We are getting hammered tonight. 19 degrees tonight 21 tomorrow night. Peaches and nectarines are in full bloom, plums and apricots are right at shuck split. Even pears buds have opened and the flowers are about to open. Makes a person sick, mabye it won’t get everything
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Gorilla tape is awesome! Those seams would not be getting torn away from the tarp with that stuff on them.
I am so looking forward to hearing how this works out. As you said a bigger cover would make this fairly easy to set up. Bill
Bill, I really appreciate your interest, and I wish I had better news, but basically I was defeated not by the cold but by the wind. It did just what I expected- it caused the wind to separate the 3 cover pieces I had joined with nothing but clothes pins. (I love @clarkinks gorilla tape suggestion but I didn’t have any). If I had used one large piece of tarp or plastic, I strongly believe this would have worked fine. And the beauty of this set up is in its simplicity and ease of construction. It is in no way an exaggeration to say I “built” the entire project in about 7 minutes. I just had to hammer the 4 rebarb pieces into the ground, then stick each end of both PVC pipes over each one, creating most of the structure. Then I just drove a piece of metal conduit into the ground in the center of the PVC pipes where they meet, and wired the PVC pipes together AND to the conduit top. That’s the whole frame structure, and it was remarkably sturdy and would have taken a lot of wind, I think. All of that took about 5 minutes.
Then if I had one large tarp/plastic, I’d have just thrown it over the whole thing and set some weights around where it lays on the ground. That should take 2 minutes. In my case it took 5-10 because I had to seam 2 tarps and a bed spread together- poor design and planning on my part.
But I really think I am on to something here, that this is a set up we could all use quickly, easily, and cheaply. I didnt mention cost, but it if all you have to buy is 2 long PVC pipes, 1 metal conduit, and 1 big tarp (which would have other uses anyway so its not fair to charge its whole price to the project.) Also, because it stands so tall and is up around the tree, I think it would be pretty easy to put a candle or something like one of those sterno cans people burn to keep food warm. I know most people probably can’t run an extension cord to their orchard, but if the cover was one solid piece, then the whole thing would be so air tight that I think a can of sterno or even a candle would be enough heat. If not, one could put a blanket over the tarp/plastic and then I’m certain sterno or candle would do it.
Did it freeze all the way down there? You suffer any losses, Bill?
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Hope that worked for you. That’s essentially the what I did with pipes and thin tomato stakes and some leftover plastic. I used little pieces of 14 gage copper wiring to sew the seam and to tie it to the frame. I stuck a thermometer on the scaffolding branch on the middle tree last night, and it read 34 when I got up this morning; outside temp in the twenties with windchill in the teens. I may actually save some plums this year!
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Ryan- I just posted how it worked out for me, which it didn’t because of the seams. I thought a lot about doing some sewing with wire or fishing line or even using safety pins. But by then it was cold and dark and I also 1/2 way thought the fruitlets on the tree might have already been killed the night before, so I just let it go. Your way sounds much better, but I still think if we could fine one piece of something like tarp or thick plastic, it would be 1000 times better than any seam sewing we could ever do.
What was your heat source, btw? Notice above that I am thinking of using can sterno next time I do this. Don’t you think that would probably do great? I think they burn 6-8 hours.
@thecityman ,
What do you think about a kerosene lamp for a heater? They are extremely cheap to operate and put out some serious heat in a small area https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01789N6I8/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1489577894&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=Kerosene+lamp&dpPl=1&dpID=41vyEQsSB0L&ref=plSrch
I’m not sure about the damage. Our low was around 30 not the 26 foretasted. Tonight is supposed to be 23 so if the temps are even near that I will most likely have damage. I think your model frame has potential assuming that a one piece tarp can be purchased. Thanks for the update. Bill
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You are just full of good ideas! I love that one. I just looked up sterno cans and it looks like they only burn about 3 hours at best. A kerosene lamp would go all night. I used to use those when camping, even though all my friends had the brighter coleman lanterns. The coleman lanterns are brighter, but the nets on them are always getting broke and many of them use those propane cylinders which aren’t as easy to get out in the country as kerosene can be.
Yes, I think that would be a great idea. I’ll apply for a patent using my shelter design and your heat idea and we’ll be millionaires. Once we corner the commercial orchard market we’re rich!
Of course I’m joking, but as cheap and easy as these could be made and set up, I really wouldn’t be all that shocked to see a commercial orchard put one each around hundreds of trees. It sounds ridiculous, but they could put up the frame in the fall and then wait to see if there is going to be a need for freeze protection before putting the cover on. With just a little bit more design, these could be extremely cheap and extremely easy to put up and very effective. WHen you think about a peach orchard loosing an entire year’s income, perhaps even 2-3 years in a row, suddenly it doesn’t seem so absurd to imagine them spending $15 per tree for a protection set up that they could use for several years. What you said…we ready to take it to the Shark Tank? 
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As you can see from the post above, Clark and I and Mark Cuban are going to be selling these by next year. Of course, I might be getting a TINY little bit ahead of myself. I guess I should at least let Clark read my post and see if he is in. Other than that, I’m sure there are no other problems with us improving the design, manufacturing a few 100k of them in China, getting on the Shark Tank and getting Mr. Cuban to go in on the idea, and then selling millions of them…but those are just minor details.
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I am sorry yours didn’t work, I favored securing the edges over making it air tight. I used a small electric heater, not sure on the wattage. I was stoked it did so well with all the holes and cracks letting air out. Next year, I am thinking about how to prebuild some collapsing high tunnels. I am thinking of making a C shape out of 2x4s and sticking rebar through it, up to hold poles and down to stick in the ground. A loop of plastic attached and then I can just stick the pipes on the bar and put it in place. I imagine that I could make it for about 20 bucks each, plus buying some light bulbs to clamp to the tree.
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Sorry to hear Kevin. The wind was light but pretty steady here as well, although it might have been beneficial for us since we were right at the borderline temperature for freeze damage. A local weather station was reporting 28F but I checked temps this morning at my house and they were a few degrees warmer than that in protected areas.
You can get a small tarp from Harbor Freight that has eyelets around the edge. Just cover the windows and bungee the eyelets to the wheel well. Faster to put on and remove than scraping. 
I’ve been using a sheet of plywood because that doesn’t fly away with the wind…
I’ve had it so bad in the past that i have had to hang the head out the window in subzero temps. Talk about waking up quickly.
Not sure if someone mentioned this but the most deranging aspect of wind comes from the Bernoulli effect, that is, the lifting of the surface due to wind passing over it - what makes an aircraft wing produce lift. As one who grows veggies over the winter under poly (and has gotten frustrated making repairs there to) I can tell you how to address that. You just need to use twine on the outside staked to the ground to prevent the lifting. I used to weigh down the poly with bricks, etc. Now I just use twine criss-crossed over the top of the surface. It not only prevents the balooning from the Bernoulli effect but disturbs the surface flow so the lift is not that strong. And it is easier and cheaper than bricks.
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I took a year of pilot lessons and remember that the Bernoulli effect was on one of the tests. Who knew it would apply to fruit tree shelters! ha. Thanks Anne!
Not just tree shelters, but people shelters too. That’s why codes in my area require hurricane straps to prevent your roof from flying UP…due do that effect.
Kevin,
I think it would work if you have another two PVC pipes criss and cross to hold down the tarps. Dawn It. Maybe next time,!!!
Tony
You know, thats another great idea. Really. It would be very easy to just put 2 more on the outside to hold the top between the inner frame and the outer one.
Well, I guess I’m gona have to cut you in on the billions of dollars that will undoubtedly be comming once I use all these ideas, get a patent, and sell 10 million of them.
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You need a clamp like that to be attached to the PVC pipe and to hold the tarp.
https://www.amazon.com/TARP-CLAMP-PIPE-10pcs-Bag/dp/B0088N6UU0
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