I'm new here, though I thought I had registered several years ago. I guess I didn't. I just wanted to say 'hey'.

I hope to be able to occasionally contribute comments aimed primarily at the more scientific aspects of growing - soil science, nutrition, physiology .....

I see a good measure of familiar names, so it should be fun. I particularly enjoy sharing with those obviously enthusiastic about growing things!

Al

Glad to see you here Al. I have benefited from your advise over the years.

Paully

Hi, Al! Welcome to the 'other' fig forum ;)

Hi Al,

Hi Al and welcome .

Hello al

Hi Al. Welcome to the F4F forum. It's good to see you here. 

I've read many of your comments on the "other" forum but I don't frequent that one very often.

Here's a topic I've been wondering about which you may know something of:

Can fig scion be grafted onto Maclura Pomifera or any one of the Morus species? If so, have you tried it or know someone who has?

I probably should have started a new thread for this but we'll see where it takes us first.

Thanks.

Good day Al!  Welcome! Cheers

Great to see you on F4F!

Hello neighbor.
Glad to see you here.

Welcome Al
Looking forward to your comments and advice

Welcome Al. You may be a newbie to the newbies but not to the rest. Many have benefited from your posts in GW (where your posts have been missed for a while GW-fig). Glad to see that you joined the F4F.

Well, I was getting bugged all the time to come out & have some fun with you guys, so I thought I'd better come over so they'd quit pestering me. Of course I said that with tongue in cheek .... I'm flattered by the invitations I've received over the last several years.

I'll apologize to Saxonfig first. I don't know what scions might be compatible with what understock. 

Maybe I should explain something. I grow a few figs just so I can say I grow them. I'm not an expert on figs, but I do know how plants work, and particularly woody plants and trees. Most of you guys might have noticed that I never join in the conversations where you compare varieties and discuss other aspects of fig culture that comes from a lot of experience growing figs. I'll leave that to the real experts.

I can help though, when it comes to topics that revolve around physiology & other sciences associated with plants. I am called on regularly by a fairly large number of organizations to do presentations, demonstrations, and workshops, and to talk about a wide variety of topics, the bulk of which revolve around woody plants.

Hopefully I'll be able to contribute here & there when the topic turns to areas where I'm sure I'm on solid ground. Now that I've started to bed the gardens down for the winter, I'll have more opportunity to enjoy spending some time on the forums.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to say "HI" and offer a welcome. I'm looking forward to figuring out how everything works here & seeing you all later.

Take care ..... and thanks again!

Al   

Welcome Al. I too am looking forward to your posts.

Al, welcome.  I hate putting you on the spot and please feel free to answer me privately but what are your thoughts on the self watering pots thread that is currently going on in this forum.  I have my own thoughts but would like to hear yours. 

I love my Al's Mix!

Kyle

I didn't know that members "owned" threads but have been on the forum long enough to know that I do this for fun and to make friends not enemies so I will respectfully comment on the issue on your thread. 

Al,

No need to apologize. I just thought you might know something about the topic. Thanks for the input anyway.

I had my first real successes with grafting just this year. I'm curious about alternate rootstock to graft onto for various reason. I think I may start a thread around the topic. I know there are others here that have quite a bit of experience with grafting. Would be nice to get there thoughts on alternate roostocks that might be used. 

Meow.

I don't know why some one would get mad and insult another person because they asked some body else a question but it was not asked in "their" thread.  This is Tapla' s thread (since you brought up the thread issue), and I can ask him anything I like.  This bullying is totally unnecessary.  Shame on you.  Out of respect for Dr. Tapla I will not comment further on this issue.

Nice to "see" you hear Al, I've enjoyed your many posts on GW, lots of good soil information.... and Yes I have my box of pop corn ready...

Ok - I see the thread has taken an unfortunate turn, but maybe we can get it back on track by focusing on a question that was asked about SWCs and some comments from my personal perspective.

I think SWCs are much closer to a blessing than a burden. They have a place in container culture by virtue of the fact that they offer the busy grower a reduction in time expenditures that he wouldn't otherwise have if the plants were grown in conventional container culture (watered/fertilized from the top). SWCs also offer some benefit in that they can help to ameliorate some of the negative effects of a heavy soil that if watered from the top would be manifest. This can be an important consideration for those using commercially prepared soils based on fine particulates, or homemade soils containing notable fractions of peat, compost, coir, sand, topsoil ......

I do think they are somewhat limiting when compared to the use of a fast draining soil watered from the top and a well-considered nutritional supplementation program.

I approach growing from the perspective of results rather than grower convenience. Not everyone views their growing endeavors from the same perspective, with many placing a considerable premium on convenience. I'm willing to go to some extra effort for gain in growth and vitality, partly because I grow so many plants in very small volumes of soil (bonsai), which tends to magnify anything culturally negative and adds a considerable 'degree of difficulty' factor.

Usually, the concepts of grower convenience and what is best for growth/vitality are mutually exclusive, but in the case of SWCs, the convenience issue is significant enough and the limiting effects small enough that I don't try to discourage anyone from using them, and I rarely mention their limitations.

I don't use SWCs for 3 reasons. First, they need to be made. That in itself isn't a problem, but since the second reason (that I am able to achieve better growth/vitality with well-aerated soils, top-watering, and a nutritional supplementation I have control over) leaves me with no reason to make them, I don't. The third reason is, I have some 300 containerized plants that need watering often. It's necessary for me to make watering rounds daily, and it doesn't matter to me if I water 150 or 160 containers on my daily rounds, which effectively negates any considerations of convenience, which really weren't that important to me to begin with.

When all is said and done, I think it's primarily their potential convenience that provides them (SWCs) a niche in container culture - not the best thing since sliced bread, but certainly not anything to flee from because of significant inherent concept-related issues.

All the above just to say different strokes for different folks.

Al

Al, welcome! I don't spend enough time on GW to know who's who, but am pleased that those who frequent both forums have invited you to post here as well.

Al great info

I'd be happy to post it to the thread, but I'd like to say that I haven't read the thread, so there is no choosing of sides in what I posted. What I said is just a rewording of things I've said before in different formats, including various fora. It's one of the few subjects re growing I'm really close to neutral on.

Al