This video will teach you how to keep plants warm all winter long FOR FREE using old pickle barrels as as free heaters. I’ve been using pickle barrel heaters to protect fruit trees from cold weather for years, and it easily provides 5-10 degrees or more cold protection without fail! The more barrels you add, the more warmth!
I also share how to add supplemental outdoor-rated incandescent string lights as a safe way to keep plants warm in winter. When combining these methods, you can easily add 10-20 degrees of warmth on cold winter nights.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 How To Protect Trees From Cold Introduction
1:55 The Tropical Fruit Trees I Can Now Grow
2:24 How To Protect Trees With Christmas Lights
4:09 How To Make Free Heaters With Pickle Barrels
6:29 Where To Find Pickle Barrels
7:09 The Unified Cold Protection Method
8:19 Using Plant Jackets To Hold In Warmth
9:37 Weather Station Data PROVING This Works!
15:40 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to use water barrels as free heaters for cold sensitive fruit trees, have questions about growing fruit trees or want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and “how to” garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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31 Comments
If you enjoyed this video, please consider making a donation to Paws Place Dog Rescue for the holidays! I'm giving away contest entries for prizes in exchange for your donation via PayPal. Contest instructions are here: https://youtu.be/u4OFhrcFsr4 ♥TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 How To Protect Trees From Cold Introduction
1:55 The Tropical Fruit Trees I Can Now Grow
2:24 How To Protect Trees With Christmas Lights
4:09 How To Make Free Heaters With Pickle Barrels
6:29 Where To Find Pickle Barrels
7:09 The Unified Cold Protection Method
8:19 Using Plant Jackets To Hold In Warmth
9:37 Weather Station Data PROVING This Works!
15:40 Adventures With Dale
Nothing like a good game of tug football with dad!
😁
Great post…thanks for the detailed knowledge!👍
Merry Christmas!🎄💕
And this is why I love this channel.
Lol, engineers can't just turn it off…
Really great ideas 💡
Thanks again for sharing your information it is very helpful 💚✨
Pickle barrels here in N Florida are $28 for the cheapest I could find. We lived in Hickory NC 3 years ago. Everything is cheaper in NC.
We going to need em this weekend here in tn
Loved the information! Dale looks fun to play with! 😁👍
Look up "chemical ice nucleation" to see why your Mandarins might be in danger too.
Watch the channels that report on the weather modification methods being used that are GREATLY impacting the "unusual" weather we've been experiencing. In fact look up the illegal GAG Orders on the entire weather industry not to breathe a word of truth about it .
Or you could say "….It works fantastically….. It works excellently"
Extremely helpful info! We are facing a few nights of freezes coming up in SE Texas, and your quantified, measured analysis will hopefully help my trees to emerge unscathed! Thanks very much for taking the time to do this analysis and share it. So much better than just anecdotes – the numbers really tell the tale.
a question what if bought you solar panel and battery set up and use fish tank water heaters to get warmer water during the day time ,kinda like the ones farmers use to on live stock fences , 2nd do you empty out the barrels and use them to capture rain water after the frost has stopped ?
Brilliant
Temperatures in my part of north Florida are predicted to be in the low 20's. I recently bought many sensitive plants but most are still in pots. Those are going into my garage, I have two avocados and 10 small citrus trees I am just going to wrap up. I hadn't thought about Christmas lights. Hopefully they will have some on sale after Christmas.
Thanks Soo much I'm looking on craigslist right now. I love the way those pickle barrels look!
For some reason my lowes got in 1000s of C9 strands. The recently marked them down to $3 a box. I stocked up big time. i bought a generator just for my citrus lights. LOL
We are getting a super freeze in Nashville this weekend. Maybe as low as 1 degree at night. Is there a need to cover small lemon tree that we overwinter in our garage?
Fantastic thank you
The real test is coming up this weekend. The forecast for me (west of Charlotte) is calling for 14 degrees F on Friday night. Wilmington is calling for "only" 20 degrees F.
Excellent video!! Glad I'm not the only one who growls at my dogs when playing 🤣
My dog loved to hear Dale squeaking his toy.. then growling.. when you tried to get it back! Thanks for your gardening videos!
My mom told me this morning to put a 5gal bucket of water for my plants, then I see this video. It's a sign!! Lows in the 20s this weekend for South Alabama highs in the 70s for NYE. Gotta love it.
I'm not sure about planting my satsuma by the house due to foundation concerns. It is a dwarf satsuma, and I'm in zone 8a. I see mixed opinions on the issue when I research it. What are your thoughts about this?
Thanks
I have a Question. Would it also help if you start with hot water into the barrels or would that damage the barrel and plant?
This video answered my question of where to find the pickle barrels. I want to try growing an Owari Satsuma and will definitely be trying this method here in zone 7b. Crossing my fingers I can keep the tree alive but it's worth a try.
Love your videos. I was watching this and thought that you could use fish aquarium water heaters to make those barrels more efficient. Put them on a timer get them nice and warm before sun down. Thanks for your videos again
The Pacific Northwest must not like pickles because I can’t find very many black barrels like this anywhere lol. The few I do find go for at least $40 each.
Love data! Keep it coming!
Sorry to tell you, but it's dropping to minus 50 this weekend in Canada and we're sending some of the cold air your way too. Hope the heating system works for you. I just took my greenhouse plants into the house for a few days. I don't think my tomatoes can survive even in my greenhouse. I use the 6×8 harborfreight one and a 1500 watt electric heater. Last year my little greenhouse survived one night at minus 29 outside and dropped to freezing point inside, but not below. Even the tomatoes survived. Absolutely amazing. I also use some passive heating as you just described in my little greenhouse. I have 4 kittie litter jugs that hold 3 gallons of water each. I painted them black and on sunny days they warm up in the greenhouse and give off the heat through the night. For any northern commenters that read this, I found that just by adding a 100W regular light bulb in the greenhouse the plants grow better than on only the little speck of winter sun we get here. Good luck everybody.
When we had the freeze in TX, I had left a camping bed on the ground. When I lifted it up it was still green.
Other options are sleeping bags for the base. If you have old ones to use.
Meyers lemons did not like that cold. I lost them.
You can use igloo water coolers to cover your plants and use straw around it.
I thought that the Lila avocado tree was more cold hardy than the Meyer lemon tree.