Where I live, we get pretty strong wind throughout the year and especially towards the end of the summer.  Last summer, I lost a couple of young fig trees to the wind (tree snapped in half at the trunk).  I took some cuttings from the broken off parts and successfully rooted them.  These cuttings have been growing in ground since January and are about 2-3 feet high but are rather lanky.  How do I get them to grow thicker trunk so they will survive the gusty wind we get around here?  They are slightly larger than a double A battery in diameter right now.  Any suggestion is appreciated.

Thanks.
-Kevin 

Best practice for Santa Ana's is semi-bush form.Cut it off at 18"-24" from the ground
and regrow it.

If you pinch the top it will encourage branching. Tell us about your fertilizer and lighting, too.

Will branching encourage the tree to grow thicker trunk as well?  I don't use any fertilizer besides the composted cow manure used to amend our clay heavy soil.  We live near a dairy farm so occasionally they give out free cow manure soil by the truckload.  As far as lighting goes, the trees are planted in a spot where they get at least 8hrs of sunlight a day year round.

<Will branching encourage the tree to grow thicker trunk as well?>
Yes,a couple of examples.
 
 

Thanks, going to give pinching a try.  Can I cut off the top any time?  Right now, all the leaves are growing from the top so if I were to cut the top off the tree will look bare.

Now's a good a time as any.Just make sure you've got at least 3-4 nodes below the cut.
You didn't post a photo so haven't a clue what's going on below the proposed cut.

To obtain thicker trunk- prune branches heavy. Works with any trees not just figs.

Navid.

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I cut off the top so it's now about 2 feet high from the ground.  Should I cover up the exposed top part with something, or can I just leave it as is?

Pruning 100's of Japanese Maples "Atropurpureum" down to 12 inches from 2-3 feet is a tough pill to swallow but necessary. It takes them a whole nother year to branch out . The whip look for most is not aesthetically pleasing. I prefer the branching. Just my 2 cents. Kinda like getting these figs to grow 6 ft tall and like a bean pole. Sooner or later your going to need to whack it back.

alanmerciaca - Thanks for the tips!  I have some Elmer's wood glue laying around so just applied a generous amount on the tip where I had cut it.  I am in southern CA, so not worried about rain resistance all.  

I read that silica can also help plants develop thicker hardier trunks. So I experimented on a basil growing hydroponically, I applied "silica blast" to it's regiment of fertilizer on a weekly basis. The stem of the basil was almost 2 fingers thick after a few months. I wish I took a picture of it back then.

I'm currently using it on my figs, it claims to help plants be hardier and survive drought and frost situations better.

I would stake the in ground tree for a couple of years for the trunk to thicken so it is braced for high wind.

You should pinch back green growth on potted trees after about 6 inches of growth, pinch back on in ground trees after about a foot - foot and a half. If you sacrifice on the scale of the crop a bit, you will get a stronger tree.