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Water Table?

Wondering how a high water table for much of the year will affect growing figs?  Sometimes it's just a few inches to water during winter and spring.  Digging my fig holes for five gallon pails hit water about 14 inches or so.  My property is at the base of a hill so we get all the run off.
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Pretty much found my answer in this thread 
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Hi Charlie,
Figtrees don't like to have the feet in the water especially when freezing . Figtrees need to be in dirt that drains .
I would try to have the figtrees 50 centimeters above the water level - you could plant them in raised beds .
The problem with standing water is that the roots would rot ...
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My persimmon was planted in small raised bed of cinder blocks and blackberries also.  Figured as much.  I need to raise the buckets I have already sunk fully into the ground. 
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My water table is at 6 feet (I'm on a lake) and that is fine but a few inches to water?  Yikes.....
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Originally Posted by WillsC
My water table is at 6 feet (I'm on a lake) and that is fine but a few inches to water?  Yikes.....


We built here 11 years ago after a pine thicket was mostly cleared for our small housing addition on the edge of the city.  I planted a whole back yard full of trees in the fall.  Every one of them died either quickly or eventually the following year and I blamed the dog for pissing them to death.

Didn't take much longer to figure out our water issues.  After prolonged wet weather it is bad.  Way too wet for most things for long periods at times. My neighbor actually has aquatic plants growing in his back yard  at times.  Mounds, raised beds or pots have been the norm.  I should have just figured figs would be the same.

This has been a wet year for us.  Still mowing at least once per week, sometimes twice with pop-up showers and thunderstorms rolling through weekly.

On the other side of the coin when it is dry and hot, this soil will turn hard as a rock.  We reached 100F today for the first time this year. Any hole digging needs to be done quickly or wait for more wetness. :)
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whoa, you had 100 over in Ft Smith? We are just north of Little Rock and have not hit 95 yet.
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Originally Posted by GeneDaniels
whoa, you had 100 over in Ft Smith? We are just north of Little Rock and have not hit 95 yet.


Actually I'm 25 miles south of Fort Smith.  It's easier to say Fort Smith since nobody ever heard of my city and yes, the bank clock and our car showed 100F at 5:30pm yesterday. 
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Originally Posted by jdsfrance
Hi Charlie,
Figtrees don't like to have the feet in the water especially when freezing . Figtrees need to be in dirt that drains .
I would try to have the figtrees 50 centimeters above the water level - you could plant them in raised beds .
The problem with standing water is that the roots would rot ...


This is the South wall of our house.  Since the buckets needed raising it was decided to move them away from the wall a bit more to please my wife of 34 years who's first comment was that they were too close ha!  Got to keep the boss happy eh...

So here's the deal.  Have been wanting to build a greenhouse on this wall for awhile now.  Not sure these buckets will stay exactly where they are, so there's not much more to speculate on this for now.  

Out in the back you can see where I'm solarizing a place that will end up being about 18' x 40'.  Plan there is to build a border and fill it for a huge raised bed garden spot.  I imagine most my figging will be done there for plants in the ground.  Also going to move my persimmon(s) there and blackberries will be on one end on a T post double trellis.

Figs_16.jpg 

I'm using a mixture of white vinegar, epsom salts and dish soap as a spray to kill off the bermuda.  It comes back but will eventually weaken and die with a few sprays.

If these buckets do stay here, it's 7 1/4 inches to the top and they are easily raised up if needed, at least now.  I read about holes in the sides of the bucket and leaving the bottoms on for winter storage and being able to dig them out easier.  Probably will do that.  

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