Charlie,
Your posts just get better and better. I love reading about all your techniques

Today was a good day to come home from work to new green!

Longue d' Aout pushing up another green leaf to the right of the original. I'm not sure if this has been slow because of no roots yet or what?

 

Valle Negra that's been having roots climbing out of the sand, pictured in previous post up there, finally showing some green. The whole top end of the cutting has risen up to the top of the sand level somehow. There was a small hump in the sand which I brushed away and found wood with green emerging. Wondering if a shoot has possibly emerged on the opposite side and pushed the cutting up???

 

Valley Black put in sand on 10/4. Had to dig down and investigate. Found a yellow bud swelling.

 

Valley Black started on 10/11 had this leaf showing today when I got home from work. This is why I had to dig into the 10/4 VB sand and investigate.

 

I got three Valley Black cuttings from brianm and now all three of them are showing. I'm fairly excited to have this new found variety and be one of the first to grow and test it!  Will be a good test of cold hardiness if we make it to Winter of 2016 when I will leave a couple out in it but somewhat protected.  If these put out plants at every node and I separate like the first one then there will be nine or ten to experiment with, I can't exactly remember how many nodes these other two cuttings have.

Here's the original three VB's.  Out-grown my 10" ruler.  The small one with the barely root at separation has finally started growing.  The middle one has nearly caught the largest.

 

I really want to investigate in the other cuttings sand that haven't shown yet but will try to not.  I would hate to break off a tender green bud. 

Your crazy about valley black!!! Anyway, will these be container figs or in ground figs?

Will be sending some of the broad leaf type Vasilika Sika plants to Gloria and Richie in a few weeks that were survivors of the single node experiment and thought it might be a good time to inspect the air layers I did on them back on 8/22 and put one of them in the grow room project over winter.  

The smallest one and also the first one inspected was started on a newly emerged, very green stem.  Special Kitty cat litter mixed with compost 50/50 was used for the media. 

So this is the smallest one...

 

It had zero roots! Not a single one, but it did have the white nubs.  

Now this next one was started on the same day on a bit older, larger stem...

 

Both were trimmed of their lower leaves and put into a sand growbag, joining the grow room crowd.

 

Letizia was washed of potting media earlier this morning and set.  Poor little thing, I just couldn't let her go dormant. :) 

Good Job on your experiments Charlie! You help all of us, when you do this! Thank You so much! : )


Frank from Bama

New drip pan score!  On way home from buying groceries, wife hears it rattle in the back seat.  "What's that noise?" Ummm a new drip pan for the other figs! "I didn't see you carry out a new drip pan!  "Because I did while you were grocery shopping!" I'm just sneaky like that :)

 

Some exciting new developments since just 24 hours ago.  

This Valley Black was just a little yellow bud under the sand yesterday about this time...

 

This is the largest of the Valley Black with a new lateral forming at sand level...

 

Look at this surprise from the next to largest!  A whole new plant, Valley Black again, coming up from a buried node on the original cutting.  Looks like this one will need surgery again soon...

   

Not much going on here but still alive.  If I was betting, it budded out before roots and is in waiting mode...

 

Most of you know from my past experiments, I don't hold back on reporting fails.  The one leaf pushed out by Battaglia Green has shriveled up.  I suppose it may die but will leave it for awhile and see what happens.  Investigation shows a still viable looking cutting under the sand.
 

A couple new air layers moved into the grow room today.

Hardy Chicago for one of our local friends. Over wintering for her to plant out in Spring.

 

I owe the mother of this Beall air layer to a forum member from last year and will get it shipped off soon as it goes dormant.  Special Kitty cat litter from the dollar store mixed with compost 50/50 was the media for all my air layers this year.  It's being washed away gently with spray nozzle for transfer into sand.  Notice the corrugated metal underneath.  I use that for this and washing of sand in the screen bottom bucket.

 

Close up of the root system.  This was started on a newly emerged, green lateral so it worked out much better than the first broad leaf VS in a former post.

 

First the sand is soaked in the grow bag.  Then a hole, a bit larger than the root ball is scooped aside.  The plant is set in the hole and water spray from the kitchen sink spray nozzle, as low as possible pressure is used to flow the sand into the root ball with little disturbance of the roots as possible.  She's with her sisters now. :)

 

 

Charlie:  I love your experiments!  I love the detail and the hard work you put into all of your projects. I am learning so much.  Thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm.  It really makes newbees like myself get even more charged up about figs! 
Meg

Been a few days since the last update so here's the latest photo's and ramblings.

Figo Preto #1 pushing out a new leaf on the original bud and sprouting a new node shoot.

 

We have a Figo Preto #2 now.  She sprouted a few days ago.

 

Abebereira seems to be coming along fairly quickly since showing up, though the leaves seem splotchy.

 

Salem Dark also seems to be coming along normally.

 

Longue d' Aout.  another cutting has sprouted.  I put multiple cuttings in some pots when the cuttings were small.  This variety seems odd.  FMV?

 

Valle Negra with a few sprouts on two cuttings.

 

Valley Black #3 that was the smallest of three after separation surgery.  Seems it has gotten some roots finally and off to the races!

 

In post #33 it was a couple of broad leaf type Vasilika Sika air layers, one with roots and one without.  The one with roots, the leaves yellowed a bit but stayed on and it's finally pushing out its first new indoor leaf.

 

The VS without roots, only white nubs, is still alive and I think the bud is swelling a bit.  Or I like to think it is! :)


 

Some thoughts.  All the plants that were brought in, either the original leaves yellowed or turned a pinkish color around the edges.  I don't know what caused this but they are all still alive and with new leaves pushing out.

Sand.  Most of the buckets are growing algae and have algae in the sand also.  This seems to increase the wicking ability of the sand. I still have no clue if it's harmful to the plants or not.  According to Valley Black it isn't so far.  I'll update that post as well.  

Soon there will be new additions to the grow room as pruning jobs are done and new varieties join the project.  

I'm thinking about breaking out the 1000 watt metal halide.  The T5's are becoming a tent configuration to make room for the Valley Blacks.  Either that or cut their tops off.

   

Interesting that these roots on Valley Black sit in water a big majority of time and are penetrating the grow bag.  I figured they would die in the lower portion that stays saturated.

 

 

These photo's were taken just before adding the evening fertigation.  Easy to see the water level they normally get and VB is getting it twice a day now.

Fertilizer dosage was doubled today, from 1/4 tsp per gallon to 1/2 tsp per gallon.  Reason for doing so, kind of have a feeling the algae is consuming a lot of nutrients and some of the newly emerging leaves are not as green and robust as previously was the case.  At some point it may be time to cover the exposed wet areas with foil and stop the algae from growing.  No light = no algae.

Here's Preto #1 just because I like taking her picture and her little sister. :)

 

Beall air layer brought in on 10/25 in a previous post.  It had a green nub I thought would be a lateral limb but it looks like we have a figlet for the winter experimenting under lights.  It stays on as long as it wants to live.

 

Reaching the conclusion that algae is turning out to be a bad thing.  It has formed a sort of network in the sand surface that results in increased wicking, making the sand too wet. Possibly even choking the media from being able to breath.  Plan is to allow the trays that have this going on to dry up a bit and only ad water as needed instead of constant supply.

This seems to only be affecting the very small, newly emerged plants and those cuttings which haven't sprouted any green.  Preto #2 and #3 tried to sprout but fizzled out. 

Here's the latest pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VS #2 below putting out a new lateral bud.

 

    

Notice the sand surface has taken on a green, dirty color.  That's the algae matting.  It has formed a hard, crusty surface that when broken, reveals saturated green sand instead of clean, well draining sand.

Sorted the figs by height so it's better for light adjustment.  The taller ones just keep growing faster and it was putting the light too far away from the shorter ones.

 

 

Yesterday I tested the Ph of the fertigation solution being used, now 1 tsp per gallon.  It was 5.5 so added a tablespoon of pelletized garden lime, stirred and let it for awhile.  It then tested 6.7/6.8.  Going to use this for awhile and see how it goes.  
 

Very impressive. Thank You for posting.

There was a bit of trouble.  Algae was forming at the sand surface, increased wicking and causing the newly emerging cuttings to be too wet.  I lost Preto #3 for sure, Abebereira #3 LdA #3 and two Valley Black that were started at the beginning with the others but for some reason never took off.   

Top watering with the sprayer stopped and sand surface allowed to dry, bottom water levels in tubs decreased.  Then the crusty surface formed by the algae was broken up and surface allowed to dry.  Have only been bottom watering now for several days on all plants, only after the water is gone.

Preto #2 was nearly lost.  Comparison photo shows it (left) on 11/04.  It was starting to look sickly and a day or so later it was shriveled up and turned brown.  Looks like it's going to pull out a miracle save! :)

 

The other varieties that appeared to be suffering are now also doing ok.  The larger plants were not affected at all.  I guess they had enough roots and were using all the water I would give them twice a day for it to affect them.

After some pruning today I was finally able to do some much needed upgrade to the grow room project.  Just too many plants crammed under two 2 x 4ft fixtures with the way they're growing.  So I drug out the 1000 Watt metal halide from the single node project last year and made some space between the figs.

 

That Hardy Chicago back in the very corner is putting on figlets.  

 

Discovered some spider mites a few days ago on Letizia and ordered a Pyrethrum TR fogger that came in today and will be released tonight when the light goes out.

Edit...Almost forgot ya'll haven't seen the latest.  Some single nodes and a couple of De La Caseta multi nodes were put into sand in landscape fabric pots on 11/27 and are about to break buds.  These were covered with vented cup lids until a couple days ago.  They sit in the same trays as the rest of the plants, four bags per tray and fertigation kept at about 1/4 inch depth.  Sand in each bag is 4 inches deep.  

I started out with a weak fertigation for a day or two but got lazy and so they have just been getting the same as everything else. One tsp per gallon of the GH FloraMato 10-6-18. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grow room experiment turned out to be a huge success this winter.  Pretty much everything survived except for the complete wax dipped cuttings, Bryant Dark and CDDB.  Preto #1 and #2 a few feet tall and even one Black Madeira still hanging on.  Everything over 4ft tall has figs on and a few are in the 6-8 ft tall range.  A pruned Valley Black has one lateral limb starting within arms reach of me now and stretches about 8ft horizontally towards the far wall, it's crazy!

Continued daily fertigation and still every morning. Ran out of the General Hydroponics FloraMato 10-6-18 about 3 weeks ago or so, can't get it any more and have been alternating days with plain water and a teaspoon of Miracle Grow all purpose per 3 gallons of water, trying to just keep them healthy and not grow a lot more but they keep growing, just not like they were.

Twice over winter I set of a Pyrethrum TR fogger for spider mites and am going to set off my last one tonight since I just saw some of the little bastards on Valle Negra.  That is the only pest I've had to deal with.  They probably come in on my clothes after working out in the yard.  No fungus gnats all winter, not even a single one.  They do not like pure sand media.

Have vacation next week and plan to shuffle them all outside and into buckets with media, on the driveway for a few weeks so they can be shuffled back in the garage in case of frost.

 

Amazing results! Great set up.  Thanks for sharing.

I have been wondering about this. Thank you for posting.

Great experiment. It's been fun to follow.

Somehow I managed to kill about a thousand dollars worth of cuttings so far this go round. I think I'd better stick to buying plants that others have rooted. Hahaha