This variety discovered by brianm has something special going on.  I think it deserves its own thread to document the growth.  I've personally not seen anything grow like this but then I haven't grow a lot for a long time.  Is it typical?  

From start to current...

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

So here we are, a month and five days after the first green leaves popped up. Need a new measuring device. 

 

Adding fertigation water twice daily to the two large VB bucket bottoms.  They drink a lot already.  

Water has 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, General Hydroponics FloraMato 10-6-18.  They have had this since about the second week into the wicking sand buckets, so about three weeks now, give or take a few days.  

 

  

Your growing system is cery impressive.goi g to try to follow all your post and learn the sand bucket wicking system. Definitely great work. Your preto will be ready for spring for sure.

Did away with the wicking sand buckets.  Now it's just grow bags with sand sitting in trays of 1/2 inch deep fertilizer water. :)

Charlie, my head is spinning, I can't keep up with you.

What a great way to propagate fig cutting. Only 1 month. Cool

So much growth!

very nice !!! great growth

Yah its the variety! I have 42 varieties now, and have rooted about 3,000 fig cuttings.  This one blows all the rest out of the water as far as rooting speed and putting on leaves.  I got mine started on 8/6/15 in coarse perlite and within 7 days all 3 cuttings were rooted and had leaves, within 17 days I was up-potting them as their roots had filled the 4 inch clear pots.  Here is a pic of mine in a 10 gal.  

 

Wow just noticed you started yours about 30 days after mine! And it's a few inches taller! Good job.

Good job folks. I rooted several cuttings each of Marseillis Black vs and Hollier this spring. Two MBVS and one Hollier are in the 4' range. I mean they took off while the others seemed to be slow growers, 2 footers. I thought it was the cutting rather than variety in that some cuttings had the right stuff to take off and do well while others do not.

From the looks of it your variety seem to be very vigorous.

Charlie do you use any rooting hormone with your cuttings?? That is very impressive growth for sure!
Tyler

A couple days ago it was noticed that Valley Black #2 had these brown splotches on a leaf...

 

Some discussion in Rafeds facebook group determined this to be rust.  It was very humid in the fig room with all that wet sand, water in trays and two 8 bulb T-5 fixtures blaring down on them.  This plant is also back next to the wall so little if any air flow.  The infected leaf was removed.  Fan was turned on outside the room to direct fresh air in and a smaller fan was set in front of the plants to move air around.  So far there is no more signs of any rust.

Valley Black #1

 

Looking good Charlie.

I got Valley Black cutting on October 9 from a good fig friend and put it right away in Sphagnum moss, moved it to soil on October 21 with roots and today its shoot has 6 leaves but not as luscious as with FloraMato.
But no more FloraMato (stopped making it):
http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1995025/floramato-no-more

Hey Charlie, Great Job Man!! You going to have to give us lessons! : )


Frank from Bama

Valley Black #1 was simply growing too fast for my setup, causing other plants to suffer by having to keep moving the light fixture up.  It already has some fairly good lower laterals going so I figured just prune off the top six inches and try to root it. Hard for me to do but the deed is done.

 

 

Since adding fan ventilation there were a couple more leaves lost to rust, cut off as preventative measure on VB #2.  I haven't seen any more in a few days so maybe it's stopped.

Hi Charlie,
At which temp are you keeping them ?
Growing fast is often linked to the temps and especially if you don't let the area cool a bit during the night.

Normally getting them cooler in the night (20°C/25°C in the day and 15°C at night time) will slow them and allow them to thicken their stems.
Their leaves are beautiful for sure !

In post #18 on 11/12, the top was cut from VB to slow it down.  Didn't work out too well since it just kept on growing from the upper laterals.

 

Correction, from pretty much all the laterals.  It's turning into a bush now.  Ok I guess.  The top that was removed looked ok for many days but finally shriveled up.  It's still being observed though.

On 11/14 it was decided to try and air layer the lower VB laterals with sand, since this whole experiment is centered around sand.  Laterals were trimmed of lower leaves, sand was added around the base to provide cup support, cups were prepared and custom fitted to the limbs and sand was added to cups.  They have been watered twice a day, morning and evening along with the rest, same fertigation mixture.

 

 

 

 

This evening after some close inspection, this little white thing caught my attention...

 

So I guess it works!  

Have started a couple more VB cuttings Brianm sent me which are now sprouting.  This variety so far has everything good going for it.  Sure hope I get figs next year. :) 

Wow cool baby airlayers you got there.

Very nice, getting two air-layers going on a young plant, looks pretty cool.

 I think most all my fig cuttings I got this summer just got a signal to produce figs, I see tiny figs on almost everything. :) I should have some ripe valley black figs by late spring early summer 2016.  I will post when I get my 1st ripe one.  

Is that plastic grow bag ?