thank you for including the data. I have a Lila and Joey avacado, Satsuma, Grand Nain banana and Ruby Red grapefruit going into the ground next spring here in the San Antonio area (zone 8b) and will be using this method for future winters.
Very nice! You can definitely do this in 8b if you are vigilant and prepared. These water barrels and a plant jacket can be that insurance. I really recommend the plant jackets, since you can leave them on for weeks at a time if you decide to leave your house. Check them out in my Amazon Storefront. I use them all the time, and they're life savers.
Did you select Lila and Joey because they are cold-hardy? If so, I might try them. This year, I bought 'Fantastic' avocado which is supposed to be cold hardy. As per bananas, I have found Rajapuri, Raja and Kandarian to be cold hardy (Zone 9B, Bay Area). Thx!
@@0anant0 Hi, yes, cold hardiness and for the smaller size. Also, because they are opposite flower types, which is not necessary to do, but helps some with pollination. I am also in search of a Del Rio variety as well due to cold hardiness and flavor. I will look into the fantastic and bananas. Thank you for the info!
@@miguelreyes4328 Thanks for the info!
Very cool idea! Thanks!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
You could add an immersion water heater - maybe connected to a timer/electronic switch to get even more protection
It was single digit temperatures for almost 3 days. If you watch Life Uncontained in East Texas, they had 3 2500 gallon tanks that almost froze solid. Also, your citrus shouldn't have much problem with mid 20's overnight after about a year or two of growth.
That can be defeated simply by making an aqueous calcium chloride mixture. This table will show you how to make a brine mixture that will be impossible to freeze: www.dynalene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dynalene_Calcium_Chloride_Series_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf
Mid-20's isn't the problem. The problem will be our average annual minimums of 10-15 degrees, and the 20-year events where it falls into the single digits like we had in January 2018.
@@TheMillennialGardener Here is how you should think about this. Plain water will reduce in temperature until it reaches 32F. It will remain at 32F until it is completely frozen solid. After it is frozen solid, it will once again start reducing in temperature. The phase change between liquid and solid at 32F is a much greater energy transfer than the energy loss during the temperature change from say 50F to 32F. For overnight cold spells, just plain water is a better bet since the phase change will occur at a higher and more beneficial temperature and keep your trees warm. If you use the brine, the phase change will not happen until the air temperature inside your tent is below the temperature your trees can survive. Look up latent heat of fusion, Latent heat of vaporization. There is a lot of heat transfer at a constant temperature during phase changes. The barrels are a great idea for short term freezes, but they will not save the trees during an event like we saw here in Texas unless you can change out the water or add heat to it. Keep up the great videos, and how about a fig seedling update?
@@TomA-pt7en I believe this to be the laws of Thermodynamics as well.
Great info. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Another possible item that may work this way are swimming pool water bags used to anchor pool covers in winter they are available in black vinyl and can be filled with a garden hose. They come in 4, 8, and 10 foot lengths as well as corner bags of 4’ x 4’.
I'm not familiar. How many gallons do they hold? If they hold 50 gallons or so, that can help. The only disadvantage I can see if them being too low to the ground. You will need to trap in that heat.
Hey, What’s growing on? 😂 I am just finding your channel and I wanted to thank you for sharing your journey. I am a neighbor to you. I live in Shallotte NC, in Brunswick County just a few miles south of you. I was wondering your thoughts on the cooler weather we will have tonight and tomorrow night into next week. Do you recommend that I should do anything to protect my garden. I am currently growing in my raised beds, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, beets, radishes, bunching onions, okra, lettuce, and of course my herbs….basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and chives. Everything is looking great and I really don’t want to risk losing anything. Thanks for any suggestions you can send my way, and for your valuable information I am finding on your UA-cam channels!
Sheila
I used water during last year's freeze inside my greenhouse. The greenhouse still froze inside, but the plants survived. You can see the setup and results on my channel. Enjoy!
Did it make a significant difference between inside and outside? I’m wondering if you tracked the temps?
@@TheMillennialGardener Yes, it helped. I made temperature logger circuits which I had outside and inside. They track the high and low of each hour.
Also, you can see the top layer of thin ice in my aquaponics bed. But outside, I had covered a bed of lettuce with plastic that got snowed on, melted, then made a block of ice 6" thick! Amazingly, that lettuce did fantastic because the weight of the ice pushed the lettuce onto the ground which was still warmer ! So covers help (greenhouse / plastic).
When water freezes, it releases heat during the liquid/solid phase change. But watch out because when it melts again, it will extract heat from the surroundings. This is why a few winters ago, I sprayed water onto my peach tree to thaw the ice, instead of letting the blossoms thaw the ice. That year I had a bumper crop of peaches!
@@TheMillennialGardener Oh the temperature difference is usually ten degrees F higher in the greenhouse. And the water is usually ten degrees higher than the greenhouse.
The year of the great freeze, I expect the water to be about the same as the plants because I added radiant barriers over the plants and the plants sat over the water. It was a mess, as you can see in the freeze video, but it worked. My citrus made it! My tomato plants made it too.
that's awesome i love it. great experiment and i know it works. another option for heat but it is far more complicated is a compost patch under and near the trees.
I’ve heard of people using that. I wouldn’t use that for some-pushing, though. You need a consistent, reliable source. This is definitely reliable if you remember to cover things.
@@TheMillennialGardener their is benefit to the compost heat system, its consistent the whole season and at the end its fertilizer. all you need is mulch add dirt and sugar boom instant heat source.
@@yanostropicalparadise755 I imagine using coffee grounds in that compost pile would really heat it up. I know they do that to my pile
@@jameslively4487 i find it hard to believe coffee grounds would cause any additional affect. mulch with any vegetation add a bit of soil and sugar would cause a fast affect. the trick is the pile size has to be large and wet at first.
Sounds like a great way to get by with little electricity or maybe none at all. I live in 8b but even so we still get below freezing quiet often so my plants will need some protection. Besides who's to say we don't have that Texas Snowmageddon next. It was probably a "once in a lifetime" thing but I have actually seen in down to +5 to -3 in this area (depending on exactly where you were) ... So yeah I pray I never see that again.
Exactly. We had that happen here in January 2018. Despite being an 8a, we hit 8 and 9 degrees two nights in a row. Plus an ice storm with 3.5 inches of snow! Even Charleston, SC, got 6 inches. Anything can happen, and it’s best to prepare.
Love Dale!! ❤️
He's the best!
Great ideas! I am in Zone 9B, Bay Area, but it does get cold Dec thru Mar (many times in 30s) thanks to gusty wind. I will try water barrels this winter.
Do sweet citrus trees ripen well in SF, or do you have to wait 2 seasons to develop the sugars? I know of a grower in British Columbia that harvests his citrus the following winter, so it takes about 18 months for them to fully ripen.
@@TheMillennialGardener They ripen very well within one season, and once the plant is mature (3-4 years), there are just too many fruits. My neighbor's oranges are ready (and usually there are a few falling off the tree, every single day), Same with pomelo, grapefruits, tangerines. Meyer lemon will be ready in a couple of weeks (in my backyard), and calamansi is blooming as if its spring already. :-)
Bananas here, however, take a while to ripen and sometimes have to go thru the whole winter (I use frost cloth to cover them). Once I had big, green papayas by end of fall, but they did not survive the winter.
I was one of the lucky ones here in central Texas that didn’t lose power. I was able to keep my avocado, guava, and satsuma alive with plant covers and cheap portable work lights with temps here holding steady at 9F for over 24hours.
Wow, that is lucky, for sure. I would count my blessings, then run out and get a few of these cheap pickle barrels ASAP to prepare for the next freeze. Having these barrels are invaluable, because they are impervious to power outages. That Texas freeze scared me and made me realize that if I lose power in a 20, 30, 50 or 100 year freeze, I'll lose everything. With these barrels, I have a fighting chance.
I have to meet you!!! You are amazing!!!Omg!! Game changer is an understatement, I'm new to NC, Citrus trees are a must in our family Garden. I'd like to grow Lemon, peach, pear, and, orange trees. I started inside and when my land is cleared and settled I want them out in my yard and you just solved my biggest concern. Thank you. Keep these videos coming for us locals!!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Satsumas grow very well here, particularly Brown Select and Owari. Kumquat's are also doable. I'm experimenting with an in-ground Cara Cara, but that's going to be a bigger challenge, for sure. Satsumas and Kumquats will require protection when young when temps dip below 28F, and then once they establish, when temps dip into the low 20's just to be safe (which usually doesn't happen much here, except on exceptionally cold winters like this one).
Lemons are much harder to grow here, since they're a lot less cold tolerant. Your only options are a Meyer Lemon, a Harvey Lemon, and an Ichang Lemon. Again, all will require some protection when it falls below 28F.
But as you can see, it all can be done. I'm probably the only guy in all of the Wilmington area growing an avocado tree in-ground. I've never heard of such a thing, but as you can see, even that is possible with proper variety selection and planning. If you are having your land cleared, you are going to want to clear it in such a way so you have a north-facing wind break. Leaving trees on the NORTH and WEST side of the property is important, because you want to block the north and west winds. The south and east winds are generally warmer, because they come from the ocean.
@@TheMillennialGardener😂 When I saw your avocado plant I knew you were the real deal🤷♀️😂 I wanted to grow one but was hesitant. Ha! Not anymore 😊 Thank you for these tips. With your help I know I'm going to be so happy in my backyard/Garden for years to come. I'm trying to use edible and medicinal herbs and plants as much as possible on my land. I'm so happy you mentioned the type of lemon tree that will do well here. My Mom passed away a year ago and I'm naming my "Meyer" Lemon tree after her. She was a nurse so hence the healing/holistic style Garden I'm building. I'm so thankful for you and your videos. You're helping my vision come alive so simply. Thank you ❤🙏
@@Sam-ny9tz if you want to grow a satsuma, like an Owari or Brown's Select, they're fairly low maintenance. They can tolerate temps below 20 once they're mature, so living here, there's really only 2-3 nights a year you need to be concerned about.
If you choose to grow an avocado or Meyer lemon in-ground, it will take work. You'll need to build a little structure around them, heat them and protect them pretty regularly. Mine have to be protected to some degree most nights from Christmas to Valentine's Day. Temps in the 20's - even high 20's - can cause damage. These plants take real work. It can be done, but it will be real work, and you only need to forget one night to lose years of hard work. Keep that in mind and make sure you're up for it.
The water barrels are a must, because they protect against power outages. The Christmas lights only work if the power stays on, so you need a backup. The barrels are only $25 at Hudson Hardware in Castle Hayne.
@@TheMillennialGardener Cool!! I'm familiar with that Hudsons. I'll check them out. I'm also looking at the items on your Amazon store! Great stuff. When my Meyer arrives (in a couple days) I have an indoor grow tent to keep her in until it gets a little warmer, then I plan to take her in and outside using your 5 gallon method, then graduate her to a container, lastly in the ground. From there I'd use the method suggested in your video. Would you recommend this? I know it's still pretty frosty out and with Meyers we've gotta be careful not to freeze or burn them so I'm sure it will keep me grounded in patience and hard work. Gardening keeps me sane 🤣😂 I've grown flowers and plants but Vegetables is new to me. I'm excited.
On another note, I've started what some call winter sowing in jugs, I call anytime sowing lol 😆. I wanted to thank you for you jug video too. I see many just using the jugs to start seedlings but I love the alternative you've provided of simply covering the tops of the plants at this stage. Thanks for all of your videos and responses. I truly appreciate you. 🙏
Funny that you posted this today as I just put some heat sinks in my greenhouse for the first time. I used cat litter jugs painted black. I don’t currently grow many cold sensitive perennials but hopefully if helps shelter young plants in the greenhouse. Gotta say though, watching your videos makes me want to try my hand with citrus.
Give it a shot. Worst case, you’re out $40 and got to have a fun experiment. Best case, you’re growing amazing things! My advise is to get 2 wireless thermometers and track temps in the center of your yard versus the greenhouse. Keep adding water barrels til you get enough protection.
Fore sure. I Love the thermometer setup you’ve got.
Howdy. I lost seven mid size citrus trees in the arctic blast in Texas last year. I replaced the blood orange and mandarins with the Clementine and Arctic Frost varieties, which are more frost tolerant. I have four lemon and lime trees growing in pots that can be moved indoors. I have three more lemon and lime trees growing in ground side by side but I plan to keep them smaller than my old ones, easier to wrap n protect. I currently have their trunks wrapped n pipe insulation as we've already had a few nights dip in the 30s. I created a frame that covers all three trees together, first layer is frost blanket material but then I am using a waterproof/windproof material to insulate the whole thing and keep rain out. Looking into adding solar powered heating souce. Anyway, that's my plan. Tfs your ideas.
Please be careful using things like pipe insulation, bubble wrap, etc. This is a frequent mistake many people make. They do next to nothing to protect plants.
Pipe insulation works to insulate pipes because your pipes are full of water, and water has a high specific heat value, which means it takes a long time for water to "cool down." When to wrap a pipe full of water with insulation, it locks in the heat, similar to you locking in your body heat by wearing a jacket.
Plants do not have a high specific heat value. There is no heat to lock in. When you wrap a plant with pipe insulation, bubble wrap or cover it with a plant jacket, it does nothing to keep them warm. It only blocks frost, which won't help you much with citrus, because most citrus are tolerant of light frost.
You need a source of heat to lock in. You'll either need to add *incandescent lights* (not LED lights, they don't generate significant heat), or something with high specific heat, like a barrel full of water or a giant pile of mulch that has warmed up in the sun all day. All the covering in the world won't protect a plant from a freeze unless you have something inside the cover that generates or holds heat.
Hi. Thanks for the advice. I made the mistake of adding a small ceramic heater to the trees. I only had two small heaters so I rotated them among the trees only for an hour or so at a time at night. I hoped warming the trees and mulch would be enough to sustain them through the night. It worked for all but two trees. Those two trees must have gotten too much heat because the leaves are all dried up and crunchy. The trees will survive but I expect all the leaves to drop. All the other trees were fine, better than I expected. Live and learn. Lol
I will ALWAYS vote these videos. (as long as I remember to)
I hope you found it helpful! Thank you for watching!
Boy, if you ever sell your house, you will have to dig all of these up and take them because no one else with love on them like you! Loved watching this.
You just have to find the right person. Eventually, I would like to have land somewhere, but that's a long time into the future. For the time being, I have my hands full for sure. Thanks for watching!
I bought some 1 gallon and three gallon satsumas and kumquats from Stan McKenzie. I live in zone 8b. I’ve been successful protecting in ground avocado even thru 15 degree cold using Christmas lights and cover. At what temps do you use more than Christmas lights or pickle barrels to protect the small fruits? I imagine they freeze at 32 degrees and are ruined? Also, do you suggest I grown my smaller trees in pots for a couple years before putting in ground? Great job on the videos!
These black plastic barrels are used on the roofs of many homes in Mexico as solar water heaters.
Interesting. I bet it works really well in the tropics, and can get pretty hot!
This is really clever man
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I am actually in SW Virginia. Hi neighbor! I have a Red Haven dwarf peach tree. I have never planted a fruit tree before. Any tips? Bark covers? Fertilizers? No fert? Etc
Very cool channel!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
Great video! Will you need to remove the barrels from the citrus hedge in summer so that they don’t overheat/stress the citrus? If so, what will you do with the barrels in summer so that they are not sitting idle for half the year?
The thing about water is it moderates the temps. It may actually reduce the temps in summer. In short, it won’t matter if the trees aren’t covered. I am just going to drain them when the season is over and clean them out.
That’s a good idea!
Thanks! So far, it is testing wonderfully.
You're lucky to receive sunlight in your coldest months. Up here in Vancouver when it gets cold it's almost always overcast and we only get 8 hours of daylight per day in the winter. I like the water idea. I'm brainstorming a way to heat the water up to a few degrees. We're in an 8A zone though I'm at an elevation so a few degrees colder.
One of the reasons I live where I live is to get more sun in the winter. I used to live in the Northeast, where winters were very cold and gray. I moved 600 miles south to get out of that climate. You can always wrap the barrels in incandescent lights to heat them up - or just wrap the trees directly with the lights. Some people are recommending dropping a fish tank heater in the barrels, but I am not sure what the fire safety risk is since those fish tank heaters are for indoor applications. I need to do more research on the matter, but if you can find a UL listed heater that's rated for outdoor use, it could be an option.
If we had that kind of sunlight in the coldest months we would see far more than 15 frost events in an average year. Citrus can be grown in the PNW with little protection and making sure they are kept out of heavy rains to avoid root rot. The avocado problem is lack of pollinators in the winter. My first avocado was a Lila, but the Reed should preform better up here because it flowers much later into the Spring.
@@ragnaraxelson59 I've left my grapefruit tree outside this year for the first time and so far it's doing ok. I have it on an open porch so it only gets a little rain on it's outer leaves. I took my Lemon, Lime and Mandarin plants inside and put them in a cold back room. They're only about 2 feet high and I figured it was too soon for them. It's definitely cold when it gets clear in the PNW on account of the Northern and Northwestern winds that bring us cloudless skies (in the winter).
@@HowardBaileyMusic Generally grapefruit is more frost sensitive than lemons and limes. We are able to grow Washington Naval in the ground, against south facing walls using the xmas light and remay method. It just takes an extra year to ripen the fruit!.
Thank you so much for the details you provide. QQ, can I use a blue barrel, cannot seem to find a black one. Black does trap more heat, but would the blue one be at least a little effective?
Yes, you can use a blue barrel. It may be in your best interest to spray paint it black, though. That way, it'll attract more heat. A $5 can of spray paint would be worth the investment.
thanks for the nice video, i can add to the list: cemetery candles.
My goal is to provide passive heat that I won't need to tend to that won't be a fire hazard. I want a situation where I can take a vacation for a week and not have to worry. You can purchase agricultural fabric with 80% light transmission, cover your trees next to the water barrels, and leave for a 2 week vacation without worry. That's true peace of mind.
@@TheMillennialGardener I see. Ok well , in that case you're right.
That thick plant blanket likely helped a lot too, in addition to the water barrel. How much do you think the blanket alone helped?
The blanket alone offers no protection to anything but frost. Jackets work for humans, because our bodies generate heat, and the jacket holds in our heat. Because plants generate no heat, if all you do is cover them with a blanket, the blanket just freezes through and everything underneath freezes the same as the outside. The blanket is effective in this case, because it holds in the heat of the water, which is the "body heat" I want to lock in with the jacket. The blanket is actually really thin. It's only an $18 1oz frost cloth. You can purchase transparent, 1oz. agricultural fabric, which will have something like 65% light transmission. You can leave the fabric on for days at a time, so if you ever leave for a week for vacation, you can leave the plants covered in the transmissible fabric for the duration and not worry about a thing.
We have two citrus trees that I have no idea what my daughter's brought to seed. We keep them indoors. I recently trimmed them up last week.
Do you mean they are seed-grown? If so, many citrus trees do not grow true to seed. Depending on the seed planted, it could be a unique tree, or even a random hybrid if it was cross-pollinated. If it is a polyembryonic citrus variety, it could grow true. It really depends.
We have a small lime tree that was left out and got below 20 in Texas the other night brought it in the next day after the fact. All the leaves are dying but the branches look good. Should we pull the leaves off or just let it be.
I would just let it be. It can take weeks for the cold damage to show. There is a good chance the tips will show dieback in the oncoming days. I would not do anything to it for awhile, because anything else you do will simply stress out the tree. Give it a month for all the damage to show and for the nodes to start showing leaf budding before you prune off the dieback. You may need to give it a half-strength water soluble fertilizer like MiracleGro All Purpose 24-8-16 in 2 weeks to help promote some leaf growth.
15:30 - I'm confused. Shouldn't the temperatures be falling from their daytime temperatures through the morning and then start to increase when the sun comes out? What I'm seeing is all the temps going from around 30 degrees UP to 40 degrees? Shouldn't they be doing the exact opposite?
Great set up! Where did you get the water barrels?
They are from a local farm supply store called Hudson Hardware.
Just use titanium fish tank heaters with electric thermometer to maintain the water in the barrel warm. We use that for beer fermentation.
There isn’t really a need. The goal is to do this without electricity, and the sun provides a free heat source. If I am going to run electricity, I would sooner add lights since you’ll get more bang for your buck, I think. With lights, you can target the canopy.
Yeah it did, Houston Texas
Hopefully, this method can be used for the next big freeze. It will happen again, unfortunately. The question is: when?
@@TheMillennialGardener I know and not looking forward to it. Thanks for the tips, your garden/orchard is AbFab
Meanwhile in Portland we had historical high temperatures and it scorched tons of extremely established plants. Climate change is wild man. We better all be planting diversely inside and outside our zones.
Usually, every 20 years, our area will experience an extreme event: an extreme heat event, extreme cold event, extreme drought, extreme rainfall, etc. So, once every 5 years or so, something extreme should happen. When you extrapolate that over every city on Earth, there are always thousands of outlier events every year. We can't simply prepare for the average, because there's about a 20% chance of something terrible happening on any given year. I try to prepare for the extremes. As you said, that's why it's so important to have diversity. I am growing apples, pears, peaches, figs, persimmons, feijoa, blueberries, citrus and avocados in-ground, because my theory is *something* will have a fantastic year!
Having a hard time finding black color drums in my area, would spray painting a white or blue drum black work the same?
Yes. You can absolutely do that. Just make sure the paint cures fully before you place them next to your plants. You don't want the residue dripping into your soil.
How about a 5 gallon of water can that work too or it needs to be dark to hold heat
I’ve been looking for your Amazon storefront for the frost protection jacket. Where is it?
It is under PLANT FREEZE PROTECTION.
what outdoor temperature thermometer do you use?
The weather station I use and all parts are linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description.
Im running incandescent lights on my citrus and covering them with ag frost blankets similar to you. Do you think those C9 xmas lights will light the frost blanket on fire by any chance? I pushed the lights somewhat inside the tree so they aren't touching the frost blanket but it is concerning.
Honestly, I am not sure. I can tell you the standard incandescent mini-lights do not, and are safe. I've been using them for years. The C9's get a lot hotter, though. The standard mini-lights are only 40 watts per 100 lights, but the C9 lights are 175 watts per strand. I am going to string light my avocado soon, but I'm torn on which lights to use, because the C9's + agricultural fabric combination concerns me a little. I do know the C9's are obviously safe to touch vegetation, since they're designed for outdoor use on trees.
@@TheMillennialGardener The ones I have are 125 watts per 25 lights. I am thinking about putting the lights on the lower thinned out branches and let the heat radiate upwards. So far one strand C9 lights plus frost blanket on a 34 degree night creates a 9 degree warmer atmosphere on average for my citrus.
Can you please tell me what is the best soil mixture to put in the ground when you plant the citrus trees?
I’m in zone 7B and I’ve tried to put down a couple citrus trees in the ground last year. They survived the winter but they didn’t grow at all all summer. I think my soil is too wet and do not drain well or it is not the right soil for citrus. Please give me your advice. Thank you in advance!
You can't really "put down" soil, because the taproot will eventually grow through it. Once the taproot penetrates into a clay layer that doesn't drain, the tree will go into decline. I recommend two things when you plant citrus:
1. Make sure your citrus is grafted to a trifoliate rootstock. Trifoliate rootstock is more resistant to root rot, and the rootstock is extremely dwarfing and shallot-rooted.
2. Build yourself a raised bed or a berm that is at least 12 inches high. Plant the trifoliate-grafted rootstock on top of the berm or in a raised bed.
If your soil is particularly bad, it may be worth it to actually build a 12-18 inch tall 3'x3' or 4'x4' raised bed. It may be worth your time. By building this raised bed or stable berm and planting a trifoliate-grafted tree, the tree will stay permanently small and the taproot won't penetrate far enough into standing water. You will need to mulch the berm well to maintain even moisture, though. A berm is prone to drying out completely in the heat, so keep that in mind.
I would just build a pure compost berm, or a raised bed and fill it with 100% local compost. Just make sure it's well-broken down. You may want to build and fill the bed 3 months before planting, so you can ensure the compost has broken down.
I have a small yuzu that I'm hoping to put in the ground in the next year or so. I'm Delaware, crappy clay soil. So, I'll be amending the local soil, tilling in, then building a tall raised bed for the citrus. I'm also 7B
Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful response!!!
I don’t think my soil is that bad, because I always grow peppers every year and they thrived so much in that bed.
However, I don’t think it is the right soil for citrus. I will try to move the citrus into the raised bed that I built last summer like you suggested.
Btw, I always enjoy watching every one of your videos. I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you!
Put some gypsum at the bottom of your hole to loosen up the soil a bit.
@@ragnaraxelson59 thank you! Will try :)
Aquarium heater or stock tank heater would help on colder nights or cloudy days…
The issue is fire hazards. I don't want heaters running in inclement weather while I'm away from the house. I only use incandescent Christmas lights as a heat source, because they are UL listed, designed to contact foliage, and made to be used in rain, snow, sleet and ice. Having indoor heaters running outside is a big no-no and a fire hazard in many applications.
Potential correction or rather extension of the part talking about water's specific heat capacity:
Phase changes take much more energy (333 J/g for water's solid to liquid transition and an insane 2257 J/g for vaporization) than just heating a liquid, solid, or gas up or down by several degrees (4.2 J/g/K as mentioned in the video).
So with that considered this should work best when it's around 0c for pure water but lowering that with salts or using another material that transitions at about the temp that you want to maintain should probably work best too. I'm assuming a liquid or gas would mix better than thus move heat around the container better than a solid material could so keeping things liquid for as long as possible seems like it'd be a good idea too? Also looking into this topic more (initially to fact check myself a bit but also cause I need to figure out what would work best for my zone 4 where -32c extremes are expected) is making this topic seems like a rabbit hole I'm never getting out of. Currently I think the best approach would be to use 300grams of salt per kg of water but that'd only lower water's freezing point down to -20c and adding more salt apparently raises water's freezing point.
Another (possibly more permaculture but otherwise less efficient) version of this approach is to create a body of water (such as a pond or lake) near your plants both for thermal and general water storage.
But then when winter ends you have the hassle of draining salt water and storing it somewhere, or disposing of it properly. The practicality of simply draining fresh water, and dispersing it around the garden probably wins out.
@@Avo7bProject maybe but at about 2 J/g/K (specific heat capacity of ice) you're only getting about half of the effect when your water is frozen and also miss out another 70ish degrees worth of heat when you can't benefit from the phase change. Worst case for disposing you can just let the water evaporate over spring/summer and store a salt filled container for next year. Although a leak would be really bad and that could potentially happen due to thermal expansion.
A phase change isn't possible in my climate. It will never get cold enough long enough for these barrels to freeze. If you're in Zone 4, I would suggest mixing a few pounds of calcium chloride into the barrels to dramatically lower the freezing point. There are charts floating out there that can help you with measurements: www.dynalene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dynalene_Calcium_Chloride_Series_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf
Apparently, a 25% calcium chloride solution by weight can have a freezing point of -25F. That's pretty intense.
You just have to be very careful never to spill the barrels onto your soil, since that salt on the ground would not be a good thing for a growing medium. If you ever need to drain the barrel, you'll want to do so with a siphon into another container a little at a time for disposal.
I can't exactly create a body of water on a 1/4 acre plot 😁 My goal with this method is for people to see its effectiveness on a general level, then apply it to their situation.
Now you got the data nerd in me going. You need to do a control. So what do these temps at these stations look like without any protection. I assume you have that control data already, unless you just installed the citrus station.
You can then use the standard deviation (as in the average Delta between the avocado and citrus stations from the outdoor station) from each station from the control experiment and then compare that to the standard deviation from the protected scenario. If you wanted to get really fancy, you could just compare the temps from sundown to sunrise if you wanted to normalize for the greenhouse effect.
The control is the "blue line" on my chart, which is the ambient temperature of my yard. That station is only about 20 feet away from my citrus trees, so it's accurate enough to get good data. If you look at the chart toward the end of the video, I compare the 3 different data sets on a colorful graph.
My kumquats protected this way do seem to be benefiting; thanks so much for the idea! Also I love the time signatures in your show notes. So helpful when skimming through or going back to review one section.
Next winter I might try adding an aquarium heater to my setup. Got the idea from this other UA-cam video:
ua-cam.com/video/5UOImQq637c/v-deo.html
I'm glad to hear the timestamps are useful, because they're a pain to inventory and set up 😅
Glad to hear the protection is working. I would caution your use of any type of heater that could be a fire hazard. I like using UL listed outdoor rated Christmas lights, because they're safe to contact foliage and be outside in rain and snow.
I have been using water to help my mangoes in winter. I just use those black 5 gallon buckets from HomeDepot.
What’s your zone? Are they in ground?
@@TheMillennialGardener My zone is 10a, Northern California. I have some in ground and some in pots outdoor. It works well to put the buckets inside a frost cover on freezing nights.
do u wanna try a fig variety called craven's craving?
I tried to root one last year, but the cutting failed. From what I hear, it's very similar to Black Madeira.
Hi I'm from india and I want grow to hass avocado tree the temperature in my area is -5 to -10degree celcius in winters and 25 to 30degree celcius in summer so please suggest me which verity should I go..
I would recommend Lila. It is a semi-dwarf variety, so you can prune it to keep it very small and protect it. Lila can be maintained at only 2m of height. My climate can see temps of -12 to -9C, and Lila is growing very well for me, but I protect it. You can see the Lila here: ua-cam.com/video/ygnk_ydeVsg/v-deo.html
Use the solar hot water and an immersion/ bucket heater $30 an heat them barrels to 150*
A solar heater is possible, if you can do it safely without fear of fire. My goal with this setup is to be 100% safe, where I can cover the trees and go on vacation for a week without worry.
Dale is too cute and sweet!!!!
He's a very good boy. We lucked out with him. His demeanor is amazing.
Where do you buy pickle barrels?
This is explained at 3:28. Chapters are included in the Table of Contents.
@@TheMillennialGardener thank you for your reply.
Do the black barrels work for protecting bananas in zone 8a?
I protect my bananas by building cages around them and burying them in straw. I show you how I do it here: ua-cam.com/video/8p9IzCD9088/v-deo.html
The barrels will provide protection to your banana trees if that's the route you choose to go, but you'll have to use a plant jacket or cover to hold in all that heat. It won't help simply to have the barrels nearby. You need to hold in all that heat with a blanket.
@@TheMillennialGardener Great point. I should have watched your video carefully re: frost jackets. I put in some u-posts and bolted some bent electrical conduit. It was a nightmare tearing up the tender cloth of the shrub jacket...got too taut. THen I had to clamp bedsheets from Goodwill to the tatters to close the gaps in the plant jackets. I should have put rebar in the soil as anchors for long PVC piping then clamped the jackets to the PVC. Live and learn.
Make a tent and attach it to the ground when you have the cold front
Alrighty 🎉🎉 💋👌
Thanks for watching!
Dale calculating his feed consumption with his “geometry bowl”. “I don’t really need to eat out of this, but my open bowl was so lame I just glommed everything up in microseconds. Dad was upset because it takes him way longer to prepare my dinner than it takes me to inhale it! That stupid DVM told Dad to slow me down while feeding, so I am learning geometry during my dinner time now. Everyone happy…’cept me!” 👅🐾🐾
When we adopted Dale, it was clear within a week that he can't be fed with a normal bowl. He eats so quickly, he would make himself sick and sometimes he'd puke. And ALWAYS on the carpet. He would run to a corner of the room and puke in the corner, which made things as difficult as possible to clean up. Since moving to these slow feeder bowls, we never had another problem. I think a lot of these hound-mix dogs are bred and then fed in large troughs for hunting purposes, so they're taught at an early age to fight and eat as quickly as possible or go hungry. It's really sad.
Good move to slow him down. Bloat can be fatal if the stomach gets twisted during fast consumption. We have had many rescues use our geometry bowls over the years and I am sure the use was life saving. BTW, I was impressed with your choice of containers for fruit. I only have one Meyer Lemon that got planted in a smaller pot a few months ago so a 15 will be useful next season. Thanks for the update! St Marys, GA 🐾🐾
you mentioned it got colder earlier and probably much colder than last year as well. i noticed the same thing last year and its even earlier and colder this year. just so you are aware, we are entering a possible 30 year grand solar minimum which means it will be getting colder in the winters earlier and far colder then previous years. this is expected to increase for the next 15 years at least. so this means any cold sensitive plants will be lost in the next ten years in my one and up, i'm in zone 9b. i suggest plant cold hardy trees now, i started a year an half ago. i planted a lot of northern trees for that reason here in tampa fl. :) peaches, plumbs, nectarines, pawpaw, cherries, persimmons, apples as well as some cold hardy topicals like white sapote, lychees and a few others.
I’ve been noticing that frosts are coming later and later in the spring. It is a shame. It was a big problem last year, because flowers are getting frozen, which loses the entire season. Arctic outbreaks seem to becoming more common, too. I am hoping this was a fluke, and it won’t be so bad this winter. Last year was a bad spring, and I lost most of my in-ground figs from late freeze after our 90% frost date.
@@TheMillennialGardener i lived in tampa in 1979, at Halloween yo needed a coat then. 2 years ago a t-shirt was fine. its getting colder sooner and its staying later. their calling it a mini ice age. you wont hear to much about it in the so called news media because global warming sells and a grand solar minimum ruins their objectives. you can wait another year to see what i mean and then focus on cold resistant trees, and remember spring and summer will be shorter. im already prepared for it. im even buying some acreage a little further south.
solar with fish tank heater
The #1 thing you need to plan for is safety. Anything that's a fire hazard won't work. The challenge with these heaters is while the heater itself is designed to be submerged, the rest of the cord is not. They're for indoor use, and using them outdoors on a 100ft extension cord doesn't sit well with me. They are also energy hogs at 250-500watts. Powering that with solar isn't really feasible. It's a real challenge to have a truly safe setup where you can leave your house for days with confidence.
Yes we lost all of our tropical fruit trees in tx
That’s horrible to hear. The good news is, I think this method can help ensure that doesn’t happen again. For $25 for a barrel, you just can’t beat that.
@@TheMillennialGardener looking forward to try it out thanks I appreciate the info
Millennial Gardener > All other gardening youtube channels
I appreciate that! I am happy to run these experiments. Nothing makes me happier than to hear people inspired to plant new things and take a little risk here and there.
Love it, but you missed something really important and something I rely on. Even tho we have 800+ chill hours and yet nearly never get a frost. Because of our two bays, water bodies.
I doubt you will ever see below 0C with the water barrel and here's why, you missed the phase change of water. For water to freeze it needs to get to 0C and then release more energy than it took to go from 100C to 0C just to turn solid. That amount of water could take days to freeze, all the while forcing the air under the blanket to never fall below 0C.
I'm not sure what you're implying that I missed. It does not get cold enough where I live to freeze the water in these barrels, so it is not a concern I need to prepare for. If you live in a location where the water could freeze, you can accommodate this by adding calcium chloride to the water inside to lower the freezing point.
Video starts at 3:01
7 im at those will freeze
You can simply purchase calcium chloride to make a brine solution inside. Then, they will not freeze. This chart will tell you how to do so with proper weights: www.dynalene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dynalene_Calcium_Chloride_Series_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf
Those pickle closed barrels will explode in case really cold night turn water into the ice.
That won't happen. It's not possible to freeze these barrels where I live. Anywhere where you can grow citrus in-ground cannot freeze a 60 gallon water barrel outside of maybe a little crystallization on top. If you live in a very cold climate where it is possible and you want to use them to warm a more temperate tree like a fig or peach tree in a borderline climate, you can simply leave the lid off, or you can add a few pounds of salt to the water to ensure they never freeze.
@@TheMillennialGardener - yes, adding some salt is a good idea. I'm in MD zone 7a, so sometimes during the winter it might be below freezing point for several days in a row. For me it is problematic to grow even most cold-hardy citruses with water barrel + incandescent Christmas lights + frost bags..
open that window and seal the plants in
I don't think that's feasible for most people 😂 Space along the south wall is limited, so if you want to expand, you need to get creative.
Those citrus trees are too close to the fence.
They are not. They are trifoliate-grafted trees, so they will not grow taller than the fence. They are extremely dwarfing trees. It's very common to plant trifoliate-grafted citrus trees even closer to a structure, such as right up against a house, to benefit from the warmth in marginal climates. The roots are small and trees small.
Your method will no doubt protect the tree, however if your tree is blossoming, the young delicate flowers will die from the higher lows created from the protection.
this only works if its sunny(for hours and hours mind you) the day prior to the frost level nights, very unreliable method
While the barrels will be warmer if it's very sunny, they still heat back up during the day, even if it's overcast. They always provide a substantial advantage every time.