I was wondering if anyone has purchased the self watering planters he sells and if you have had any luck with it or recomend it. 

Pete

I bought one from him. I remember showing it to you. It's pricy I paid $75 for it. It's very hard to move it around, it can get very heavy. The type of soil you use is different than the usual potting mix I use with regular container trees. I ended up using the heavy type of soil so it can suck the moisture from the bottom up.
I have also built a couple small self watering container for my Guava tree and they're doing great.
Pete I can show you how to build one if you like.

Bass, I remember yours by the greenhouse but was not sure where you got it.  I would definitly like to learn how to make some smaller ones.  That sounds good.  Thank God for this forum.  I am sitting here with nothing to do recovering from surgery. I would be going crazy without this place.

Pete

I hope it wasn't anything serious. Get well soon.
Building it myself cost me about $50 but it isn't the same type of container or the same size.
If you only have a couple trees that would work, but if you have 150 different varieties, it would cost me $11,250 to plant them all in self watering container.

no i had  hernia repaired.  Thanks for asking.  I was thinking of putting that Ponti Vino white in one to try it out.  What do you think?

Petea, take it easy for while with the potted figs because of the hernia operations at this time when pots will require some moving.

Thanks i am going to.  I will not do anytthing new with them untill the spring

Oh i remember the 2 hernia operations i had and after the meds wear off when you come home as i did same day the vicodin made it bearable but i had to have a beer with the next one and it knocked me out. Going potty is what hurt as them darn staples they used pinch, first time around it was stiches and the ole gas mask on the operating table a few days in catholic hospital , and even a skirmish between dad and the nuns there (screaming, long story) i was young kid, last time was a iv and i was asleep on table woke up and little while later nurse asked me whats your level of pain 10 being the worse, im not stupid i said 9 she gave me shot, while later she asked again i said 6 or 7 but i said give me another shot and i will be able to ride in car with the Misses driving , she did.
Years later no problem so far. Yes if you move or lift something heavy for a while you will feel it later if not right away with time you feel normal at leawst in my case it took a while. Had to have matching scars on each side.

Martin, I hear ya.  These doctors tell you will be fine in about 3 days. They have obviously not had it done. I had it Thursday and i am still barely able to do anything.

Yeah them doctors are something else there good what they do though so no gripe there. I was lucky at the time i had old fashion doctor who helped me with my injury on duty at work so i would get most of my salary when i needed to get fixed up. They tried to say it was not work related but it was as i was a switcman and breaking trains apart useing the ratchet you had to get in between the cars and pull upwards , in winter time its worse as knuckles would be frozen and its much harder. Well after all them years doing it it caught up with me one day i felt the familar pain similar to first hernia. I went to bathroom and looked but nothing , later on i went back in and could see the swelling. Company sent me to clinic but they said i have no hernia but i new better, i insisted they send me to hospital which they did and 2 folks looked at me and said your ok. I went next day to see my doctor and right away he told me you have hernia and scheduled me for hospital. I was off 6 weeks and i would see him every 2 weeks and he would ask me how i felt and i said it still hurts, he would say no problem.
He was good but retired and i have also. Oh when went back once in a while i wold be a little pain doing my job but with time it subsided to 0 pain.
In keeping with spirit of figs i put a few little guys in the shed to ease them into dormany because temps here drop all at once soon as sun drops , so little by little they get cold but not all at once, this is just for the real little ones.

the ones i have i just transfered from 1g to 3gallon pots a couple weeks ago. Do you think i should start moving them in?  i was thinking of starting around halloween.

Petea,
i move them according to the outdoor temps. Large 25 to 30 gallon containers i let a good hard frost hit em 1 to 2 times before moving them into garage, by a good frost 30 degree's or less.
Something small like 1 to 3 gallons i tend to baby them and assimilate them to the cold little by little by putting them in shed at night when its too cold, but i dont let a hard frost hit them, temps that are between 35 to 40 a couple times and the small ones will be ready to come in.
This is what i do and its not an absolute way.

Thanks for the info.  So then I realy don't have to wait for the leaves to fall off

Some years leaves are almost gone , some years they fall off in garage only.
Its really up to the weather what the leaves actually do year to year.

 Each year can vary as temps may be steady 1 year and next season Bada Bing hard frost may hit several days in a row yet leaves are still green but i take trees in garage and they soon curl dry up and fall and make a mess but thats ok with me.

Some years weather is stubborn and no hard frost but above freezing and below 40 well leaves are then turning yellow, but i wait till that 1 or 2 good hard frost to bring them in.

In short i watch the weather for 1 or 2 good frosts and then bring them in leaves on or off.
Oh so no confusion thats with my plants that are 2nd growing season or more I hope it helps you some .   ; )

it does.  Thank you Martin

Pete, hope you are feeling better.

I use self-watering containers (Earth Box and Grow Boxes plus a few homemade) for tomatoes, eggplants, etc., but haven't yet tried figs...mostly because I am not willing to invest that much money in housing one plant and I haven't found an inexpensive alternative that is appropriate for a large fig.

You can certainly build your own self-watering pots, but the trick is making sure that you are using food-grade plastic.  In my experience, that isn't as easy as it sounds if you are trying to house a large fig, so I would greatly appreciate any sources of fig-sized, food-grade, reasonably-priced pots that anyone might be willing to share.

You do need to water from the top periodically to flush the build-up of salts. 

I don't kow if you have visited Bill's place, but he has constructed a "hand truck" that is custom-sized for his pots and is simple to use.  It would be pretty simple to do something similar if you build your own pot models.

In defense of the cost of Bill's pots, they are built like steel and have a 25-year guarantee.  I'm just not sure that *I* will last 25 years.

C.J.

C.J. ,

Thank you for the info.  I am feeling much better.  I have never been to Bills but i have seen that homemade wheelbarrow.  Pretty neat i must say.  I live near Bass another forum member hre and he is going to show me how to make some smaller ones than Bill has.  Either way i would like to get to Bill's to see his collection and his place.

Pete

If you don't already have a LOT of figs yourself, it is certainly worth the trip to see his collection and set up.  In addition, he is a really nice guy and takes a lot of time with people who visit.  He has 124 varieties but a large percentage are still young and not yet available.  He got his foundation stock from well-known sources like Encanto, Italian Fig Trees, etc.

It is great to be able to see a mature specimen of the variety that you are considering buying  (or already have) up close and personal.

Constructing a bottom-watering unit is fairly simple.  There are several websites that suggest how to construct your own.  Most of the designs are a little grotesque, but they work.  The trick is finding the right containers.

C.J.

yeah i just started my collection in August this year.  I am already hooked! i placed an order from UC Davis so i will hopefully have a bunch next year.  Bill is pretty close to me and i will definitley make the trip next summer

FWIW, as a fellow neophyte, my understanding is that the UC Davis collection is plagued with some substantial FMV problems and you are better off collecting from forum members who have either circumvented or overcome the FMV problem by collecting from outside sources.  On the other hand, if there are no other sources for what you are looking for, it's a no-brainer.

C.J.

I did not know that beore i placed th order.  Thanks for theinfo C.J.


Pete

Ah dont worry too much about FMV.
I would say most forum members have at least 1 amongst there figs, and some dont even realize it. Most trees grow and produce well despite it and some of the best types of figs have it like Black Maderia and Ischia black for example.
Ischia is 1 example of fig type that struggles with it but most others do just fine.