Hi everybody :) 

Sorry for the belated introduction, I joined F4F over a year and a half ago but didn't really catch fig fever until recently. 

I originally came here via bananas.org; that's where I first ran into Jon and other good folks like HarveyC and Darkman.  Encanto Farms was the only reputable source I could find who offered a 'Cocos' banana, a dwarf form of the legendary Gros Michel cultivar.  (The one I got is doing well and will hopefully flower next year.)

I'm in zone 6a Kansas, but am currently growing my figs in-ground in a passive solar greenhouse that creates a zone 10 environment.  I haven't gotten any fruit yet, which has me wondering if the double-layered poly is blocking out too much sunlight.  I've read that Marseilles Black VS fruits reasonably well with some shade, so I'm thinking about giving it a try. 

I'd like to expand into doing some potted culture; that would give me two different environments for growing different types of figs.  So maybe I'd grow 'mountain figs' in outdoor potted culture, while planting the greenhouse with varieties that need long/hot growing seasons.

I had considered getting some cuttings last February from Jon's epic list, but since I had already gotten VdB from EL and LSU Purple, Black Mission, and Green Ischia from Wellspring, I naively rationalized that 4 varieties was already 3 too many since I'd probably end up just growing a bunch of VdB instead of starting a collection.  Ahh, such innocent naivete.  I've recently added 3 more varieties (Hardy Chicago, Alma, and Atreano) and now find myself eagerly awaiting The List. 

I'm also into aquaponics (AP), so I'll be experimenting with growing figs in AP systems of various types.  The tc's I got from Wellspring grew remarkably quickly in my high tunnel aquaponics system, but they were leggy from insufficient light.  I'd like to set up some outdoor systems next year to see how well figs can do in an AP system with direct sunlight.

I have a lot of pics, but am having trouble sharing them here.  When I try to insert them, I'm told the file size is too big, but I don't want to mess with editing them.  So in lieu of uploading pics, you can visit my blog at http://www.greenfingardens.com/ if you want a glimpse of my setup. 

Anyway, it's nice to be here.  Kudos to Jon and all the rest of you for having such a fine forum.  This is a great site, and I'm thankful for it.  :)

Great to hear from you, looks like you are starting off on the right foot. I use aluminum foil to reflect light onto my trees. Some people cover the top of the pots with foil to.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your collection...Enjoy !!

Belated welcome! :)

Another 50 varieties or so and you'll be set!

Perhaps selecting early varieties will help compensate for reduced light.  Figs can also be adapted very well to pot culture so you might try some duplicates and just use the greenhouse for overwintering.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the hobby/collecting/addiction/fun/whatever :)

And Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

Here are a few pics (sorry about the small size, you can see the full-size pics at my blog)

LSU Purple
 

Green Ischia
 

Black Mission
  

Welcome!  I love your blog and your tropical fruits... very nice..

Welcome, love the greenhouse and aquaponics!

Are you using transparent poly? 
That should allow enough light except you might get a heat problem to deal with?

Hi Andy and Grasa, thanks for the warm welcome :)

Welcome, happy to have you aboard..

Welcome and enjoy!

Welcome.

Thanks for sharing the link to your blog. I enjoyed the tour of your banana grove, I spent quite a bit of time last nite looking at the pictures and progress of your trees.

Welcome!  I'm in KC, MO and we have other members in the region as well.  I'd love to have a greenhouse and very impressed with your bananas.  You shouldn't have any trouble getting figs.

I'd rather cut out too much sun than make the mistake I made a couple years ago. I took a young loquat tree out of the ground to plant at a different site, but made the mistake of covering it with a poly bag whilst it was in a pot, & left it in direct sunlight. Disaster.

I practically frazzled the whole thing. Only 1 shoot survived, so several years growth was lost. My daughter now has the equiv. of a 2-3 year old instead of a 6-7 year old tree. Seems the poly bag acted like a lens and scorched the tender leaves & shoots. Lesson learned - don't leave in direct sunlight if covered with a poly bag!

Welcome to the forum GreenFin. Ever heard of fig bananas? That's one way to combine 2 of your interests, but dunno if you can grow them over there. 

welcome. if you are interested in growing figs inground, do run a search here of  cold hardy trees. several members have run cold tests and found many that will thrive in 6a. with winter protection you have many to pick from. i'm moving all mine inground this spring.

Welcome

Welcome.

Welcome!

Hi, welcome Greenfin,
your trees look like you are ready to divide each "bush" into 3 or 5 different trees, if you have enough space.
At least this is what I would do.
When I bought my small "goutte d'or", it went bushy and after one year of growth in 2012, I could divide it into five trees , two died at home last spring because the spring was so cold that I had to keep them too long at home.
Of the three remaining, one showed two brebas and some main crops but nothing I could taste ( dropped the brebas and main crop came on 1st september), one showed some main crop as of 1st september - so too late - and one showed nothing.
So hopefully next year I'll have brebas on at least two trees, when I only bought one small (20 centimeters when I bought it) in a one liter container.

Welcome and pic's look good.
Richard

Thanks for the additional warm welcomes, everyone :)