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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
That's not just a Cubbie refrain, but mine too with respect to figs. I started collecting spring of '12 - just over a year and a half ago - but I thought we'd have more fig fruits to pick this year. Sadly that did not happen. There were definitely more than last year but I was disappointed. The critters got some, but there just were not very many. There were many days with none to eat. While it's fun and intructive to look at all the nice photos people post of copious plates of yummy-looking cut figs, I was envious. That is what I want too. :) Not to mention the tales of jam and wine and pizza with all the extra fruits.

I did get to try some new varieties, and that was fun, and here the season is not over yet... but there aren't that many more to come, and with shorter days, they won't be quite as good.

So I'm thinking what to do next year to get more fruits. The plants will all be a year older and larger, and I do have quite a number of them. (LOL, how did that happen?) My plan is to transplant lots of them into larger 5 gallon pots, put them in a newly cleared, very sunny area and set 'em up a drip system. Roots will be encouraged to grow into the ground beneath, and everything mulched. I also plan to fertilize more regularly to get more vegetative growth on them. No worries about frost here. Also I'm going to do some light pruning. 

Am also planning to do some culling of varieties that just don't measure up so I can devote more time and space to those that actually have flavor. Oddly enough, only light colored ones are on the 'must go' list.

I am very hopeful for next year. :) :)


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cobb4861

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
You know even 5 gal will limit the size of your tree's.  The bigger the pot the better!  Have you seen these pots? 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.341635752606840.1073741833.296107943826288&type=1
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Meghan Cobb ~ Growing zone 9 Wish List: Pane e Vino White and /or Dark, De la Reina, Iranian mountain fig and anything else that is great to grow or at least try in the hot and humid Southeast Texas.
garden_whisperer

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Figs don't reach their peak best taste until about five years old. Don't cast any out to soon. And if you can plant in ground that would be a big helper on new growth. Pots dramaticly reduce the trees size and yield. I use nothing but organics on my in ground trees. Compost, boon meal, and blood meal with outstanding results. I have been figging now for almost five years and the taste and yeild do get better with age. The bigest thing I can sugest is plant in ground in a sunny spot.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 

My, those are fancy. Thanks, I would prefer to use larger pots, but for now 5 gallons will be good enough for plants of this age - especially with their roots being encouraged to grow in the soil beneath. That works quite well. It's also far more rea$onable and less time consuming when about 50 plants are involved. I have more than enough money invested in figs already. Besides, I've been scrounging used pots of years and already have enough.  ;)

I do have some really nice large terracota pots (about 20 gallon), and have toyed with the idea of putting 15 gallon black plastic pots with figs into those for more decorative plantings. I still might do that, esp having found a free limited source for planter mix.

My original plan was to eventually plant fig trees into the ground, and after more taste-testing and culling to reduce the herd, I may still do that 'down the hill', especially with duplicates.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Quote:
Figs don't reach their peak best taste until about five years old. Don't cast any out to soon.


I've read that quite often, and while it's most likely true, I would not expect a fig that hits the taste scale at 2 or 3 now to get much better than a 6 or 7 even 5 years down the road. And if it does, my loss. :) 

With few exceptions, I really only want to have (8) 9s and 10s. I've tasted figs that even in their first year are already a 7 or 8 or better - those already are keepers to me and are likely to get better. JHAdriatic, Black Greek from Chios, VdB, unk Past, zidi and others were keepers from the get-go. Norman's Yellow however is a most insipid, tasteless, unspecial fig. I'd rather not waste my time, water and fertilizer on it. I do not see a taste miracle in its future.

To be honest, I really don't see much benefit in trying to extract flavor from something without much hope of improving very much. I also don't base my decisions on taste alone. I like to read as much as I can about varieties. If I read good reports, I'm more likely to keep a fig on 'taste probation' longer.

I also would rather have 5 plants of the same variety of a really good fig, than 10 mediocre but different ones.
It's a matter of taste - and in the end, the collecting, tasting and culling (if necessary) is all fun. :)
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rcantor

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Well good luck!  DrivewayFarmer uses 5 gal buckets on concrete and he's pretty happy.  I hope your 5 gal pots were bigger than mine which are dwarfed by a 5 gal bucket. 

What's on your must go list and what's on your must keep list?
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Galicia Negra, De La Reina - Pons, Genovese Nero - Rafed's, Sbayi, Souadi, Acciano, Any Rimada, Sodus Sicilian, any Bass, Pons or Axier fig, any great tasting fig.
Rewton

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Meghan, can you tell me where to get more information (e.g. some narration) on building those self-watering containers?  I suspect the person who posted those images on facebook belongs to the forum also but couldn't get this information from the link.  Thanks.
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cobb4861

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Rewton, that facebook page belongs to Giacomo who goes by JustFigs on this forum. 
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Meghan Cobb ~ Growing zone 9 Wish List: Pane e Vino White and /or Dark, De la Reina, Iranian mountain fig and anything else that is great to grow or at least try in the hot and humid Southeast Texas.
cobb4861

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
here you go:  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/subirrigation-containers-and-figs-5112306?pid=1278149470#post1278149470
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Meghan Cobb ~ Growing zone 9 Wish List: Pane e Vino White and /or Dark, De la Reina, Iranian mountain fig and anything else that is great to grow or at least try in the hot and humid Southeast Texas.
Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rcantor
Well good luck!  DrivewayFarmer uses 5 gal buckets on concrete and he's pretty happy.  I hope your 5 gal pots were bigger than mine which are dwarfed by a 5 gal bucket. 


There is variety of size in my "5" gallon containers. Some are true to size, and some are more flimsy and smaller. More desired varieties go in the slightly larger ones.

I grew some this year in 2 and 3 gallon containers, and it was surprising how large even those got. I have 3 'grouping' areas in the yard where I have figs. The area where the plants are almost all in 5 gallon containers, and roots growing through the bottom, are doing so much better than one area on concrete, and the other area on top of deep mulch and where few roots have grown though.


Quote:
Originally Posted by rcantor
What's on your must go list and what's on your must keep list?


The 'must go' list is short. Norman's yellow, dottato (OK enough, tough skin - nothing special), and an unproductve but vigorous unknown called Portland 3. On probation for the coming year, Long Yellow and Mary Lane. The last two have some good reports, but I've not yet been impressed with their flavor. Long yellow is attractive, and well, long... :)

The keeper list fortunately is much longer with some figs with extremely good taste already. The ones previously mentioned above in a previous post, plus Beall and Scott's black, tacoma violet, ...and a great many that have not yet ripened/fruited such as Violette Sollies and Figo Preto, KB, RdB, St. Rita, 'Unk Negretta', CdDB, Panachee, Vista, smith, and more.


ps, those self-watering pots really do look cool.
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Dieseler

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Gina your post #5 i could not agree with more .

In your first post you mention -Oddly enough, only light colored ones are on the 'must go' list.

again i could not agree more !
Course you could wait 5-7 years to see if they taste any better - ROFL !
JustFigs

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Hi guys! Meghan said my name came up. Hi Garden Whisper! That raspberry fig tree you sent me was a vigorous grower, nice tree if anyone was wondering about his stuff!

Hello Gina! Kerry lives in zone 6 I believe and might make 5 gallon sips work but I can tell you from doing 53 of them this season you will outgrow them quick in zone 9 or 10. The problem I had this year was exposure. Everyone thinks the long hot summers is great for figs. Yes, if they can handle it! Newbies and young trees can grow like crazy then just die on you early summer if it gets too hot too fast and they not well rooted! My 3 gallon and 5 gallon trees this season did exceptionally well when potted up early this season. All my 1 gallon trees I did by March suffered from the early summer temps and didn't do well at all. They were big air layers from rolling river nursery which are well rooted and very high quality stuff.

Sips give you a big early warning system when your tree is not doing well and about to die. They slowly stop taking water. Using regular pots that just drain out of the bottom you can't tell as easy. As soon as I see my new trees stop taking water when the heats gets up triple digits I now move them under the deck for the summer. They leaf out just slower and root well. You wont get fruit or good fruit but it is better to let them root another summer rather than lose them when they say help.

Gina I recommend buying those 20 gallon plastic tubs and drilling holes in the bottom. They cost me about $9 at smart and final for commercial grade ones (thick). Walmart sells cheaper ones. It is cheap enough to do they hold about 3 cu ft of potting mix/soil comfortably and can grow 1 - 2 seasons before root pruning. I use sips because it requires less work to water but isn't necessary if you can do it by hand or get an auto watering system.
Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Quote:
Gina I recommend buying those 20 gallon plastic tubs and drilling holes in the bottom. They cost me about $9 at smart and final for commercial grade ones (thick). Walmart sells cheaper ones. It is cheap enough to do they hold about 3 cu ft of potting mix/soil comfortably and can grow 1 - 2 seasons before root pruning.


Well let's see. $9 for the pots (probably not UV resistent so they'll only last a few years before crumbling) plus the cost of 3 cubic feet planter mix (bag and a half) to fill each ... that's only just over $20 each (mix plus pot), total, without tax, on a good day. For 50 plants, that's only $1,000. If you want to foot the bill, I'll be happy to do the work. ;)

As for heat, we are coastal, so getting over 100 is very unusual. In fact getting over 90 is uncommon. This is a true Mediterranean climate (warm, dry summers, cool, wet winters). Even in small pots, I have yet to lose a fig. Fortunately I can visually monitor them, and they get watered when they show stress.
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JustFigs

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Hey Gina. Yes, it can get expensive. I was pointing out the least expensive way for you to maintain your project and let them thrive. There are people here who have 200 fig trees all growing in this type of container and are root pruning them every year. Bass lives in zone 6 NJ and he root prunes every year in that climate. He said he can't keep up with it it is so much. I am waiting to break in the new chain saw this winter for root pruning.
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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Me personally, I started to cull some, same reasoning, if it isn't tasting like it has promise first time it fruits, it is getting culled.  Some of the ones I tried first time ever will great, not excellent but some were watery, and tasteless, didn't have any hint of wow factor or anything interesting so I chopped them up or will chop them up.  Desert King got the axe, adriano got the axe (no red stripes) Nefiach got the axe (only would drop), noire de caromb will get the axe, black mission got the axe (wouldn't produce anything), Doree got the axe.  I paid attention to what some members said and then made a judgement so try and narrow down which trees to keep, reasonably I don't have space for 40-50 trees, most out grow the 7 gallon pot in 1 season and I don't want to put effort into something that is lesser than ones that are producing something desirable to me only to cut it down later.  This just makes my goal of 5-8 potted trees easier, but I do have more in ground.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustFigs
Hey Gina. Yes, it can get expensive. I was pointing out the least expensive way for you to maintain your project and let them thrive. There are people here who have 200 fig trees all growing in this type of container and are root pruning them every year. Bass lives in zone 6 NJ and he root prunes every year in that climate. He said he can't keep up with it it is so much. I am waiting to break in the new chain saw this winter for root pruning.


Hi Giacomo, thanks for the input. What you suggest however is not the 'least expensive way' for those in my climate to grow figs and for them to do well. It might be for 6NJ where there are indeed great challenges, but not 10SoCal. In the ground is - figs are originally from a climate like mine. And 'in the ground' is what mine partially will be, and for far, far less cost, and far, far less work, not to mention needing a significantly different lay-out on this particular property. (The easy flat spots already have blueberries in containers - 51 of those)

My figs will be perched on slopes where there is room, where it's warmer, and they will get the best sun. In fact, that's one of the real appeals of growing figs - being able to plant fruit trees in less desirable spots. I really can't see this old girl dragging full 20 gallon containers of trees up and down hills to root prune every year. I know people go to those extremes, and kudos to them - but some have to in order grow them successfully in cold climates. But that's not here. :)

I also think you are not picturing what my plan actually is. Perhaps I didn't explain it well. It includes not just 5 gallon pots, but roots growing directly into the ground through the bottom. That works well out here with figs. 

This also is not the final planting place for these figs, and perhaps I didn't explain that well enough either. This is an intermediate step to grow numerous figs faster for more fruit for next year..... and then to decide which varieties I want to keep. I expect to be able to cull about half of them (There are actually more than 50 - that is a conservative guess - or perhaps basic 'fig denial'. ;)). And when I do, they already will be in 5 gallon containers (with roots through the bottoms clipped at the holes) and ready to give away. The people waiting for them will have to wait another year.
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cobb4861

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Gina, did you look at Harvey's fig field?  He went ahead with small plants and put them in ground.  Set up a watering system and he is up and running.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chivas
Me personally, I started to cull some, same reasoning, if it isn't tasting like it has promise first time it fruits, it is getting culled.  Some of the ones I tried first time ever will great, not excellent but some were watery, and tasteless, didn't have any hint of wow factor or anything interesting so I chopped them up or will chop them up.  Desert King got the axe, adriano got the axe (no red stripes) Nefiach got the axe (only would drop), noire de caromb will get the axe, black mission got the axe (wouldn't produce anything), Doree got the axe.  .


Totally agree. I think culling is seriously under-rated. There are so many figs, so many climates where people grow them, and so many different uses for figs. And of course most importantly, so many different taste preferences.

I see you have 'axed' a good number of figs already. (Mission does well out here - produces well and tastes good.) But just because a tree has 'a name', a history, and does well one place does not mean it's should be saved by everyone everywhere. As the Queen of Hearts said: Off with their heads!

There are so many to try, and the ease of trading and starting cuttings makes that easy. It's a great hobby and one I've really been enjoying.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cobb4861
Gina, did you look at Harvey's fig field?  He went ahead with small plants and put them in ground.  Set up a watering system and he is up and running.


Yes, I have. It's very neat. But alas I don't have either the space, good soil, or the flat-land he does. I believe he also did not put into his orchard varieties of figs he had not yet 'tested'.

I know someone who planted a good number of figs directly in the ground, and to be honest, it might have been better for them to have done a few more 'taste tests' first. And now they have full-sized trees with full-sized roots - too many of which bear 'average' fruits. Of course that's by my palate. :)
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BLB

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
When it comes to figs, larger pots when possible is always the way to go, but hey, only so much room and so many bucks to spend, we all have to deal with those limitations Gina. Whenever I put even a really small tree into a very large pot, 20 gallons or more, it rewards me the following year with copious growth and a much increased yield. Wish I had more space for more in ground trees. Harvey will have huge trees in no time, lucky dog!
Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Quote:
Wish I had more space for more in ground trees. Harvey will have huge trees in no time, lucky dog!


Isn't that the truth. Not only a wish for more space, but a few farm hands to tend them. :) And while we are dreaming, more money for fig projects too.

At the bottom of our property, there is a flat-ish area that levels out on the bottom of a steep, crumbly slope that would be just perfect for figs. But alas there is no easy way to get to it. Nor any water. And lots of gophers and ground squirrels. And snakes. It is fun to dream however.
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Tam

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Very nice information, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam
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