I've been reading a little about "dry farming," that is growing a tree or vine crop that is not watered after the initial couple of years to get established. It is supposed to produce better, sweeter fruit. Has anyone tried this with figs?

I am wondering if I can try it this year with my HC that has been in the ground for 3 years now. We average 2.5-3.5 inches of rain Jun-Aug, then a little more Sept/Oct.

Any thoughts?

I have started some cuttings under boulders that are only getting the dampness from under the boulder.  So far, only one has sprouted.  Most of our figs are planted near boulders so their roots will be drawn to the cool dampness that exists under the rocks.  Not sure if it's time to stop the water, but California may soon demand that.  A 25% cut has been mandated, and we already did that last year, so ours will soon be on 50% less than they used to get.  The best thing about drippers is you can use lower gallon emitters to achieve the cuts, so they still get regular water, but not as much.

Suzi

Lots of considerations, Gene.  Climate, sun exposure,  soil type, and ground water levels all  play  roles in whether this will work for you or not.   I cannot do this where I live n Arizona, but this man in Washington has managed it:

http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

One way to find out would be to cut back or simply stop watering your tree and watch it carefully.  If the leaves all begin to droop at some point though, I would suggest watering the tree.   

You can reduce the amount of water usage by mulching heavily 6 to 8 inches of mulch around your trees will reduce water usage.  I am going to experiment with more than that like the guy in the film so as to reduce water usage even more.  

It's a good idea to reduce your water needs.  One never knows when one's elected officials might decide that protecting an endangered guppy is more imporntant than ensuring enough water is available for farming.

In Italy fig trees grow everywhere on their own, many times i seen them on old stone walls, no one ever waters a fig tree and they produce good crops. Southern Italy was always known to be a big fig producing area, very dry in summers and no one watered. When i asked someone why my beautiful looking tree was not producing a good crop the answer was "A fig tree must suffer "
But i would use some caution if you have been watering your tree i would cut the water slowly in order to give the roots time to adjust and find their own way. 
Potted figs is a whole different story, but i steel feel to much water and fertilizer may just give you a beautiful plant.

I have in ground trees that are 24 yrs old (20 years in ground).  I don't remember ever watering or fertilizing them except maybe the 1st year in-ground to get them established.  Mind you in Niagara we get regular rain in summer and I have deep sandy loam soil. 
 
No surprise, I find the hotter and drier it is the more ripe and better tasting figs I get.  The best for the figs seems to be hot dry September weather (same as for my grapes).  If we get a rainy fall then I will have continued growth and more swollen figs that likely won't ripen.

Last year was my first year that I diligently pinched the shoots and thinned the figs that would not end up ripening.  The result was more ripe figs for me even though it was a severe winter and a cool wet summer.

Mine suffer even when watered.
in winter they manage but our HOT summer produces dry figs in June-August. I have to agree that the best figs come in the end of september.

I would imagine some rainy summers you will be able to skip watering completely.  We have summers like that here some years. Once your trees are established good you will probably get by with a good, deep watering every 2 weeks if it doesn't rain.  The key is a deep, slow watering.  Mulching around your trees will help too.

Interesting topic Gene..!   Last fall the LA Times ran an article about the resurgence of interest in old vine local Sherry wines.  Most desired are from 100 plus year old dry farmed vineyards of what is known as the Inland Empire, a mostly arid area east of Los Angeles on the way to desert playground Palm Springs.

After a little research (googling), I found the history fascinating.   These vineyards go back to the mid 1800’s and by early 1900's were the mainstay for US grape production.  Especially during the prohibition era, when grapes were shipped by the train load to east coast.   As a kid, I can remember the thousands and thousands of acres of these vineyards, now covered by urban sprawl and massive distribution hubs.   This video of one of the last legacy vineyards gives an idea of what the dry farmed vines looked like.   Sure nothing like those of Tuscany or Napa!

Apparently, original grape cuttings were planted in the wet season, or before, and left to find their own water after.  They would put down deep roots as surface moisture receded in summer.  I would suspect the water tables were much higher then and not sure you could replicate that method today without a little help via drip irrigation at first to get them started.   Fig trees seem to prone to surface roots so, I’m not if they would also develop deep root, if starved for water.

Bare-rooting a tree before planting it will help the tree establish itself in the ground faster than if the entire root ball is planted.  Also, keeping the tree height down allows for greater shade on the root zone.

In central Texas, I only watered the trees for the first year in the ground an only through the heat of summer.  Mulch is a tremendous help.  Go for 6+ inches.  If the mulch around the trees in inadequate, their growth would slow down (sometimes to barely a crawl) during June, July and August.  This is true even for established trees.  Put a weed block between the soil and the mulch.  Use some sort of a collar to keep the mulch away from the trunk and bring the cloth over the collar.  You do not want roots from the trees growing into the mulch layer.  

I have deep mulch around my figs, but I think I should widen the mulch area to about 6ft diameter. 

You could try using a dew harvesting system to establish a capillary water column for the fig to follow. Check out the Groasis Waterboxx. They're $30-40ish and are effective enough that they use them to establish trees and shrubs in the desert. A few vineyard are also using them. I'm contemplating ordering a few to try out - It gets mighty dry in the summer, but the evening ocean breeze brings a fair amount of moisture the hills to me.

Gene:

With regards to deficit water and figs I think you will find a big difference between your potted varieties. Strawberry Verte basically dries on the bush. I've measured those at 44 brix. For this type of fig a water deficit isn't needed. I can't tell the difference in flavor or sweetness stressed or rampantly growing.

For varieties like Black Jack the brix will probably be upper teens at best grown with plenty of water. It doesn't dry down much before falling off over ripe. Deficit water and plenty of heat and sun will likely produce a smaller sweeter fig.

I've posted here before about my greenhouse operation growing a wide variety of fruits with deficit water. I've got it down to about 18 inches per yr with a 300 day growing season. I think the technique helps most with nectarine, pluot, apricot, and grapes. Sweetness and flavor are vastly improved vs full watering. It's not good for most berries as they lack drought tolerance.

Well established figs are very drought tolerant so should in general respond well to deficit water conditions. They are native to dry summer climates. This relates to why fruit from first yr plants has the reputation for poor fruit quality. Young plants can't sustain a season long water deficit like an old mature plant. The newly rooted fig is over watered resulting in poor watery fruit.

Writeup here:
http://www.davewilson.com/home-gardens/growing-fruits-and-nuts/cultural-practices/greenhouse-fruit-growing/greenhouse-fruit-production-in-west-texas

smatthew, I have been mesmerized by the you tube videos on that Groasis Waterboxx.  I'd love to buy 10 of them and start fig and grapevine cuttings in them.  To be irrigation free in this drought would be a blessing!  The Dubai desert project was amazing!  I hope they keep updating over time.  I'd love to see how the trees do when they take that box off, and that's the other thing.  You can reuse their boxes for up to 10 years! 

Thanks for posting this.  You should also go post about it in the California water restrictions thread.

Suzi