Hi Fellow Fig Enthusiasts,
After lurking for months, and with some encouragement, I thought it a good idea to finally introduce myself. I am a first generation American. Both of my parents came over from Italy, my Dad in the mid 1950's. I grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago, and Dad always had a fig tree, a rich dark fig, of unknown origin growing in the garden. Each year, I would help him bury it in the fall, and recover it in the spring. In good years it lived, in some of our dreadful winters of the 1970's it would not. We had the good fortune of having uncles, brothers-in-law, paisanos and cousins who could supply us with cuttings if the tree did not make it. Now Dad, approaching 80 this year, still grows that fig tree, and yes he still buries it each year. I asked him recently where he originally got the variety that he is growing, he knows that it's from the old country, but is not sure... My family is from a small Adriatic Coastal town in Southern Italy called Mola di Bari, but they grow a large white fig in their region.
...Fast Forward to my garden in 2011, I grow an unknown white fig (yes, a cutting from one of my uncles) in ground, along with a Brown Turkey in a large container that I overwinter in my attached garage (Purchased from Stark Nursery...I know, I know, I now know better to check my sources before buying)
...Then I discovered this forum, and my head nearly exploded with all of the information being posted, the countless varieties that members grew, and the various growing methods that were employed. I got the bug, so I bid on a few auctions on ebay (making sure I referenced this site to only buy from members whose lineage I could trust with their participation on this forum)....So I bought, and utilizing the new Baggie Method (50% organic potting mix/50% Perlite), I am now growing the following, or I should say attempting to root the following with various degrees of success:
Brooklyn Italian White
Sal's Corleone (no roots yet)
Hardy Chicago
Paradiso Nero (no roots yet)
Salem Honey
Italian Honey (This one started rooting with a week!!!)
Italian White #2
EL Violette de Bordeaux (no visible roots yet)
Banana (no roots)
Brooklyn Dark
Rasberry Latte (no roots yet)
My project this year is to root at least 2 of each variety, and grow them in the following manner:
On tree of each variety in the 2 bucket SIP method, employed by several forum fig enthusiasts...
The other tree of the same variety in another container, buried in the soil.
I have converted my spare bedroom into a Fig Green House, much to the chagrin of my wife (What are you going to do with all those fig trees???) with grow lights and bins...and every space on the window sill occupied by one of my fig babies...
As the spring and summer progresses, I will post my successes....and, ahem, my failures, and hopefully post some photos. I hope to contribute to some of the discussions in the future as my knowledge grows.
I wanted to thank JD for encouraging me to introduce myself to my fellow Fig Enthusiasts.
Peace,
Pat
