I found a space that I think is perfect for a row of cordoned figs. I have a row of five olive trees growing along the edge of a terrace. The embankment below the olive terrace ranges from 4 to 8 feet wide and is about a 75% slope. So, it's a long, narrow, steep strip of really good soil (decomposed granite). It is also in the frost-free portion of my property. The olive trees are already spaced 16 feet apart. So, I thought I would place one fig tree on the embankment below each olive. That would also allow the fig tree to take advantage of any water running off from the olive trees when my wife over-waters them (she know better than to water my figs). I will grow each tree on a single trunk, splitting into two main branches going in opposite directions. I think it is reasonable that the two main branches can reach out 8 feet in either direction, so 16 feet seems like pretty good spacing. I also plan to place one temporary tree in between each permanent tree, only until the permanent tree is big enough to use the space. Then, I will transplant the temporary trees to a new cordon of their own somewhere else.

 

I plan to plant the temporary trees in-ground in pots. That will make transplanting next year a breeze. I am also considering planting the permanent trees in pots with the bottoms cut out.  My reasoning is that the pot might help protect the roots from nibbling vermin and would also give the tree a level footing on the steep slope. It would make planting easier and minimize any transplanting shock. I would position a drip line emitter directly into each pot. As the branches spread sideways, I would add more emitters to follow them. The roots would have to grow down below the pot before they could brow sideways. I don't know if that is good or bad. If I plant directly in-ground, I would always use a wire basket to protect the roots anyway. I would also have to build up a berm below each tree to form a well for watering. I would love to hear some opinions about whether or not I should use the pots or just plant them directly in-ground. 

 

As for the varieties, I have to use what I have to work with that is already at the 1. The current candidates are Vista, Violette de Bordeaux, Black Mission, Raspberry Latte, Conadria, Excel, LSU Purple, Purple Smyrna, Strawberry Jam, Peter's Honey, Hardy Chicago or Celeste. I haven't made up my mind yet. Opinions welcome.

 

So, I humbly request that you submit any ideas or criticism now. I would much rather hear about how stupid my ideas are before I have carried them out. By the way, if there are any good ideas among these plans, I have taken them from other members of this forum.

 

[Edited to remove typo]

@Pino: here is the photo you asked for. The row in question is the one marked "Proposed Cordon #1". The temp trees in between could get moved over to "Proposed Cordon #2" later, or to some other spot, or to replace any of the "permanent" trees that aren't working out.

 

 

@Pino: I think I got most of my ideas from this post: http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/japanese-fig-culture-some-links-7128063, but have also been reading what other members have been doing with stepovers. I did not know that there was such thing as low-tension wire trellis. In my ignorance, I assumed that the wire must be pulled tight in order to provide support. Could you please point me to some information about the type of trellis you use?

 

@Dave: I think I would like a system like that if I were planning on moving the trees more than once. However, the permanent ones would have bottoms cut out so that the roots can go into the ground and grow big. The temporary ones will keep their bottoms and get pulled out within a year. 

 

@Travis: They are in regular 5 gallon black nursery containers. I would bury the uphill lip right down to soil level, while the downhill rim would protrude from the hillside a bit like a step. I have considered lining the bottom with some gopher wire in case we have any deep tunnellers.

 

@Suzi: let me know if you ever want to borrow my jack hammer. It cuts through those DG boulders like butter! Most of my DG is already broken down and is easy to dig. It drains a little bit too well, but keeping a nice thick layer of wood chips on top of it and spreading our goat and chicken poop everywhere definitely helps it build some hummus. Leguminous cover crops such as biomass peas do wonders for improving soil structure. I am amazed at how just one year of growing thick cover crops has made my ground feel more like soil than sand.

 

 @Bob: I know exactly what you are saying. Thanks to the generosity of members in this forum, I already have Rdb, CdD, MvsB, Black Madeira, Nero 600 and several other really top notch varieties in cups in my humidity bins right now. I think that in my climate, Vista or VdB could be as good as any other fig. Otherwise, I am hoping that It won't be too difficult to graft other varieties onto the cordons later. Worst case, I call this a practice run and rip them out of the ground and replant with my best varieties and do a better job of it having had more experience.

Hi JD,

 

Thanks for all the comments. Regarding breba crop, I was planning on removing alternate vertical shoots every other year. So, after the first year, I would take off half of them and keep the remaining branches pinched at the top guide wire. Those branches would form a breba crop the next year and I would also have a new set of shoots for my main crop. At the end of that year I would remove the 2 year old shoots and keep the ones from current year. I am entirely inexperienced at this, but I think I read something like that in one of the Japanese fig cordon articles. If that doesn't work, I am fine with having only main crop. Let's face it, very soon I will have more figs than I know what to do with!

 

The main reason I am planting this style is that my wife wanted me to put in a few vineyard rows because she likes the way they look. I'd rather grow figs than grapes, so that's what she gets. We have a few acres, so I will have plenty of room for a few full size fig trees, some well pruned central leader trees, some Japanese bush style, a frankenfig... I'm just having fun. I also think the cordon will be a great place to practice grafting. If I have some really great varieties on other trees, I'll prune them in winter and graft the cuttings onto the verticals in spring. Finally, if I have guests visiting who want to pick figs, I would prefer to have them walk on level ground picking at eye level.

 

Regarding "bushy cordon", I have a few trees that have two equal trunks. I considered just bending each one at scaffold height. However, I am leaning toward single trunk because that would allow me to wrap it in sheet metal to prevent rodents from climbing up. That is more difficult to do with a multi-trunk. I think that if I want higher density, I will just leave the "temporary" trees in the ground so that I have 8 foot spacing instead of 16.

 

I'm very glad to hear that in your experience, the pots deter rodents. That is the main reason I want to leave the pots on. It just occurred to me that the pots might encourage the roots to go deeper rather than wider. I wonder if that would discourage lateral growth of the branches as well? Uh oh.