For those of us growing other things from seeds, I came across this nice method of making mini-pots from newspaper. A video link is at the bottom of the page.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Newspaper-Seedling-Pots

Good idea.
See also
http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/tools/indoorseed/nviropotter?veseys=72i6vub6becija3v74k94i3tg4

great ideals, i guess it would be easier to plant the whole pot rather than pull out the plants.

here is something I found interesting to me at least, its a diy earthbox than may be used to grow figs in.

http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf

 This self-watering thing...interesting yes, and amusing too but practical not.
And don't forget that watering the plants has some good therapeutic side effects too.

Thanks for finding that "earthbox" flyer. This is the one I was referring to in my comments about Bill's self-watering approach. In this method, there is a provision for air at the root zone with the pipe with holes in it. I think this would be a little healthier. But Bill seems to do very well with his technique.

I also enjoy the checking on and watering of my plants. However, I only have about 40-50 not hundreds.

Ciao Steve, I like this information you gave in this thread with making pots form newspaper,  I will do this,  Thanks so much.  Ciao

Steve!
I love this idea, it would save a ton and its so practical.  Also very interested in the do it yourself earth pots and boxes!! Im going to give it a try, thanks!

" This self-watering thing...interesting yes, and amusing too but practical not.
And don't forget that watering the plants has some good therapeutic side effects too."

could you explain why it's not practical to grow figs in a earthbox. isn't that what bill (f4f) sort of used to grow his fig trees in, and therapeutic effect could water have on figs.

It's not impractical - Bill's results are surely positive. I would just be concerned that the roots stay overly wet and not enough air gets to them. The "earthbox" flyer talks about using a pipe with holes through the root zone to provide air - this seems like a prudent measure that I didn't see in Bill's containers. It could be that there is a provision for air that just isn't apparent in his presentation.

The self-watering box related:
"Not practical" not in the sense that it cannot be done. If it has been done once and worked then it is practical but I meant that there is complexity in making it that will make it daunting for many or some to actually go ahead and start making one.

thx for explaining that for me Steve...i kinda understand a little i think. Don't the water reservoir at the bottom suppose to due away with over-watering? And the soil that touches the water is supposed to act as a wick  sucking up only what the plant needs and the holes at the bottom supply air right?sorry for asking these questions, its just that I'm new and just want to understand.

The holes prevent overfilling but not over watering. The soil acting as a wick does draw up water and keeps the soil constantly wet. Now this maybe OK for mature plants but I know for young plants this causes root rot that can cause problems or loss of the plant. If you contrast this to the wisdom of using fast draining soils, and a light porous mixture for air penetration, it seems at odds. In my experience, the latter approach works well so I am also trying to understand how the self-watering containers do not cause issues with root rot. Maybe I'll have to try it out to see what happens.

ok, thx now i understand, it may be ok with mature plants because their roots are bigger allowing them to suck up more water. but smaller plants wouldn't stand much of a chance with so much water.

it all make sense now!! cant wait for you results

thx steve

Thanks for sharing, Steve, the video was great. Sometimes the most beautiful solutions lie in their simplicity!  That was awesome.  And you don't need to pay $13 for a drinking glass.  I suppose you could also use more layers of full sheets of newspaper and make bigger pots using a larger container for a form. 

Mark,

I thought it was a good idea instead of spending money when starting a small number of seeds. I wonder how long they would hold together. Curious also on how stable a taller one would be for a fig cutting.

Steve, I had not considered using them for potting up cuttings, as they are not transparent.  Seriously, though, it would work if you used more layers, I think.  That and a taller pot.  I think you could get something on the scale of around a half gallon to work.  Just a few random thoughts.

I guess if you are rooting a high number of cuttings, watching the roots is less of a priority so it should work. Making pots out of newspaper could give you something to do if you are really bored :)

here is another book on grafting and budding

Grafting and Budding

here is a book on hydroponics, do any one thinks that it is possible to grow figs this way?

How to hydroponics by Keith Roberto

Another Hydroponic book

How To Hydroponics 4th edition by Keith Roberto

Is it possible to propagate by tissue culture. i thought about it but it was too confusing to me. link below to book on it.

Plant Propagation by Tissue Culture,  vol.1 - The Background (Springer, 2007)

Here is a book on botany in general

Mauseth - Botany 2nd

Here are two books on Plant propagation in general. the first is from the (R.H.S) and the second is about growing in green houses.

Plant Propagation(R.H.S)

Growing Under Glass

Hope you like them. I had them stored on my computer for a long time so i decided to share.

Americanfigboy,

The links did not work. Did you use the "Manage Attachment" feature at the bottom of the message reply? Also, the files might be too large. Try posting just one of the books to see if it works properly.

do any one know another way to post links because some of  these files are very large holding more than 300 pages. the Manage attachments didn't work.

Yes same thing happened to me would not open.
those PDF Files are to large and im sure would not work as email attachments either to send.
In "Microsoft Word " program you should be able to break each one down to smaller pieces by copy and paste small sections.

well it took me awhile but i compress the files into a 224 mb file. its in .zip format so you should be able to open it without any trouble.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N0JHZMLZ

sorry for the trouble

No trouble at all, it was very nice of you to share. I'm downloading now and I'm sure its great information. Thanks again.

americanfigboy (and anyone else interested in tissue culture),
there is a growing online community that does hobby/amateur tissue culture at home.  (pardon the pun).  Info can be found here:  http://www.kitchenculturekit.com/StiffAffordablePTCforhobbyists.htm  I have not tried this sort of thing, and I am not inclined to do so as it is still out of financial reach for me.  But the possibility is out there, and this site has some means of contact to the tissue culture community.  There are also a number of youtube videos on it at:  http://www.hometissueculture.org/ 

Americanfigboy,
thanks for the breaking it down. I downloaded it 11 minutes 20 seconds about 224 MB Quite large the last 2 ebooks in the zip file caught my interest and make for exceptional referrance, , meristem culture and the tissue culture which i have looked at in past out of curiosity.
The last ebook Plant Propagation is nice material as well as it has a ton of information on the subject header, what caught my interest there was the propagating thru cuttings of roots and recently what i have been trying is what they mention useing the netted peat pot for propagating.
Also much useful information on grafting, chip budding and such which makes for good reading as well as propagaton soft semi hard woods and the like.
Thanks for posting that .