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Subject: Black fig Pictures Updated Pics Replies: 13
Posted By: papayamon Views: 1,396
 
are you rooting green or year old wood? i'm trying to root succulent plant material.

Subject: Sal's Fig Replies: 42
Posted By: papayamon Views: 3,700
 
i've got about 1 acre devoted to my gardening. some of my land is too shady, and i love my forest, though i am planting chipaquins there, along with some paw paw, since they are understory trees .... however, i've got my eye on my neighbor's property, he's got two pieces, and he's struggling with money. if i can buy the piece next door, then i'll really have something :).

Subject: Fig Propagation from Seeds Replies: 65
Posted By: papayamon Views: 7,759
 
i would say that going from seed you'd have to be prepared to graft, otherwise the cycle is just too long. while you do get that wonderful mixing of genes, the numbers you'd have to grow and the energy you'd have to put in it is just more than i can attempt. hats off to you guys trying it.

Subject: Black fig Pictures Updated Pics Replies: 13
Posted By: papayamon Views: 1,396
 
i think it's hard to air layer in florida's heat. i've had wonderful success this year with my muscadines (i have 52 muscadines)by taking a shoot still attached to the mother and burying it in a pot of soil. i think you're better off that way instead of trying to keep it in moist plastic. it does dry out and gets wet when it rains, etc. but in a month i had close to 100 percent success. on the other hand, the jury is still out on my blackberries (7 kinds). no roots at all yet, but no harm to the plants either. i'll check it again in a few weeks.

i'm putting in a misting bed and a hydro unit and a shade house in the spring, so i'll really be able to play around with propagation. my next obsession? why, what else but olives!

Subject: Sal's Fig Replies: 42
Posted By: papayamon Views: 3,700
 
i still don't see why sal's fig seems to be the holy grail of figs. i've talked to several people who claim they'll be offering rooted cuttings in the 20 dollar range next spring. i do intend to get a sal's fig, but i'm not spending 80 dollars for a barely rooted cutting. to my way of thinking, i'm better off getting 3 established trees for that price. i just bought an atreano, a stella and a laterulla for 75 dollars delivered.

i shall have to wait. i've got 35 or so figs now, in another year, i'll have 50 cultivars :). i'll get both sal's and a hardy chicago among them. if james robin comes up with anymore of his fig (he himself calls it a sal's fig), then by golly i've have one of those too. luckily i have 6 acres to spread these things out on.

Subject: Sal's Fig Replies: 42
Posted By: papayamon Views: 3,700
 
dan, it may be the top fig in your collection at your location. but i wonder if you lived a few hundred miles away if it would be the same? i'm convinced that part of this idea that there are about a zillion cultivars of figs has to do with the same genetic material performing differently under different conditions - ph, temp, etc. how could something basically propogated from cuttings have so many cultivars, and keep generating new ones in back yards?

the story is always the same "found in someone's yard". this as opposed to being the product of a professionally run breeding program, where new cultivars are produced via crossing/exchanging genetic material between plants. this wouldn't be a mom and pop enterprise.

i, for one, will be happy when genetic mapping is more complete, and the results are made available to all.

Subject: Will I have a chance in ???? these wil ripen? (pic) Replies: 26
Posted By: papayamon Views: 1,062
 
i took cuttings off my bt, and it stopped making new figs. all the new growth from is extremely aggressive vegetative growth. here in gainesville, figs often grow as bushes, since they freeze to the ground every winter unless you take measures to protect them.

i'm going to prune this thing for many cuttings this fall. it's growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. if i'd managed it better, i'm sure i could have gotten a lot more growth. as it is, i like watching it make a mad dash for the sky during these final growing months:).

where are you located jstall?

Subject: Soil test! Replies: 15
Posted By: papayamon Views: 801
 
the ehow site has it all wrong. they've got it backwards :).

Use the results of your soil sample to determine how best to adjust the pH level. If the soil is too basic (loamy), then you'll want to add lime. If the soil is too acidic then you'll want to add sulfur.


doh! you use lime to raise ph, and sulfer to lower it.

Subject: Soil test! Replies: 15
Posted By: papayamon Views: 801
 
i've also got a high ph soil. unfortunately, it's easier to adjust up than down. lime lasts a very long time, whereas sulfer doesn't. to make matters worse, i have a well, and the water is alkaline as well,, so irrigation works against you by raising ph. one of the things you can do is use ammonium sulfate when you give nitrogen. acidic topdressings like coffee grounds can help. you can feed micronutrients with a spray. the bottom line is you've got a constant battle on your hands.

of course, it doesn't mean your figs won't grow. they just may not be as vigorous, or you've got to be a bit more attentive.

never apply lime without a soil test.

Subject: Will I have a chance in ???? these wil ripen? (pic) Replies: 26
Posted By: papayamon Views: 1,062
 
i'd be surprised if they ripen. i have a brown turkey that is a year old, phenomenal growth from a cutting, has 20 figs and they aren't growing or ripening. i cut one open today, and they remain green and fibrous white inside. all the energy of the plant is going into vegetative growth. i'll be stunned if they ripen.

next year, i'll lay off the excess nitrogen, but for now i'm tickled to see this thing growing into a nice bush. it froze and died above the ground last year after i put it out in september.

i'm also gonna try to help it through the winter this year.