Author Topic: So Cal soon to see its first Freezing storm of the season... (Read 30365 times)

shaneatwell · « **Reply #50 on:** December 08, 2013, 12:37:55 PM »

41oF in carlsbad and wet from yesterdays rains. First test for my papayas. Jamaican cherry is fairing the worst. Pomelo on the other hand opened all its flowers this morning which have been just sitting there for weeks.

MangoFang · « **Reply #51 on:** December 08, 2013, 02:33:23 PM »

35.7 on my weather station for yesterday (early Sat. morning) at 6:30 am
and a remarkable 42 today at 7am.....

And as someone said, the overnight low tonight is supposed to be the worst of this arctic front.

Oh, and Warren here is my mango "hoophouse". Interestingly, I'm leaving it up today and after I took this
picture I went inside and it was like a balmy 70F at like 9:30 am and only 48F reading for the outdoor temp.
I'm really temped to leave this on throughout the whole winter to not only let the warming offset potential
frost damage each day, but to see if I could get it to shoot out some earlier flowers since I believe it will at
some point begin to think the cold is gone. Have you guys ever been inside a frost cloth structure? It's so
bright and warm!!! Gary

...sorry - don't know why it came out dim and fuzzy....

emegar · « **Reply #52 on:** December 08, 2013, 02:55:04 PM »

Last night's low here seems to have been 37F. Nice hoop house, Mangofang! Here are my attempts to keep my mangos, etc. happy:

nch · « **Reply #53 on:** December 08, 2013, 03:08:28 PM »

Wow, Gary, I like your hoop house. Did you build it yourself? If so, is the frame made of PVC pipe? and what size pipe? I would like to build one like that. I am sinking deeper and deeper into the tropical planting addiction.

wslau · « **Reply #54 on:** December 08, 2013, 06:27:02 PM »

Gary and James: Nice protection structures!

After seeing everyone else's frost protection....I'm kind of wondering if mine does any good. This is what Mimosa LA told me to do for my big mango trees.

Of course, my smaller mango trees in 15 gallon pots are hiding in my garage where they are flowering with no bees and flies to pollinate.

Looks like I will have to learn how to hand pollinate.

Warren

BestDay · « **Reply #55 on:** December 08, 2013, 08:24:27 PM »

Last nights low at my house was 34! It was 38 at two in the morning. Tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be colder.

plantlover13 · « **Reply #56 on:** December 08, 2013, 09:07:35 PM »

Not in socal but got a good couple inches of snow here in NY. looks like we may have a white christmas after all.

nch · « **Reply #57 on:** December 08, 2013, 09:12:18 PM »

Warren, do you keep your mangoes inside the whole day? I keep mine in the garage at night only. It doesn't make much difference as far as pollination is concerned anyway IMO, because with this weather, I don't see any bees around.

nch · « **Reply #58 on:** December 08, 2013, 09:18:24 PM »

Plantlover, there's always a bright side to any situation, isn't it? At least you don't have to haul your plants in and out everyday.

wslau · « **Reply #59 on:** December 08, 2013, 11:05:13 PM »

Quote from: nch on December 08, 2013, 09:12:18 PM

Warren, do you keep your mangoes inside the whole day? I keep mine in the garage at night only. It doesn't make much difference as far as pollination is concerned anyway IMO, because with this weather, I don't see any bees around.

nch,
Unfortunately, for the last week, the mango trees have stayed in the garage the whole day. They saw sunlight for a few hours today, as there was no rain and I was home to move them. I would like to see them get more sunlight, but in 15 gallon pots, its too heavy for my family to move when I am at work early in the morning. Waiting for my portable greenhouse to solve my problem.
Warren

MangoFang · « **Reply #60 on:** December 08, 2013, 11:21:22 PM »

emegar - you look like you have an excellent handle on the cold thing....and with that REAL
greenhouse happening., you seem all set...

nch - yes, 1/2 inch pvc bent to get the effect you see. Yeah, I'm real happy with it. I do worry about a
big wind though....I'm not sure it'd handle much more than a 30-35 mph wind.....

warren - that structure you built is probably fine for a borderline frost, which is the worst cold
you'll probably face. But if it hit into the 20's I'm not sure it would. Something that would cover
the plants right to the ground. would be better. That's my opinion anyway....

Best Day - for me in the desert, tonight will not be quite as cold as tomorrow.....and then we
warm up, thank GOD!!!!

Gary

nch · « **Reply #61 on:** December 08, 2013, 11:49:50 PM »

Gary, thanks.
Warren, I put my pots on dollies to move them. I bought mine at Harbor Freight on sale for $7.99, few months ago. They are very sturdy.

shaneatwell · « **Reply #62 on:** December 09, 2013, 10:11:17 AM »

33oF low this morning in Carlsbad.

nch · « **Reply #63 on:** December 09, 2013, 10:41:48 AM »

42F at 7 am. No frost on roofs.

thao · « **Reply #64 on:** December 09, 2013, 10:55:17 AM »

Wonder how mango professor/Tim Thompson's new cold tolerant California mango varieties are faring in this cold blast? Any one checked with him yet?

NaturalGreenthumb · « **Reply #65 on:** December 09, 2013, 10:55:29 AM »

Half of me doesn't want it to get any colder

The other half want it to get colder so when it snows the snow will stay longer.

47 degree here this morning

BestDay · « **Reply #66 on:** December 09, 2013, 11:37:53 AM »

Dropped to 35 last night in Long Beach. The night before I brought all of my smallest Mango trees inside but I forgot about my Angie. Right now it looks fine but I'll report back in a week or so and let you guys know how it handled the 34 degree low.

Bill

mangobaby · « **Reply #67 on:** December 09, 2013, 12:37:15 PM »

Mangofang,

How long are the PVC pipes and how do you connect them? I use conduit pipes and multiple layes of frost cloth.

Thanks!

MangoFang · « **Reply #68 on:** December 09, 2013, 02:42:47 PM »

Amazingly, 43.9 F outside here at 6:10 am thismorning.....really no explanation.....

MangoBaby - well...I've used some connectors and crosspieces to make the full approx. 10 foot PVC
length that goes from the ground to the peak, and then, obviously, another 10 feet to complete
it down the other side. It's about 13 feet long, and about...hmmmm....maybe 11 feet wide....

I connect with the PVC connector pieces you buy at Lowes/HD or any hardware store. The one that
looks like a short cross allows you to bend the PVC and not only go top to bottom, but allows a piece of the pvc to run along the top of the array.

Conduit (the metal kind) is definitely stronger than PVC, but also heavier and would not allow the bending my kind of structure has, though I can't tell from your picture if they might be plastic. I see you are using the conduit connectors too. I'd go with the PVC connectors as you get a lot better choices of angles and connection possibilities...Also, I didn't glue them because I'm taking them down when the warmer weather gets here. What I did was shove some Earthquake Wax ( like a cross of glue with wax) into the connections, which does not dry up but allows it to hold the pvc pipe inside the connector(s) pretty well...

Good question Thao about the Mango Professor.....I don't have his email or I'd send him a quick note...

Gary

ScottR · « **Reply #69 on:** December 10, 2013, 12:21:11 AM »

This morning 27.5 and a couple more cold mornings to go for us! A few sad pic's of damage to plants;

frozen pond two times

multi-grafted mexicola grande

Nabal on Left & Leaven's hass on R.

8-varieties of cherimoya 4in one hole experment

ScottR · « **Reply #70 on:** December 10, 2013, 12:26:23 AM »

more frost damage!won't let me OK damage was done on 12/6 25.5F was low.

emegar · « **Reply #71 on:** December 10, 2013, 09:53:30 AM »

Sorry to hear about your damage, Scott. Hope it's less severe than expected. It's 32F on our patio right now (~7am), and I felt that most unwelcome crunch as I ran across the lawn to put a stand of Christmas lights on my Edward mango. Definitely our coldest night so far here.

MangoFang · « **Reply #72 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:00:04 AM »

Yeah, crushing to see, Scott....our biggest enemy visits infrequently but with deadly results....
now had you covered or protected them in any way?

Emegar - 32.7F at 6:10 am this morning. Yep, this was definitely the coldest of this stretch of 5
days so far.....hoping I dodged a bullet. Inside my hoophouse with that quartz heater
and a small fan an average of 36F. Haven't seen any neighborhood frost yet - I'll check
when I walk the dogs in another 30 minutes....

I believe this last night was the worst - supposed to slowly warm up from what I heard.

Gary

MangoFang · « **Reply #73 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:13:20 AM »

Holy Cow - just glanced at my thermometer right now at 7:10 am - 31.5F!

What the - - - - is going on!!!Z???!! Over a degree colder than when I
woke up.....Ain't it supposed to go UP with the sun?

??

Grrrrrrrrr

emegar · « **Reply #74 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:43:25 AM »

Gary,

I hope you're right about this being as bad as it gets (for awhile, at least). Definitely an uncomfortable feeling, wondering what (if any) damage you're likely to see in a few days as a result of frost. My greenhouse bottomed out at 49F with the small electric space heater I'm running, so I think my pulasan seedling should be okay (it has a warming mat under it, as well)!

James

News:

Author Topic: So Cal soon to see its first Freezing storm of the season... (Read 30365 times)