first off, it has come to my attention that new members are supposed to introduce themselves to the community. with my usual social grace and tact, i just jumped in and started pestering you with questions. well, far be it from me to ignore the social niceties, so, even tho it's a few months late:

HIYA GUYS, I'M SUSIE! NICE TO MEETCHA!

now that we have been properly introduced, i need more help.

i got this paradisio fig that everyone says is prone to splitting. i thot to myself ''aha! perfect for the desert!''. if it rains here more than once/month, people dance and laugh with glee.

since rain won't cause splitting, and the drought has driven most birds away and i now seem  to have a guard snake who suns by my trees, i was sure i'd get to taste the two figs on my tree.

i just got this awful thot. there remains one enemy that can keep me from enjoying those figs. ME!

the way i water here is using a bucket, i dump maybe a gallon or gallon and a half of water all at once into each container. since i'm using 5-1-1 to save weight this works well. but the new tree was slip potted into the mix. i didn't want to mess with the roots in august. so the roots are surrounded in the same very heavy mix  the tree arrived in in its 1 gal pot.

so that's my question. do i cut water at some point to avoid splitting? the green figs are golf ball size and there's plenty of time for them to ripen. if i don't screw up, i get to taste my first fresh figs ever.

advice, please?

Hi Suzie, if you're the desert and growing fig trees.  Here is what I recommend:
Temps are high at day and cool or normal at night.  By high I'm saying 95+ degrees.  I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina and its starting to get hot (85+ degrees) here and humid because we get afternoon showers and then more sun.  For starters, you're going to have to mulch your trees heavily.  Second, dumping one full gallon or 2 onto a tree at one shot may not work.  You're going to have to provide your trees with a drip emitter using 1 gallon emitters.  Jon and I talked about this last year and there maybe a post about it too but the problem is the water will just roll off or around the root system.  BUt a drip system gets the water down to the root system constant over time.

I have over 247 fig trees in 30gal container.  All of these trees are on a drip emitter system.  I give each tree 1/2 g of water everyday unless it rains.  Some trees are so root bound and for those I just add another 1/2g emitter.  I water my trees at 3AM for one hour. This is for a normal 85 degree day of sunshine.  If temperature are projected to reach 95 or more, then I will water them again at 12PM for another hour.

If I was in the desert, I would water twice a day using a 1gal emitter for 1hour at seperate times.  If I was using 1/2g emitters, then I would water 3 times a day, 7am, 10am and 2PM.  The mulch help keep your trees a little cool.  Hope this helps!

 thanks dennis. can't afford more equipment right now, but i still need to know if you reduce watering when split prone fruit is ripening.

I reduce water when the figs are ripening by half. Just keep them from wilting. But like snaglpus said if your mix is compacted or root bound water slowly.

thanks jason. i'll try that.

dennis, i didn't mean to imply i wouldn't get that system. your advice is clearly solid so i'll try that next season.

there are few options without the whole set up. one is using tray and watering from the bottom. just fill the tray about 2-3" or so and refill when it's dry in addition to your normal watering from the top. the soil will soak up the water as needed when it's hot outside. also, water then wait about an hour and water again. don't dump the whole bucket at once, but pour slowly. try poking holes in the soil and let the water get to the roots. 

you want to water when the leaves are starting to droop. it's more to cool the roots then to water. i noticed that if i don't do this at the right time, some of the leave will fry. make sure to provide necessary fertilizer if you are watering as often as i do.. it leaches out lot of nutrients. 

cut down on the water as soon as the figs start to swell so the flavor doesn't wash out. 

thanks pete. your comments are always helpful and well thot out. i really need your advice.

um, here's a really stupid question. what does ''start to swell'' mean ? what do i look for?

Susie hi.
Try to mulch them too especially when they are young and cannot shade themselfs.
Here theres a desert climate too and they grow only on rain water and heavy mulching with barley or somthing that will also reflect the light back to the tree....

Susie:

You got some good advice from the forum members.

Your water problems will start at the time that figs start to swell.  How can you tell?  One day you will look at the hard, green figs that were there only a day ago, and they will be softer, and twice the size, and turning color if dark figs.  This can happen overnight.  At this point, control water getting to the roots.  Water just enough to prevent wilting of the leaves, and cooking your trees.  Water less, than more, and keep in the top of the trees in full sun, and the root-zone cool, if containerized.

Your figs will go from hard to almost soft in just a few days, and to dead-soft, right after this stage.  This is the critical time not to over water the trees.  Protect the figs from birds, etc. and let the figs continue to hang until the skin starts to crack and shrivel slightly.  The fig should almost fall into your fingers when correctly ripened.  I sit in a lawn chair with a glass of iced-tea, and watch my figs get riper by the minute.  My neighbors think I'm demented.  I could care less.

You will pick a few figs, too soon, but you'll quickly learn to let them hang a day or two longer for a perfectly ripened fig.  Susie will smile.

Good luck with the kids.


Frank

thanks eli, i shall.and bob, i can't imagine a warmer welcome than i have received. you guys are great! i was just playing with my intro above, for fun.

thanks frank. i think i get it now. by the way, this is one of the trees you instigated.

Hi. I'm a desert grower. Get the trees into a potting mix with half perlite. I use rice hulls though instead of perlite. I only water 5 minutes twice a day at 5am and 11:30am with 1/2 gallon emitter. one emitter per pot if 5 gallon or under and 2 emitters if over that. They are all doing well in full sun. If they aren't already acclimated to the sun, do that slowly.

thanks FF. nice to meet another desert grower.