I purchased a Sal's Corleone from a member here Rob, what a beauty! Thanks Rob!

I found some 22 inch by 15 1/2 deep heavy duty UV rated plastic containers from Home Depot for $19.00 so I picked up a few of them at that price.

I wanted to try to make a sip container like I have seen Bill do on his page. I copied it to the T.
I used 4 inch drainage pipes, cut them to 3 1/2 inches and was able to get 9 at the bottom, I used three as wicks and covered them with wire mesh I also purchased a Depot for $9.00. I cut a hole just above the 4 inch drainage pipes cut to 3 1/2 and installed a 1/2 inch threaded pvc pipe on an elbow, I used silicon seal around the threads and tightened. On top of the wire mesh I put burlap just like Bill did and added a nice mix of mulch/manure/peat/potting mix, I also mixed in about three shovels of lime. I purchased 3 mil black plastic and a few bungee cords and here is my finished product.

Thanks Bill for showing me this on your website  http://figs4fun.com/bills_figs.html

 

Very nice!
How do you know when to water the tree?

Thanks!
Very easy, every 4 to 5 days I pour water into that 2 inch pvc pipe and when water trickles out the weep hole, its full :)

Nicely done Peter. I have built many of them just like that thanks to Bills design. I think you will be very pleased with the results. You will also find that in the heat of the summer, you will be watering every other day.
Good luck my friend.

Peter, I used that same pot last year and did the same thing. The trees loved it and the pots held up well. Coop is correct, during the dead of summer I was watering almost daily. You may want to think of some sort of protection from the heat. When the temps get above ninety these pots really get hot. I used auto windshield heat deflectors from the dollar store and wrapped around the sun side of the pot. It helped and the tress survived. I did four last year and will do more this year. Good find and good job.

Thanks for the tips!

I will look out for this when Summer approaches. I may be able to move the container a little where the sun only hits the top leaves whole the container is in shade.

I did the same thing on one of my pots using Bill's design. I planted a Madeleine des Deux Saisons in there. This tree might be the happiest tree I have in my collection. I usually water by pouring water down the PVC pipe and when the water starts flowing from the hole below, I know it's full. My SIP has no cover at present, but compared to other pots, the performance of my fig tree in there tells me that this should be the way to go to get the best quality figs in pot. One drawback is the weight and might not be good for the back.

very nice Sas!

I cant wait to see the results.

How do you guys move your pots?

If moving those pots, you will definitely need some kind of a dolly in order to protect your back. So far this particular pot stays outside all year long in TX.
When you decide to do some root pruning, you will need some space where you could make a mess or use a tarp.
The easiest SIP's to work with are the largest ones sold by Walmart (around $11). Trees that go in these, probably need more frequent root pruning, every two years vs four in some other larger containers.

I have a few hand trucks from my business so moving is not bad.
Hey Coop, I am praying that I can get the "Godfather fig" to root, it will sit next to Sal :)

Pots that size hold 5 gallons of water when full.  I Highly recommend putting dunnage or mover dolly underneath it so you can move it.  Just about all of my 200+ trees are in pots a little larger than those.  I have 2 of Bill's pots and use his method.  His new pots (which is what I have are only 14 inch deep.  I called Bill and talked to him about them.  He said those pics of him on line repotting his trees is his old way.  Plus those pics show his old larger pots which he does not have anymore.  But I stopped covering mine with plastic.  You'll learn why in a few months.

Thanks Dennis also could you explain his new way of repotting? Thanks!

I also had problems with the black plastic covering mine.. Had a bunch of fuzz growing over the top layer of soil that was getting worse everyday. Now I uset mulch, no problems at all and I'm loving the results of using a SIP!

The fuzz on the top layer of soil sounds like beneficial mycorrhizae growth. Did they look like spiky puff balls? If you added Espoma or similar fertilizer to your potting mix, it would have inoculated the mix with beneficial fungi. The sip cover would have provided the wind-free, damp environment needed for them to grow out of the mix.

I also haven't covered my sips. I don't have any sound reason for not doing it. I'm just too lazy to track down supplies to affix the plastic cover.

The plastic is very difficult to manuever on a tree with multiple branches.  Plus after a few months in the hot sun, the bungee cords start to deteriorate and so does the plastic and it will look bad---like someone tried to cut it with a fork.  You will spend more time trying to fix that plastic.  Me?  After a year, I just left mine off.  Today, I use weed fabric and 2 inches of mulch.  If it rains, the excess flows out the hole.  Plus the rain keep me from having to water --saving me a little cash.  Trees in these pots can go about 4 days without watering.  I have over 50 or so in these pots and absolutley love them!    But again, Bill's new pots are smaller.  Today, I use half 55g barrels and drain pipe in the center.

Thanks again for the tips, I will buy some black mulch and make my adjustments. And yes, cutting the black 3 mil to a perfect circle and getting it to fit perfectly was the hardest part of the build lol!

I will not have many of these, perhaps 4 or so, these I will leave in my will for my kids. (they dont have interest in fig trees yet)

I took the plastic off and I am liking the way it looks.




 

Looks clean and beautiful.

Thanks Brianm

what is great about containers, they can be moved. NY has been cooler than normal, our Summer temp are usually 85-90 hot & humid.
nice fig trees ThaiFig !

wow! that is amazing growth!

do you have a thread here on this design that I can read?

Hi PeterC!  How is the SIP working out?

So far, it is doing well. New York has just made the 85 degree mark so all my fig trees are getting happy now.

I do notice that need to keep up with water about every 3 to 4 days, my guess is that in July, every other day I will need to top off the water.

I will take photos of it soon as it is just starting to develop new growth and nice dark green leaves.