Hi all....
I have been traveling for a few years for my work. Looks like I'll be staying put for a while so I want to start planting a fig forest. I've compiled a list of about 40 figs that I'd like to obtain.
I do need to prepare the land for planting....eradicating gophers, installing irrigation...etc. any guidance would be helpful. Especially regarding irrigation options, spacing of the trees and amending the soil. Would it be best to wait until spring to plant trees in the ground?
Thanks in advance!
Adam

Thanks Alan. I do like the idea of training the trees to a single trunk. I am thinking of spacing the trees at 8 to 10 feet apart and pruning them so the fruit is easy to pick.

Since you have an ideal climate for figs, I would space similar to typical orchards if you have the space- maybe 16-20' in either direction.  Even here in zone 7b, we have figs 25 feet wide.  Of course you could prune to be smaller, but I'm not sure if that's really time efficient if you have a lot of trees.  Your CA soil is probably pretty great- maybe just add manure/nitrogen.  I would primarily concentrate on a large amount of mulch for each tree.  That will conserve water tremendously and each year add nutrition to the soil.  We're big on biochar here, but you may not be able to burn there in CA.  My father had to pay a small fortune to get agricultural waste hauled off in dumpsters because he couldn't burn it there in central CA.  The best to your endeavors.

Eric.....letting the figs grow with a bit of elbow room seems very practical.  I don't imagine I want to train the trees to the Japanese standard (although it looks cool)   I was looking at the space I have and 15 to 20 foot spacing seems reasonable.  At that spacing with 20 feet between rows I would have room for at least 42 trees.  

And yes...with the water shortages I would incorporate mountains of mulch.   Right now I can water two days a week, but with drip irrigation that should be sufficient - provided California does not run out of water completely......

Now I just need to decide on WHICH 40+ figs to plant.....should be the fun part  :)