Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] grow tubes / dormancy

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Bernie Nikolai <bnikolai@shaw.ca>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grow tubes / dormancy
  • Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:49:05 -0700 (MST)

Del, I've experimented a lot with tree tubes in my zone 2/3 climate. They
work great, especially for tiny new fruit trees I have bench grafted and
just planted out in late April or early May. They keep the wind off, and
seem to keep the moisture in nicely, and provide a tube to gently pour water
in to water the young trees. The two ft. ones seem best as the 4 ft. tall
ones get very hot inside, and they seem to trap native chipping sparrows
that fly down the 4 ft. tubes, can't get out, and die. Haven't had this
problem with the 2 ft. ones. I haven't had any problem with the trees not
hardening off, and I usually wait till a killing frost, and then simply
remove the tubes.

However, it is near SUICIDE in our climate to leave them on the trees all
winter. Starting in late February, they act as tiny greenhouses, and the
trees start to be in green tip a month or 6 weeks early from what I've seen.
Then they have very severe winter damage or die in late March or early April
when it invariably goes well below freezing during the nights. I've left a
very few on as an experiment, and the trees, one year whips, either died
outright or were killed to the ground and the Siberian or Ranetka crab
rootstock regrew. So unless you want to hustle out to your orchard in early
February, and remove the tubes, don't leave them on over the winter.
Probably lots of folks on this list can get away with leaving tree tubes on
all winter, but they all live in the "banana belt" compared to our climate.
As an example, we've had an awesome fall so far, the coldest is only about
25F so far. But by this Saturday, Nov. 1 the temperature is supposed to
rocket down to -22C or about -10F! Ouch. We deserve a medal of some kind
for growing fruit trees in our climate.
Bernie Nikolai
Edmonton, Alberta

At 06:35 PM 10/27/03 +0000, you wrote:
>A generous nafexer donated a couple hundred grow tubes to our tree growing
>efforts here. Actually they are recycled tubes from some industrial
>application, heavy wall, translucent plastic 5" x 2'.
>I have been told it is not a good idea to leave them on even year old whips
>through the dormanting season, because they will not harden off as well as
>if they had been fully exposed to the oncoming winter.
>Snow and low 20'sF is the forcast here this week.
>However, I have such a vole chewing problem that I am tempted to leave them
>on. I eventually depend on window screen for vole protection, but doubt I
>can get a couple hundred screen tubes in place by freeze-up this fall.
>I'd like some opinions from folk out there on the subject of grow tubes and
>achieving full dormancy, or other winter concerns, thanks!, Del
>
>Del Stubbs www.pinewoodforge.com ag zone2/3
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Surf and talk on the phone at the same time with broadband Internet access.
>Get high-speed for as low as $29.95/month (depending on the local service
>providers in your area). https://broadband.msn.com
>
>_______________________________________________
>nafex mailing list
>nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>
>To unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change
other email options):
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
>
>File attachments are NOT stripped by this list
>TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
>Please do not send binary files.
>Use plain text ONLY in emails!
>
>Message archives are here:
>https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/nafex
>
>NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/
>






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page