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Subject: Help for a Doofus? My rooted VDB is stalled out. Replies: 10
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 263
 
I have a few VDBs of various sizes and I have noticed that they want a lot more water than my other figs.  My Conadria is almost just as thirsty but it grows and produces much more than VDB.
Since I started hitting every stalled young (rooted and growing) cutting with mild doses of fish emulsion they all start growing again quickly. I have very hard water and must flush the pots a little with each watering, the nutrients are quickly leached out. My solution is a little compost on top and some fish emulsion every second or third watering depending on the vigor of each plant. All my plants are in pots by the way. I read somewhere that figs should not be allowed to dry out for the first 2 years but be careful too much water is just as bad. I pick up every small pot each day and feel the weight and then decide whether to water.

Subject: Share 1 tip you've learned that you wish someone had told you in the beginning Replies: 43
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 1,080
 
I agree with using a fresh clean soil like Pro Mix for first potting and not too big of a pot, one gallon or smaller depending on the cutting size. Because you need such good drainage at first it is difficult to keep even levels of nutrients in such a porous soil. Becky made a good point about frequent weak doses of fish emulsion. I am not waiting until the new leaves are not as green as they should be, a very mild shot every second or third watering has them growing like mad.
One lesson I learned on my own is potted plants can develop dry pockets that no amount of regular watering can penetrate. You must put the pot in a shallow pan or put a large piece of plastic under a larger pot and form a bowl to hold a few inches of water and for 20 minutes or so let the bottom soak in water and flood the top over and over until bubbles stop coming up. I have had pots put out so many bubbles for minutes on end I wondered if there was any moisture in them at all before I started.

Subject: Painted exposed stems, BAM burst of growth Replies: 8
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 316
 
Been thinking about it for over a year, have plenty of both white and brown bark paint used on citrus. Well don't wait like I did, it was very obvious by the third day that the newly painted stems had a huge effect on growth, every plant perked up and they were looking pretty good already. Would like to hear what others have experienced.

Edit: To be a bit more clear I am referring to stems or branches that are exposed to hot noon time sun, thus the reference to bark paint.

Subject: The "dark side" of fig propagation. Replies: 14
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 656
 
Bought some slightly under ripe Black Missions from Trader Joes last year and burned the hell out of my lips and mouth. Of course they were not composted. I rinsed them well, didn't eat the top and dealt with the pain. About a week later all was well again. I don't have a problem with the latex on my hands and arms however. Next time I will peel them.

Subject: How often to foliar feed 1 gallon trees? Replies: 8
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 272
 
My cuttings from late last year are in now in 2 gallon pots and are doing great with a mild dose of fish emulsion every 7-10 days (in the soil not foliar). Compost at any time is the best thing if you have it.
Edit: Should have also said that I dechlorinate my water and adjust PH, it makes a big difference with small plants.

Subject: How much heat can cuttings use/tolerate Replies: 7
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 241
 
I am trying to root my UC Davis cuttings and I have them outside on the porch during the day and indoors under plastic at night. They get less than an hour of very early morning sun filtered by 70% sunscreen and then only reflected light (total shade) the rest of the day. They get sprayed every few hours and don't seem dried out at all. My humid monsoon season kicked in just in time to chance having them outside. My porch gets up to 105F on days we go over 110F and I am starting to think they should be brought in during the extreme heat of the day.
Thanks for the help

Subject: Newby with sick (or overwatered) fig! Replies: 7
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 483
 
I have grown in containers for a long time and one of the easiest ways to check how wet the soil is to lift the edge of the pot on a regular basis, you will quickly get a feel for when it needs water. Another problem you can have is dry areas can develop in a pot and you may never know it. You can pour on water and think it is properly watered but these dry spots can be tough to get wet once they form. When you have a mostly dry container set it in a tray a few inches deep and fill the tray with water to cover the drain holes and then water the hell out of it on top. Flood the top a few times and if you start getting thousands of bubbles coming up for a minute or two you will be penetrating those dry spots, don't stop the flooding water till the bubbles stop. Once or twice a month when they are actively growing I give them a mild dose of fish emulsion.

Subject: Potted figs both need and despise heat Replies: 7
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 457
 
I have about a half a house worth of plywood cut into various shapes shading the sides of my pots. I have one big one as the primary sunblock and a second smaller one to help as the sun moves if I don't move the big one quick enough. I also lay a small piece on top of the container to shade the soil slightly and it throws a little shade on the side. My temps have been over 110F most days for the last 2 weeks and my small plants in 2 gallons have looked great in full sun. They are shaded after 3pm. I am starting to fade a little, this is the longest hot streak of weather I have ever seen here. There is about 10 more weeks of nasty heat before we get any nighttime relief. I don't ever remember so many days over 110F so close together. I am replacing the bird bath water 2 or 3 times a day, its kinda sad how much the wildlife suffers in this heat. My yard is a refuge in the afternoon.

Subject: Italian Honey Fig Tree Replies: 10
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 539
 
Late last fall I tried the dab of oil on the eye and most of them ripened very quickly, it definitely works.

Subject: Aluminum Sulfate Replies: 4
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 355
 
I use a PH lowering liquid sold at hydro stores to bring my water PH down from 8.0 into the 6 to 6.5 range. It only takes a tiny amount (less than a shot glass). Be very careful with this stuff it will burn you bad. For all my container plants and my small trees I fill 55 gallon blue barrels let them sit overnight so most of the chlorine and fluoride have dissipated adjust PH and water. I also use dechlorinated water in my compost pile.

Subject: --- measuring the soil temp in the pots Replies: 75
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 2,805
 
I have about half a house worth of plywood cut into squares of various sizes that shield my pots. I use one large one as the main blocker and a smaller one to help out if I don't move them quickly enough as the sun moves. It doesn't look great but works well. It was 115F a few days ago and my figs looked great all day. I was getting rid of a couple of Janice cuttings that were not doing well compared to the others the soil was very hot and the root growth was very poor. Does anyone have experience with Janice in scorching heat.

Subject: UC Davis Cuttings finaly arrive Replies: 6
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 384
 
Thanks for all the helpful ideas, it will be even more of an adventure with the worst 10 day forecast I have seen in my 30 years here. I will keep them indoors in a small PVC framed plastic tent because we have extremely low humidity. My indoor temps are around 80F when its over 110F outside. Used to work outdoors here and back east in subzero temps. I'll take the heat over cold every time. One possible reason for mine arriving so late is I requested many varieties figuring I might only get half of them, got well over half of them and might have some plants to share in the fall.
Thanks again
 

Subject: UC Davis Cuttings finaly arrive Replies: 6
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 384
 
I was about to give up hope (and start bitching) when a package appeared on my trash can, an area of complete widespread shade. The box was smoldering hot and was throwing off serious heat for a few minutes even after opening. This was a few days ago and some of them are putting out leaves so I'll hope they have all survived. Was hoping maybe the FMV got cooked out of them but am sure that method has been tried many times before. As they start to root should I keep them indoors under artificial light for a while because it will be between 105F and 110+F most days for the next several weeks? I could give them some early morning sun until it heats up but soon the lows will be around 90F. I have all kinds of shade cloth and minimizing sunlight would not be a problem it's the heat that concerns me.  Thanks for your advice.      

Subject: ROOTS!....Too thin? Replies: 17
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 740
 
I am wondering if there are any drain holes on the bottom to allow oxygen to the roots. I am new to rooting fig cuttings so I don't know if drain holes are needed. edit: Just opened my eyes a little wider and noticed there are drain holes.

Subject: A warning to those using Fast-Gro heat mats! Replies: 20
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 747
 
I was in a house fire over a decade ago while staying with a friend. I discovered it at 1AM before it got too big and we all escaped. I have had a hard time using my fireplace ever since, freaks me out a little and I don't scare easily. Being in a fire will change your attitude. Don't ever say "it wont happen to me". I knew a kid growing up whose house caught fire twice. Use common sense and look for potential problems and learn from other peoples situations what went wrong.

Subject: Controling ants Replies: 15
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 623
 
Borax is less toxic than table salt and is touted as a health remedy in small amounts. Edit: A second source lists borax as slightly more toxic than table salt, still fairly benign. Google borax and arthritis and see the incredible number of claimed health benefits. I only recently learned of this and still need more convincing evidence about all the claims made but I have been using it for several weeks at a very low dose. My hands were getting arthritic and even started growing bony nodules on several finger joints, four days after starting borax my hands started feeling better and weeks later I am totally convinced it is helping. The bursitis in my elbows has also quickly gone away, my left elbow had been hurting for over a year. I am 52 years old and look healthier than most people half my age, I have very good muscle tone for my age but struggled to open a bottle of water for quite a while. My hands feel stronger and no more pain, it really works. I have several herniated discs in my back and the pain and stiffness has improved some also. The pharmaceutical industry knows this and you will read how their influence has had borax banned in Australia and Europe. The fluoride in a single tube of toothpaste will kill a child if eaten but borax would need to be consumed in large quantities for months to reach a toxic level. As one expert said if the same restrictions were used on all chemicals we would have very little left to use. Mineral baths where people go for help with arthritis are very high in boron which is the active ingredient in borax. Some of the other benefits claimed are removal of heavy metals ,stabilizing hormone levels (testosterone and estrogen) and redistributing calcium in your body which is the arthritis helper. I am also feeling a little more upper body strength since using it. In another post a few weeks ago I mentioned my 3 year health decline that had me getting my affairs in order because I was fading fast (lost nearly 70lbs with no medical explanation). I lost all confidence in doctors and hammered the internet to learn while I still had some life in me. Not sure what helped me to get back some of my weight and health but I will offer a couple of tips. Having a root canal removed was a big help, my neuropathy went away in 6 weeks, and my brain fog also. Root canals are always infected, it NEVER EVER goes away, it was proven decades ago and intentionally covered up. The book "Root Canal Cover Up" was written by the an original founder of the root canal society. After he retired he learned how deadly his whole life's work was and wrote the book to expose it. The book will blow your mind at how dangerous root canals are. Google root canal dangers and be aware there are some liars out there who discredit this idea.  Another thing is we are in another iodine deficiency epidemic, for the last 100 years or so we have gotten much of our iodine from baked goods but cost control had iodine replaced with bromides and bromide BLOCKS your iodine receptors so you cant even absorb what little we get. I had a goiter that had me going through all kinds of tests and then I went online to discover 80% of goiters are caused by iodine deficiency, took some iodine and the goiter disappeared in weeks. Iodine will also give you a big energy boost if you have been deficient for a while.  Don't always trust what your doctor says, he is trained to prescribe pills and surgery they know nothing else but pills and scalpels. My last tip is to take high quality probiotics for gut health that was the one thing I started doing different around the time I started to get better.

Subject: An overdue step over update Replies: 46
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 1,779
 
 Thanks for sharing such a cool way to prune/train figs. Do any of you experienced growers have an opinion if this method would work well in extreme temperatures of over 110F. I am thinking about providing a little afternoon shade (10%) next summer in the extreme heat, any opinions?

Subject: Do I dare change UC scion request Replies: 6
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 407
 
I was wondering if anyone has ever made changes to their order and if things went smoothly. There are a couple more varieties I have learned about that I would like to add to my order but don't want to complicate things. I was also wondering if anyone does any trading of scions when they arrive and have more than they actually need. I checked posts from earlier this year and did not see anything that would suggest trades are taking place.
Thanks for your help

Subject: Fertilizing question Replies: 6
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 389
 
I am not planning on staying in this house for too much longer and would like to take most of my plants with and then put them in the ground. A few are in 15gal and others in 7gal. I use small pieces of plywood to shade my pots and a huge pine tree gives me shade after 3pm, they get slight shade around noon from the bananas. 

Subject: Fertilizing question Replies: 6
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 389
 
I am an experienced gardener but still new to growing figs. I have a few unknowns and a VDB, Excel, Kadota, and Long yellow. Also have a couple very small Black Missions and an unknown variety of Honey fig all cloned just this year. This is my first summer with serious growth and figs, all are in pots and grew well until it got really hot out. I recently started giving them some mild doses of fertilizer every other watering and there is a burst of new growth that started before we cooled off to low 100s and the last 2 days below 100. I want to know if the lack of growth for several weeks was related to heat or lack of fertilizer.
I am interested in getting a few more varieties and have been overwhelmed with how many there are to choose from. I have not tried many varieties yet and have no idea where to begin. I have read many posts and the wish lists for starters and have a short list started but would greatly appreciate any suggestions for my smoking hot climate. Next year I may have some sticks to offer in trade but would gladly pay for anything interesting right now. I also grow bananas and have extra plants if that interests anyone. I have had success with Organza bags because I am only fighting off finches right now. Domestic finches escaped and started breeding in the Phoenix metro area, very cute little birds
My wish list at this time is Hardy Chicago, LSU Purple, Green Ischia, Malta Black, Improved Celeste, Black Madeira, Strawberry Verte and anything that tastes good with a small or closed eye. If any of those choices are not good for my climate please let me know.
Thanks to all who make fig growing a little easier for us beginners.

Subject: LAST CHANCE ----Needs to be said - the need for civil communication Replies: 85
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 3,394
 
A little over a year ago I was not sure how long I had to live. Doctors could not figure out why I had lost 70lbs over 3 years and death was starting to knock at my door. I have since had a partial recovery without explanation and still need to gain 20lbs to look normal. For all those who entertain themselves by degrading and demeaning their fellow humans I pray that you will learn what I have about what really matters in life. When you feel the life draining from you day by day your attitude changes quickly. I sit here writing this in the very spot my father died in 1995, his hospice bed was in my living room. We will all die someday and when it gets close you will think back with some regrets and wish you had done better. The world is becoming a very evil place and if you have not yet found God I urge you to ask him to reveal himself to you. I have had many incredible encounters with God in my life and have NO DOUBT that he exists. To all who do not believe I can say that without question Jesus really did exist, that is indisputable. Who he is to you is the big question that you need to answer. Try to make the world a better place, have patience with those who are not up to your standards. One of the most amazing thing's that ever happened to me in a church service is when the preacher had everyone there say out loud" we are all weird". Get over yourself, we are all a little screwed up in one way or another.
God Bless All
Larry 

Subject: Stooling question Replies: 11
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 618
 
Thanks for all the good info, I must admit "stooling" is a new word to me also since searching for answers.
Would have preferred something a bit more normal. lol  I think I will do an air layer with a container after considering all the suggestions, that seems to be the best method. I am a Midwest transplant living in the twilight zone also known as Arizona, a few miles east of Phoenix. I am now retired but have worked outdoors in subzero weather and in 116 here and the heat is a piece of cake compared to the cold. I have half a house worth of plywood cut into small squares protecting the sides of my containers from the sun. I am also growing bananas, mangoes, guavas, passionfruit, various citrus, and apples.
Thanks again for the advice
Larry
Mesa AZ
zone 9b

Subject: Stooling question Replies: 11
Posted By: goodeats4me Views: 618
 
Hello fig lovers this is my first post and I want to thank all of you who share your wisdom with those of us still learning the basics. I have a 3ft plant of unknown variety in a 15 gallon pot that has a very low branch almost laying flat on the soil and curving up almost a foot. I have read what I could find about stooling and would appreciate any tips. It is going to be scorching hot here for the next 2 months and I would like to know how to approach this. There will be 3 months of decent weather in the fall before it gets cold and I hope that would be enough time to root it. The tree is doing very well and just started bearing some figs.
Thanks for the advice
Larry