As it is dark, wet and chilly and even swans are leaving to the south already, the snow is not so far away. I have eight young figs planted into the ground and this year I try to overwinter them outdoors. I have to prepare my figs for wintering. I have watched several videos from Youtube how to prepare figs for wintering and decided to try several different methods. Will make my conclusion next spring, how successful they were. Here is the first method: Fig is in a large diameter plastic water pipe, and another, even larger water pipe is surrounding it. The gap between these pipes I filled with garden soil. Inner pipe is covered by a cap, and the soil will be on top of it also. Everything is then covered with 200 litre metal barrel. When the snow comes, then it will be piled up around the barrel.
The second method is similar, only metal barrel is omitted. The third method is very similar to the second, only concrete pipes are used. The fourth method is burying the trunk directly into the soil, and only the very top is covered with a bucket, keeping there air bubble, and then buryied under the soil. And then everything is covered with a metal barrel.
The fifth method is burying the fig completely under the soil. The sixt method is omitting the soil. The tree is covered with three plastic containers of different size, each on top of smaller ones. Instead of the soil, a fabric of floating row covers is used to improve thermal insulation around the fig tree and inbetween the plastic containers. Finally everything is covered with a metal barrel. The seventh method is similar to the sixt, only the fabric is omitted. The last method is large plastic water pipe filled with leaves around the fig tree. And then covered with a metal barrel.
The aim is to test how different factors (aeration, thermal insulation, thermal inertia, moisture conditions, albedo of the outer surface, etc) affect survival of fig trees in the Zone 5 winter conditions. I will be happy if 3 of 8 fig trees will survive the winter. I have backup fig trees, planted into buckets for winterizing indoors.
