Fotos of Portable Fig Orchard at DRIFTLESS SACRED GROVE

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Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403698148	Reply with quote #1

During this year's summer forest garden tour and wine-tasting I managed to get a few decent photos of my portable fig orchard. Being in Wisconsin, all my figs come out of a semi-heated basement around May 15 and stay outside until around November 1st, after they have dropped leaves and have started going dormant. I began this project in 1991, here's a pic of the oldest trees from the first year or two. Each year I tell myself I'm gonna get a automatic watering setup going. There is over a hundred trees, around 40+ varieties. Of those varieties, 7 or 8 ripen fruit in Wisconsin without a greenhouse. I'm in southwestern WI, so don't get the benefit of lake effect. It always seems like there is something new to worry about. Lately, it's been that the chickens and ducks have developed a taste for perfectly ripe figs. & just be glad that you're not the strong young man that has to drag all of these in and out of the basement twice a year. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

timclymer

Registered:1300323432
Posts: 305

Posted 1403700888	Reply with quote #2

Nice setup! I've been wondering about the possibility of a potted fig orchard. You'd get the benefits of no dieback & potentially faster ripening. The drawbacks would be the need to repot, the cost of pots, and the cost of mixing up batches of soil. Plus the need to find a place to store all of those pots in the winter. I'm thinking of putting in a cold cellar this winter to hold all of mine. I'd highly recommend a drip system. I have one setup on all of my potted trees and it saves me at least an hour a day, and the trees grow really well with it. For those larger figs I'd recommend "spot spitters" for watering on a drip system. Mine come on twice a day for 8 minutes at a time. I may up it to 3 times a day once it starts getting really hot. __________________ http://threefoldfarm.org - Fig trees and farm updates https://www.facebook.com/ThreefoldFarm South Central PA (6b,7a) Want List: Ital 258, any figs found growing in PA, NJ, or NY

timclymer

Registered:1300323432
Posts: 305

Posted 1403701023	Reply with quote #3

By the way, what do you use for a potting mix? I've been trying to dream up something that excludes the use of synthetic time-release fertilizers. __________________ http://threefoldfarm.org - Fig trees and farm updates https://www.facebook.com/ThreefoldFarm South Central PA (6b,7a) Want List: Ital 258, any figs found growing in PA, NJ, or NY

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403701343	Reply with quote #4

I run a small nursery so I get a truckload of organic compost from a company that harvests manure from organic dairies and composts it. I mix some peat and phosphorus in with that and if need be (especially for smaller plants that have become one solid rootball) some perlite. I use pelletized chicken manure for fertilizer. It all works pretty well. Is there a brand of drip system that you use and how do you set up watering points for each fig. Is the drip tape attached to the trees or separate posts. I dream of a permanent installation that I can just move the figs under each year. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

sammy

Registered:1330355079
Posts: 261

Posted 1403701396	Reply with quote #5

It looks like you still have fig fever. Quote: Of those varieties, 7 or 8 ripen fruit in Wisconsin without a greenhouse What are those varieties? __________________ Sam zone 4 Thessalon Ontario, Canada.

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403702197	Reply with quote #6

LSU Celeste Improved ripens just about every fig on its trees. The rest of the varieties are somewhere over 50% of the figs ripening. Hardy Chicago, Conadria, LSU Gold, Atreano, Celeste, English Brown Turkey, Excel & Kadota. A bunch of my varieties are only a couple years old, so hard to say about them. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

farowyn

Registered:1369012438
Posts: 175

Posted 1403704440	Reply with quote #7

Looks great! In the last picture, it looks like comfrey growing around the pot in the foreground. Do you use the comfrey to make liquid fertilizer? __________________ Jeff Central OH- Zone 6a Wish list-anything that will ripen in zone 6a.Souadi(obsessed with this one), Takoma Violet, Col de Dame anything -currently rooting: MBVS, DK, RdB, VdB. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403705962	Reply with quote #8

I have made teas in the past. Mostly I use comfrey for pollinators and for mulch.. not for figs but for plantings in the forest garden. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

HarveyC

Registered:1212433117
Posts: 3,294

Posted 1403706760	Reply with quote #9

Nice photos, looks great. Guess I hadn't noticed you posting before. I bought your Black Lebanese on eBay earlier, doing well. I'm not so young but do a lot of lifting on my farm. Just made the decision to buy over 17,000' of aluminum sprinkler pipe for my alfalfa which I'm going to try moving myself, 4 times in one week. Should be fun! I'm fortunate to be able to grow in the ground but have a lot of trees in 5 gallon pots until they are large enough to go into the ground and some stay in pots as backups. I water by hand which usually isn't too bad of a chore but I am going on vacation next month for 7-9 days. I use drip and micro-sprinklers in my various orchards but for my pots I had used some pot stakes before that worked out okay and just ordered a bunch from eBay (Hong Kong) to see if they work out okay. It's mostly a temporary solution for me so I didn't want to spend too much and it was cheap enough. If they work as stated, they should be a good solution for you also. A drip emitter won't spread out over a large enough area in lighter potting soil so you would need several but this product should cover the entire pot. http://www.ebay.com/itm/321303687740 __________________ Harvey - Correia Farms Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14 http://www.figaholics.com https://www.facebook.com/Figaholics

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403707207	Reply with quote #10

Harvey, I've been a member of NAFEX for 20+ years. We've corresponded a bit about chestnut questions some years back on the NAFEX list... Those stakes look like they might actually work for my setup. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

RichinNJ

Registered:1374784282
Posts: 1,687

Posted 1403707818	Reply with quote #11

Thats the way to do it. You have some nice looking trees there.

eboone

Registered:1378418906
Posts: 1,101

Posted 1403708668	Reply with quote #12

Very nice - I assume you sell fresh figs/fig products, and are not consuming all the harvest in house? __________________ Ed Zone 6A - Southwest PA --------------------------- Short wish list: CDDG, LSU Red, Dark Greek (Navid), Col Littman's Black Cross. And any cold hardy early fig.

armando93223

Registered:1318984112
Posts: 1,164

Posted 1403710584	Reply with quote #13

Very Nice, Thanks for Sharing. My friend Eduardo told me that Chicken Manure can be to strong for some trees. He said Cow Manure was better. I have not tried any fertilizer in my potted figs. __________________ Armando in the Heart of California

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403714186	Reply with quote #14

These poultry pellets are composted before they are pelletized. It's not hot, like it would be if you took chicken sh*t out of a henhouse. Also because it's pelletized, it's pretty easy to figure out measurements. The NPK is 4-5-3. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403714247	Reply with quote #15

Ah ha! __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

rcantor

Registered:1309799312
Posts: 5,727

Posted 1403721283	Reply with quote #16

Looks like a great setup. Enjoy it! __________________ Zone 6, MO Wish list: 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.

Joe_Athens1945

Registered:1396815560
Posts: 365

Posted 1403726286	Reply with quote #17

Look great!! (Now, geographer that I am, I am going to look up the coördinates for LaFarge WI and learn about where you live and grow figs) :-) Joe, in Georgia __________________ Athens, GA USA Zone 7b My young trees in the ground and in pots: Brown Turkey, White Triana JM, Magnolia, Strawberry Verte, Violette de Bordeaux, Panache, UK Brooklyn Dark JP, Ronde de Bordeaux. Wish list: St Rita

ForeverFigs

Registered:1351425467
Posts: 1,062

Posted 1403730124	Reply with quote #18

Your orchard looks great...happy to hear that you are getting ripe figs for all your efforts. __________________ Vince Edison N.J. Zone 6b Wish List: LaRadek's EBT

PhilaGardener

Registered:1389014416
Posts: 199

Posted 1403743210	Reply with quote #19

That's a great looking arrangement! (Except for the young fella :>) who has to haul those in and out each season!) __________________ Philadelphia Gardener Near Philly, but winters still feeling like Zone 6!

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403743869	Reply with quote #20

He gets paid handsomely. And it's actually more strenuous than I've described so far since the basement entrance is a mud slope down into the basement and the basement door is very low. All the big figs have to come thru the door sideways, and it takes both of us to do it. By no means ideal, but if nothing else, is the measure of the passion I feel for growing figs. I usually just take a bunch of ibuprofin before I do the twice yearly move and figure the following day is a rest day. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

james

Registered:1189185103
Posts: 1,653

Posted 1403745419	Reply with quote #21

If the doors allows you could build a frame with a pulley / winch attached to raise and lower the containers. __________________ In containers - Littleton, CO (zone 5b) In ground - N.E of Austin, TX (zone 8b) 2016 Wish List: Dārk Pōrtuguese, Grānthāms Royāl, Lātarolla, Negrettā, Nōire de Bārbentāne, Rockāway Green, Viōlet Sepōr, Viōlette Dāuphine. Iranian figs are always welcome.

KCMarie

Registered:1372945291
Posts: 92

Posted 1403746739	Reply with quote #22

Great set up! Looks phenomenal. Thank you so much for sharing! __________________ Marie in Kansas City area Zone 5b or close to it

Grasa

Registered:1347083219
Posts: 1,819

Posted 1403757342	Reply with quote #23

I would love to see your food forest... your figs look very happy. I, too, love comfrey. I am learning how to use in the garden, mostly it is food for my chickens. beautiful trees you have, I wonder how their roots are.. do you ever prune their roots? __________________ Grasa Seattle, WA

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1403783655	Reply with quote #24

In the ideal world they would get root pruned every couple years but I would have to clone myself or pay someone to do it. Also since I mostly use 5 gallon pickle buckets which I can get for free, which are not tapered, getting them out of the bucket usually destroys the buckets and is fairly time consuming. There's a few photos of our forest garden at http://facebook.com/driftlessgrove. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

timclymer

Registered:1300323432
Posts: 305

Posted 1403918995	Reply with quote #25

I have a drip system utilizing spot spitters on my larger pots. They spray a specific pattern over a decent portion of the pot (almost like a mist). Here are the spitters I use: http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation_categories/115 The 1/8" poly tubing listed on there is stuck directly into my main water supply line, which I have hooked up to a timer on a hose bib. There's a few tools on the sit for poking holes into the main line. Here's a link to the poly tubing (my main line): http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation_categories/86 I use the stuff with .700 OD, it's pretty standard, and there are lots of fittings to convert it to connect to a hose bib or existing sprinkler system. You could leave the stuff sitting out all year in the same spot as long as you flush the lines before winter. I leave mine out all winter and haven't seen it degrade (yet). It'll probably hold up a number of years before needing to be replaced. __________________ http://threefoldfarm.org - Fig trees and farm updates https://www.facebook.com/ThreefoldFarm South Central PA (6b,7a) Want List: Ital 258, any figs found growing in PA, NJ, or NY

HarveyC

Registered:1212433117
Posts: 3,294

Posted 1404024708	Reply with quote #26

I received those emitters from the eBay seller (posted above) on Friday. Today I tested one of them out and it performed fine. __________________ Harvey - Correia Farms Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14 http://www.figaholics.com https://www.facebook.com/Figaholics

Bosco

Registered:1355165747
Posts: 211

Posted 1404073579	Reply with quote #27

A very nice collection you have displayed here. Beautiful photos too! Never ceases to impress me, the dedication and passion you folks in the colder climates have for your fig trees. No doubt a herculean effort doing the fig shuffle twice a year and true labor of love. I’m impressed with the size of trees in 5 gallon buckets shown here. What the secret to that? You need to prune roots regularly…? @HarveyC…… I have used the emitter you mention (http://www.ebay.com/itm/321303687740) for years and can highly recommend. I use them primarily in my vegetable garden on everything from squash to tomatoes. I like adjustable volume control on each. Emitter without spike is also available, so you can mount on taller spike or tube end. Now with all the drip irrigation talk, I should get busy and put some in for my fledgling fig collection, ha, ha. __________________ Jack San Diego, North County Coastal Zone 9A Wish List for 2015: Black Madeira, Col de Dame Blanc. Noir and Gris,

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1404074335	Reply with quote #28

The varieties that actually ripen figs here I typically pay a lot more attention to root pruning and keeping them actively growing. A few varieties like Green Ischia which'll never ripen here are extremely rootbound but the trees keep plugging away nonetheless. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

chucklikestofish

Registered:1391263141
Posts: 1,316

Posted 1438377270	Reply with quote #29

Quote: Originally Posted by Beyondista During this year's summer forest garden tour and wine-tasting I managed to get a few decent photos of my portable fig orchard. Being in Wisconsin, all my figs come out of a semi-heated basement around May 15 and stay outside until around November 1st, after they have dropped leaves and have started going dormant. I began this project in 1991, here's a pic of the oldest trees from the first year or two. Each year I tell myself I'm gonna get a automatic watering setup going. There is over a hundred trees, around 40+ varieties. Of those varieties, 7 or 8 ripen fruit in Wisconsin without a greenhouse. I'm in southwestern WI, so don't get the benefit of lake effect. It always seems like there is something new to worry about. Lately, it's been that the chickens and ducks have developed a taste for perfectly ripe figs. & just be glad that you're not the strong young man that has to drag all of these in and out of the basement twice a year. ~your trees are awesome ,oh well i guess 5 gal works good,thats what mine are in ,i do feed them,and water when needed,very nice trees you have ,thanks for sharing ~! __________________

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