For those that are trying the Japanese step over method of growing figs I promised to update my project....I have been a bit stingy with the updates but here we go.  Will start with a brief recap for anyone new. 

I started the step over project in March of 2013 by putting in a rebar support, welding it together to rebar legs that are cemented in to the ground.  The plants went in which were VDB and they go around two sides of our pool cage with a plant every 14 feet.  




I watched the young plants closely and pruned them off to make them have two branches per plant that originated at ground level then let them grow straight up till the summer.  During that time if they tried to branch the branch was removed.  Mid summer laid them down in stages and tied them to the support rebar.  Once they were horizontal I snipped off the apical bud or the stem where the arm met it's neighbor. 



In the winter I picked which limbs would become verticals and pruned off the rest.  As the verticals grew I tied bricks to them to make them go horizontal then allowed 2 buds per limb to grow and picked the weaker one and pruned off the stronger bud.  


Now we are caught up:)  

I told myself to make sure I put the support structure in before they got too tall.....and of course I didn't.  The supports are 8' 4x4's 3 feet deep so 5' above ground level.  To them I added 4' cross arms.  I first tried plastic coated cable to string through the arms and found it did not work well because I did not have room at the ends to place braces to take the load and did not want to use inside braces for the posts.  I looked on line and finally decided to use 1/2 PVC electrical conduit to run between the arms.....it works very well.  It did need a support half way but PVC did that job also.  


They have been growing like weeds....the tallest ones in the picture are at 8' tall and just about every node from the ground up has a fig.  Not bad for 1 gallon plants just 15 months in ground.  

There are 6 of these supports.

 

 
 


When I bent them horizontal I criss crossed the arms for no reason other than I thought it looked cool.  The bases now are quite thick.
 
Some might say what about the figs and the pool!!!  That the roots will invade the concrete.  I researched that and found it to be a non issue.  But being cautious I placed the irrigation so it did not irrigate toward the concrete and that created a dry zone.  I dug down just recently near the pool wall and found the roots small near the pool and massive away from the pool where the water and fertilizer go.  

Now just waiting for the VDB's to ripen:)

Looks great and so does the pool on a hot July day.  Do you plan on pruning them down to the horizontal every couple years and let new trunks develop or let them develop mass on the trunks.

Nice work Will

Very nice!!  I think that the idea is to prune down to the horizontal near the ground every winter, then grow new verticals every summer, correct?

Thanks for the update.   Nicely done! 

Are the vertical shoots tied to the PVC horizontal supports?  Do you think that those supports are essential for stability?

Looking forward to following your progress, as I am planning to try the same here.  My shorter growing season might limit the productivity compared to yours.  Being able to prune them down to the main trunk every fall should make it possible to cover them well though.

Been looking forward to seeing the progress on your various fig projects...very well done...it was worth the wait.

Strong work Wills! I wish I had your land and your time:) You always have some cool projects going on

Inspiring! Thanks for blazing that trail for me.

Wow, that is really great!

Looks great, are you planning to pinch or top the main shoots at some point or just make the supports taller?

Brackishfigger,

Yep correct.

Eboone,

They are actually connected to the supports by velcro strips.  We do get hurricanes and wicked T-storms so yes I think the supports are needed.  The way they are pruned the junction of the vertical to the horizontal trunk would be a definite weak spot.  In even a 20 mph wind a 8' tall shoot would really whip violently and if it did not break it would be laying on the ground and the ducks would eat the figs:)  I think the ease of covering would make it great for the north......and it just looks cool.  

Very nice!!

I am impressed. It sure looks awesome.  it will be fun to follow your doings and pruning to 2 nodes. I guess, it would be a lot easier to overwinter it also. Those in Japan are in greenhouses, I noticed, yours is in open air. Plan for die backs and not pruning until late winter, is that what you are planning?  Gosh, it sure looks fantastic.  Great job! Well done!

Looks great ! Keep us updated on how it is growing. Thank you for sharing :)

Well done!  

This is really cool. Please post update pics after you prune back again.

I like! Wills, this is well planned out, I have the bad habit of planting anywhere and everywhere without a specific plan. Supports are very important, even the unknown storms can produce 50-70 mph winds. I know Wilma hit us with strong winds and even sent a partial tree through our roof. Keep posting the innovative methods and updates of this project.

Fantastic job, Will!  I like the twist in the lower limbs and it's amazing how thick those bases got in only a season.  How  many VdB's in total around the pool?

WillsC,
 Thanks for sharing.  Have you noticed any less vigorous growth on the cordons compared with the standard vertical growing fig?

Jon,

I believe there are 7 plants in total, 3 on the short side and 4 on the long side.

Maedmonson,

I'm just not sure.....I was trying to figure it out and I guess I could measure the total length of the verticals per plant and compare that to a standard pruned plant but if I had to guess there is actually more growth.  I believe that is why you pick the weaker of the two buds to go vertical.  At first the plants kept trying to put out new branches on the cordon but that has stopped.  The other odd thing (to me) is that out of all those verticals and there are probably 50+ of them not a single one has tried to branch.  I figured I would have to constantly prune out the branches that would form on the verticals but for some reason they just don't branch.

Looking very nice. I remember seeing it here when you started it.

Very nice. Fun watching the progress.

Looks great.  I wish I had the time to do something like that.  That's an impressive amount of growth in a little over a year.  Guess your climate really helps in that department

When I looked at the Japanese version I kinda had to guess since I don't read Japanse, but it seemed to me the main reason they did it was so that they could cover the horizontals with rice hull bricks to insulate during the winter.  So I'm a little unsure why you would go to the trouble given in your climate a fig tree shouldn't experience much dieback, and there's no real reason to cover the horizontals.  Seems like it would be more important for someone farther north.  Do you think the verticals provide more productivity than a standard tree would?  Do you plan on covering the horizontals?  Do you think this would work with any variety of fig?  If you lived in the north, could you envision using bales of straw or similar to insulate the horizontals in the winter, after trimming away the verticals?  I think that is the real upshot of this approach.

Rob,

You are correct that the Japanese do it that way as it is easier to protect the figs from the cold.  They also use that method as it is supposed to yield superior fruit.   I have two reasons for trying this 1.  It just looked so damn cool I just had to.  2. Pool cages here need rescreened every 15 years or so.  Growing the figs this way gives you a window in the winter to have the rescreening done with no vegetation in the way.  Mostly though it was reason #1 :)

I do think it could work well up north.  I think the amount of growth is attributable to our very long growing season and not to the style they are being grown.