@nelson, nope, I've got the bed broken up into thirds.  From the vertical piece of lattice back to the power meter is everything rooted this year.  From the black pot closest to the green spool of tape back to the vertical lattice is last year's cuttings.  Everything in front of that up to the terra cotta pots is rooted from 2008/2009 or purchased.  I have approximately 85 plants at around 60 varieties, most of those are 1gal, and will be up-potted when I move later this year.

@Ken, I like to call that stuff, "AGHH, MY BACK!" because the effort it took to break down and amend the hell out of that fine GA clay.  This raised stackwood bed is sitting on top of the former home of my compost bin.  See this link for construction of the raised bed and original soil content for this area, including the old compost bin:  http://camura.com/albums/view/226  I've since amended the areas around the bed as well, but everything "downstream" from where the compost bin got runoff from the bin, which attracted worms, and they did a lot of work for me.

Jason--nice process description of your raised bed; thanks for posting the link. Forgive me for assuming all that beautiful soil appeared, shovel ready, simply through nature's generosity. You obviously earned it the hard way! I hope your figs appreciate it and reward you accordingly.

They won't get to enjoy it, we're selling the house :(  Isn't that the way it always goes?  Get something up and ready to go, only to get rid of it?  Check out the kitchen remodel I tackled with my dad back in 2009:  http://camura.com/albums/view/227

And then the master shower in 2010..... http://camura.com/albums/view/270

*sigh*

Same problem- Bought house tried to get rid of Condo at same time- Couldn't. But luckily we were able to swing both for a year. Added an addition to a 3 bed 2.5 bath- master Suite and garage now on 1 acre. Wife didn't want to move again.

Now building the deck of all decks! Everybody thinks I'm nuts.

Good because I am! LOL

Yeah, even without the monster deck, I think we're all probably a little nuts--at least based on the reaction of a friend of my daughters, who couldn't believe there was actually a forum devoted to nothing but figs, for crying out loud! It was the funniest thing she'd ever heard of!

Monster deck is definitely in order for the new place we've got under contingency contract.  There is currently a 2nd story deck with a hot tub.  Hot tub is gonna go, maybe I should keep the tub portion there, fill with soil and plant fig trees.  :)

The deck will have a nice portion for putting figs on the back.

Double tiered for extra excitement. Enough room for Riverdance AND the audience!

Is that window screen over your decking?

I wanted to do a pergola with built-in seating under it and 3' deep planters at the corners to do grapes on our current deck.  One more thing to do at the next place?

Yeah to prevent mosquitos from coming up under the deck. I have it under the whole deck so i can put a screened in room anywhere without worrying about any of them getting in- I get eaten alive!

Nice looking job, Dominick!

Thanks- Imagine if I knew what I was doing! :-)

Okay, I have come up with my final iteration of shade today.  This is what I think I will use from here on out.

I was concerned about the lattice warping and bowing, and with wind, I was having visions that they would drop on my trees.  So .....

I went to Amazon.com and purchased a 20' x 8' pack of camo hunting blind ($30):  http://www.amazon.com/CamoSystems-198-710-Digital-Flyway/dp/B002QG1SQ6/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1310179196&sr=1-3

It is ultra light weight, heat, cold and rain resistant.

I had to pull out the old drop-ceiling wire.  I re-ran the drop ceiling wire to box in the four posts, then an X across the middle.

This is the end result.  Good sunlight penetration (partial shade), lots of gaps for rain, total weight of all of the blind material is maybe a pound, which is easily distributed.  I love it.

Not the cheapest solution, but easily manageable, light, and can never damage my trees.  I kept one piece of lattice to offer shade in late afternoon (these pics taken in morning).

Jason,

Check your email

Dominick--That screen under the floor of the deck is a great idea.  How clever is that.

I haven't looked at this thread for awhile and missed quite a few things.

noss

Jason--it looks like an ideal solution!