Hey all!  It's been a while since I've posted and my family and I have been busy.  We've started a farm (see our website below) and I've left my job to apprentice at a local orchard.  It's been a blast so far, but incredibly busy!

Anywho, I thought I'd pass along a blog post I just wrote to document my fig propagation process.  I've tried to keep everything very simple (though it's a rather long blog post!), inexpensive, and fuss-free while maintaining a high "take" rate (mine was 90+% this winter).  Check out it out and let me know what you think.  Do you try something similar?  Any tips to share for improving it even further?

http://www.threefoldfarm.org/blog/simple-fig-propagation

I used much smaller pots (it's what I had for free), but very similar, working so far!

Thanks for sharing!

Best of luck with your farm Tim!!

Tim,

I sent an email to the contact listed.

Kelby, glad to hear it.  Where in SE PA are you?  Find any interesting local varieties?

Thanks Barry!  Hope to catch up with you later this year.  Do you know if Bass having his yearly fig meetup this year?

Phil, I got it and sent you a message in reply.

Parafilm, I think I have to agree with.  Some fig cuttings will just dry out instant if they don't have dangerously high humidity (wrt fungus--I've had wild growth of fungus on green leaves when I tried to keep humidity up).

Tim
Best of luck with your new enterprise. I think that is just awesome my friend.
The Nero 600 I got from you last year is just waking up, so I am psyched to be growing a tree I have wanted for a while. I am keeping it away from the 2" of rain we are getting bombarded with here in NJ.
You should check the eBay prices some of your cultivars are getting. 

Love your rooting method. Wish I had some cuttings left. I'll try it next time.

Good luck on your new adventure!!

Best of luck, Tim. I'm not far from you and I have some cuttings in the fridge that I need to send out shortly. If I have any extra, you are more than welcome to them. The parent tree went unprotected in NE Philly without damage and produced a lot of fruit. I haven't had much luck with mine yet, nor have I had the courage to not protect it over winter.

Tim,

What if you replace the parafilm with the paraffin (a cutting dipped in a melted candle)? 
Do you think one is better than another?

Tim-

I believe we might have met, briefly, at Tim's Fig Fest, last fall.  Your farm sounds so wonderful.  I wish you the very best with your new endeavors, much success, and blessed, peaceful happiness.


Frank

Coop, Thanks!  I know some of the eBay prices...just crazy.  I'm trying to sell them for a pretty reasonable price.  I have some limited quantities as well...hopefully a larger and bigger selection next year.

Thanks Frank!  Yep, we met at Tim's Fig Fest this past year.

greenfig,  I would think anything to prevent desiccation would work as long as it didn't injure the cutting and was able to breath.  Dipping it in melted wax may work as long as the buds weren't injured.  Thinking it through, the wax would only be hot for a brief moment, so the chance for injury would be minimal.  Does paraffin breath at all?  That's one of the purported benefits of parafilm.

Thanks for sharing your tips. I'll have to try that next year.

I also requested a few trees.

Cool news article on you guys:

http://www.abc27.com/story/25244242/midstaters-finding-balance-through-mindful-living

LOL!  No fuss?  Are you kidding?  No fuss is simply laying the cutting in a 2" trench, covering it with plain old dirt in a place where it will get some dampness and some shade.  That's pure "old way" "no fuss!"  This is the way the Greeks and Italians and all in a Mediterranean climate do.  I live in that climate, and I went back to the old ways.  They actually work with no fuss.  I could throw so many moldy cuttings at you from trying these best ways to root cuttings.  I feel bad that you need to go to all this trouble, and I know it can work.  Mostly mine die from fungus gnats.  Different climates have different methods that work. 

Suzi

Hi Tim very interesting thx for sharing. One question: my basement is very dry in winter due to the boiler being down there, bet. 20-30% humidity, but I know from experience my 1-gal pots dry out on a daily basis down there. I wouldnt want to over-water but once a week seems a little too infrequent, what are your thoughts? Thank you.

Congratulations on your farm!  Best of luck with it.

Marie, thanks for the compliment. I hope my fig trees look like that again this year (if they all survived!)

Suzi, you're quite right, the trench method is truly the no-fuss way. I've used it and it works well in SE Texas (Houston area). Unfortunately it won't work well for selling potted plants or growing in containers (as many up here do). I hope my method works well for those trying to grow cuttings in pots.

Phil, we're actually outside of Mechanicsburg right off I-81. Feel free to PM me or use the Contact Us page on the website if you'd like to chat. I don't list my private email on the site for fear of spammers :-)

Rafaelissimo, we have a boiler in our basement that's right next to the fig setup, so it sounds very similar to your situation. The humidity there runs around 30% in the winter (dry!). When the cuttings are young and haven't leafed out (or are only putting on a couple first leaves), I check the soil with my finger. If the top inch or two is damp, then I leave it alone. Otherwise I'll water a little to keep the soil damp. Sometimes I'll lift the pot as a quick moisture check. Since I use all the same pot, I sorta know at what weight they're getting a little dry. Once the cuttings are really growing and well-rooted they're far less sensitive to overwatering as long as you have a good potting mix.

Tim,
Hello and welcome back.
Thanks for sharing your method and the Blog Link.
HarveyC is using a similar procedure that he has documented on the forum, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6692131 .
I'm using a similar technique but instead of tree pots I'm using 2 liter Soda bottles converted to Mini-SIPs.
Good Luck with the new endeavors.

I could not locate the mix you referred to within 600 miles without mail ordering. I did however find a company that sells Mycorrhizae and other inoculants on the web in small weights of 1-4 oz.
https://www.kelp4less.com/shop/mycorrhizae-and-inoculants/

this could be mixed with vermiculite/perlite and peat as a do it yourself at a reasonable price without shipping bales.

Congratulations, Tim! You are a good man, and I know you will be successful. I learned that rooting method from you last year and agree on its reliability (~90 per cent). I would love to visit your farm sometime. Keep in touch.

Pete, thanks for sharing Harvey's post. I wasn't aware he had posted something on this. Glad to see his method is similar. Even his difficulties with the method are similar to mine: getting the right amount of water to each cutting. I need to think about that and improve upon it next year.

Thanks Bill! If you're ever in the Mechanicsburg area give me a ring and I'll give you a tour of the place.

Very cool. Thanks for the info.  Do you think this would work well with outdoor rooting?  Maybe shady spot instead of direct sun?  As long as it doesn't get rained on..