The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: bovine421 on January 05, 2023, 08:25:07 PM
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Christmas Eve and especially Christmas Day freeze was a wealth of Education. I have the full gamut of mango tree sizes. I used the full array of frost freeze protection that I know of. I was able to observe those techniques Within microclimates within my microclimate. I had what I call bird bath weather stations in the four corners north south east and west with a half inch of water. Very interestingly I always thought the North West corner would be the problem Zone. Because of the radiant Wind Block of houses and large oak trees along with a little higher elevation it is not as I thought. I was shocked that the trees did so well and the bird bath never froze even though the bulb thermometer at that location read 32° for about 5 hours. The South Side never froze either. The majority of the damage was done on the North east side. Which is a large open area with a slight lower elevation. The bird bath weather station on the east side froze over. All my trees had undertree irrigation that ran in the late afternoon before Sunset both nights. They say wind chill doesn't affect plants but I think the wind does in dehydration. If we have another event like this what I will do differently. On the northeast corner which is unprotected I will put a propane heater 15,000 BTU under my PPK which received the most damage. I'm also going to purchase two patio heaters that put out 40,000 BTUs and place them strategically so The North Wind carries the Heat across the trees on the southeast side. It's amazing how a 15 mile an hour wind at 30° clears the mind and helps you focus on the problem. It's clearly a different Beast than a radiant event. The duration and the fact that the low level clouds would not let the sun shine exasperated the problem. All the techniques worked majority of my trees are nice and green with a few Jack Frost kisses and starting to bloom. In regards to the the micro jet jet irrigation that was used on the second night because the wind was at or below 10 mph. The tree that was somewhat sheltered from the wind did much better than the fully exposed tree. But because of the duration and the low-level clouds not letting the Sun raise the temperatures more rapidly. I lost two limbs one on each of the two trees with micro jet irrigation 3/4 of the way up the tree. Now I understand why the updated techniques of the Citrus industry is under tree micro jet irrigation. For one in the summertime irrigating under the shade of the canopy of the tree reduces evaporation. Number two during a event such as this the ice buildup is in the lower scaffolding of the tree. So if the limbs bend from the weight chances are they will touch the ground and not break. For Frost on the bloom protection overhead irrigation is definitely the way to go in my opinion. With a downward throwing micro jet you can cover the whole canopy of the tree protecting the bloom. During a freeze event of long duration is where it gets more problematic
(https://i.postimg.cc/Yjn68H2W/20230104-183311.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Yjn68H2W)
(https://i.postimg.cc/YLWfgwyp/20230104-183942.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/YLWfgwyp)
(https://i.postimg.cc/47hBvtYk/20230104-185320.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/47hBvtYk)
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observation is one of if not the most powerful tool's we have for farming. so many people seem disconnected from nature and have lost the power, or do not know how to observe the plants, insects, weather, soil , critters.
generalized micro climates are a pet peeve, so diving into a greater understanding of the microclimates that exist in every yard, open's a door to a heap of knowledge and understanding. which means potentially killing a lot less plants if your a "zone pusher" .
I love that you are paying attention. It's an under utilized currency.