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Subject: 2 best varieties for SoCal Replies: 4
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 166
 
I personally prefer dark berry and bordeaux type figs too. I am not a fan of Brown Turkey or other sugary/ mild flavored type figs. I am in Socal, USDA zone 10b, Sunset 22, about 5 miles from the coast.

My vote is for a Strawberry Verte. I know its an adriatic type, but its an excellent fig. Whether we have a hot summer or cool overcast summer, Strawberry Verte never ever disappoints. A CRFG member reccommended it many years ago as a good cool, coastal choice. It starts mid to late season for us, and produces over a long time. It has a tight eye, doesn't split, medium to large sized fruit, green exterior so slightly less obvious to birds, great raspberry jammy flavor, productive, and not a monsterously large tree, especially with annual pruning. It is a nice color contrast to darker figs on a tray. And even if I accidentally pick SV a day or so early, they are still pretty decent. The only other fig in my collection that has earned an inground spot is Violette de Bourdeax, but its figs are smaller and it isn't as productive as SV.




Subject: Venomous Insects and Spiders? Replies: 31
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 359
 
Not enough probably. However, we don't have snakes in my neighborhood, just aligator lizards. They eat the spiders, which we have a lot of both. My cat regularly brings the lizards inside so I know the population is large.

I usually wear gloves when gardening and if I am working on anything dense or thorny, long sleeves too. I also carefully broom pots ( and lots off other outdoor stuff) off before moving because they usually have brown widows under the rim. I also keep a pool cue outside for squishing any my broom can't get. We have black widows too, but it seems like less than a couple of decades ago since the brown widows moved into California. I only go out of the way to kill the widow spiders, and the rest of the spiders can stay in the yard to help with bug control.

Subject: Preto Figo - Just how slow is this sucker? Replies: 11
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 380
 
I received a Figo Preto cutting last January from a very generous member here in SoCal, and it was the last cutting to root, out of a dozen fig trees I started. It seemed like forever in comparison to 143-36 and Yellow Long Neck which only took three or four weeks. Preto only grew about 6-8" inches for me between May and November. It really sulked. Since it woke up this Spring it has grown more vigorously. It's maybe 20-24" tall right now. In comparison to my YLN, the Preto is still really slow. However, it is definately more vigorous this year than last.

Subject: IT 320 fig Replies: 6
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 227
 
I saw 320 in the fig listings for Monteray Bay Nursery (wholesale grower.) A local specialty nursery, Laguna Hills Nursery, had Col de Dame Noir, Sequoia, and Bourjassotte Grise recently from them so I did some research on the grower last Friday and noticed they grow 320 also.

They have a picture of 320 in their write up on the figs they sell around Ca.: http://www.montereybaynursery.com/plants.php?alpha=F

Edited to fix the link

Subject: CRFG 2016 scion exchange calendar Replies: 10
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 196
 
I agree with Tyro that if you are into figs, the L.A. Chapter is your best option between that and Foothill. But you are welcome to attend any of the different chapter meetings, regardless of which you register with. They are open to the public. The only exception is for fieldtrips. For liability, you must be registered with that chapter.

For anyone wondering what to expect here's a good video:


Out of the three I went to last year, O.C. was the biggest as far as scion exchanges go, especially for avocados. As far as figs, L.A. and O.C. had a similar amount to choose from, but different varieties. For me, it was worth while going to both.


2015 O.C. Attendees Waiting outside the barn while volunteers sort out the donations.


2015 The O.C. Chapter selling trees and berries from a special order


The view inside the barn before it started


45 minutes into the scion exchange. Figs had one table

Edited to add the photos from my phone

Subject: Which fig trees grow the tallest? Replies: 15
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 314
 
When I grew Black Mission in the ground, it sure seemed to want to be a giant tree. Rampant growth was really the only reason I took it out. The fruit was beginning to grow way up beyond my reach without radical pruning each year. I plan on keeping Yellow Long Neck in a pot because it seems to be really vigorous as well.

The downside of having some figs for the birds, once they nibble the top figs, the Green Fruit beetles show up by the hundreds. I hate picking fruit with them dropping on me from above.

Subject: UC Davis Replies: 22
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 470
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarveyC


The sad thing about these exchanges is that maybe only five percent of the folks that come bring something to exchange and we are pretty sure that a large percentage of the scions/cuttings never get grafted/rooted.

.


With CRFG, I never felt a need to order from Wolfskill. I didn't relized how blessed we are in Calif. to have an organization like it, And now with Wolfskill ending distributions to hobby gardeners I will certainly appreciate them all the more.

I haven't gone to any NorCal CRFG scion exchanges, but some of the Socal chapters encourage members to bring scion wood to share by giving members first dibs for a short period if they brought scions. Do the Norcal chapters do that? I hope the numbers are higher than what you mentioned for the scions to geting used. The selections are always amazing and that would be an awful shame.

I like smatthew's idea for a database. I would sign up my stuff.

Subject: eBay bid retractions Replies: 10
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 298
 
I haven't sold on ebay recently so maybe things have changed. But there used to be a way to block specific users from bidding. If you are the seller who is a victim of this, are you able to see what his username is in the bid history of your listing? Maybe you could block that user from all your future/other listings?

Subject: Fig Jam Color Replies: 16
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 361
 
Those look yummy! I wish I still had some fig jam around.

I have only made jam with Strawberry Verte figs. It was really red after processing. It looked and tasted a lot like strawberry jam, so much so that I probably could have fooled the family members and told them it was strawberry. However, the fig jam disappeared a whole lot faster than the real strawberry jam I make.

Subject: OT Kyoho grape rare Japanese variety Replies: 29
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,373
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AltadenaMara
Quote:
Originally Posted by HanburyHouse
AltadenaMara, how do you like Reliance in SoCal?


Reliance has surprised me with it sweet flavor and vigorous growth. It was slower than the other grapes to get established, but now is spreading out well and is productive. I must confess that on a hot day when the grapes become dryer and the flavors more concentrated, all of them taste very good.


Thanks! I didn't see it at the crfg scion exchanges this year, nor seen it anywhere locally, so I wasn't sure if it liked our climate as well as the Arkansas "Planetary" varieties.

Subject: OT Kyoho grape rare Japanese variety Replies: 29
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,373
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordenia
So, you can not grow Cotton Candy grape from seeds?


No, successfully growing Cotton Candy grape from seed probably isn't likely. A Seedless grape vine can be used to pollinate a seeded variety, but the stenospermocarpic seeds in seedless grapes stop developing/abort and generally are not viable. Lon Rombough described grape breeding and Seedlessness much better than I can, in his book "The Grape Grower" which is an excellent resource for backyard grape growing, so is the website he created, bunchgrapes.com. I highly reccomend it, especially if you do want to grow your grape varieties from seed. With starting plants from seeds, not just grapes, you might not get a plant with all the same traits as the parent, including Seedlessness.

Please don't import any plant material from out of the country, via ebay, not without going through the proper channels. Illegal importation is how all sorts of awful stuff like HLB, citrus greening, and the insect that spread it got into this country and is destroying the citrus industry in Florida and is moving westward. Legal importation of plant material requires a quarantine period to screen for pests and disease and has fees and paperwork. There are other U.S. based growers listing kyoho on eBay. Here is one in SoCal I found, but it is just an example that there are sellers in U.S. http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAPANESE-GRAPE-KYOHO-DEEP-PURPLE-FLAVORFUL-1-Rooted-Vine-from-Cutting-/271823717787?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f49f4c59b

Subject: OT Kyoho grape rare Japanese variety Replies: 29
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,373
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordenia
Also looking for Cotton Candy- but it is almost impossible to find.

What do you consider "good grape" ?


Is not it a "good grape" ?




Unfortunately, the other grape you mentioned, Cotton Candy grape is a patented variety from international fruit genetics. It will only be available to licensed growers under contract. The growers have to pay royalties on the fruit production as well as plants. They have already taken one of their licensed growers to court over it. I doubt us backyard grape hobbiests will have access to plant material from it for quite awhile. It was developed from a cross of Princess with some of the Arkansas hybrids.

If you are just starting out with grapes, have you sampled or looked into any of the Arkansas varieties? I have 3, Gratitude (no fruit so far, but based on prior UofArk releases I am very optimistic,) Jupiter, and Neptune, plus a bunch of other varieties. Out of those many varieties I grow or have grown in the past, Jupiter is my favorite grape, slightly Muscat and nice crisp texture and decent sized berry, around 2.5+ gm. But haven't tried Reliance. I have read lots good things about it, especially for colder climates.

Like AltadenaMara, I like variety and complex flavors in my grapes, not just sweet. I also choose with disease resistance in mind. And I actually like growing small grapes because they make the best raisins, especially when the season progresses and all my varieties are producing more than we can eat fresh or turn to jam. Big grapes take too long or dry unevenly, using my vintage oven pilot light.

I grow plenty of grapes that I don't get upset if the birds go after some, but Big grapes get nibbled on by birds, then attract fruit beetles to do more damage. Birds just grab and go with the small grapes, so it is less of a problem. The two small grapes I grow are Canadice and Interlaken. Canadice is spicy and Interlaken is kind of citrus/ honey like. Canadice is the superior of the two varieties.

AltadenaMara, how do you like Reliance in SoCal?

Subject: OT Kyoho grape rare Japanese variety Replies: 29
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,373
 
Here in SoCal, Kyoho is often found at the CRFG scion exchanges. Lots of folks grow it. I didn't realize it was hard to come by. If you can't find a retailer that ships to your area, maybe try the Germplasm at Davis. Here is a link to Kyoho in the hybrid grape selections held there: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1018347

Subject: --- Really cheap plant tags Replies: 37
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,569
 
Lots of great suggestions in the thread and some new ideas to try. Thanks.

So far, I have been a fan of recycling 1 inch vinyl old mini blinds for propagation projects, as long as I knowl they are newer, not the ones from the 90s rumored to have lead. I use pencil to mark on them. It's not much work or time for something I will shortly give away to a new home. And they slide down the curved edge of a plastic cup nicely. But I also make permanent labels with soda or beer cans or copper ( like the thin rolls to keep snails out of raised beds ) for anything that ends up in the ground.

Subject: GardebWeb formate changed with new association Replies: 34
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 938
 
I didn't get to keep my GW user name either. It was okay though because it was one of the few places I used that one so now it is HanburyHouse there too. I noticed they changed the user name everywhere I had posted in the past as well, not just for new posts.

Suzi,
I have grown pumpkins in the past. If you have the seed packet, they usually say the number of days to harvest on the back. We usually grow Jack o lantern types and most are 100-108 days. We have been okay sowing seed as late as early June and still get pumpkins for Halloween, but I also see starts in the nurseries as early as mid March. Like greenfig was mentioning, they like warm soil to germinate. If you plant pumpkin seeds outside now, they might not do anything until the weather warms the soil up. Or are you starting them inside?

Subject: What else do you root from cuttings? Replies: 51
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,510
 
I have had success with grapes, pomegranates, berries, and pineapple ( from the top crown of the fruit.) and I have had good luck with a number of ornamentals, but failures with loquat and feijoa. I knew those two were had to root, but I wanted to try anyway.

Subject: "Stroz" Fig Replies: 21
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,001
 
Rcantor, thanks for the welcome. Not knowing what part of the LA basin the lady's house is located, and Stroz being a new variety, I didn't take any scion wood.

I didn't know if it would get much flavor in LB. I probably should have taken a chance, but summer around at my house is rarely over 80 degrees and often overcast and cool in June and July, so i didn't take any cuttings of it. If i haven't heard a variety does really well where it never gets consistently hot, someplace like San Francisco or Seattle, I am reticent to try it. I learned that one the hard way with grapes.

Subject: Introductions Replies: 14
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 438
 
Thanks for all the welcomes everybody.

Figgary, I am glad to hear the SV cuttings did well. I had a pretty good success rate with the ones I tried to root in January 2014, too.



Subject: "Stroz" Fig Replies: 21
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,001
 
It is from a local seedling. There was a column about it in the September newsletter for the L.A. Chapter. The full story and description is here: http://crfg-la.org/September2014.pdf
An excerpt:
" They were round and green with a subtle purple stripe and when they split open they were BRIGHT red inside. A tentative taste – and it was love at first bite! Sweet like a strawberry, with very crunchy seeds."

Subject: CRFG scion exchange Replies: 22
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 1,044
 
Although I am registered with the O.C. Chapter, I decided to check out the L.A. Exchange this morning. I am so glad I did. The members were all very friendly, generous, and knowledgable people. I wish I could have stayed longer. It was really nice meeting you Tyro.

I got some cool stuff I didn't see at the O.C. Scion exchange last week. I am particularly excited about trying to root the fig cuttings from you, Tyro, and the Marseilles Black VS that I got. Did you bring that too? I hope go to the Foothill Chapter exchange on February 7th at the L.A. Arboretum too, to see if there is anything I can't live without. I'll bring some Strawberry Verte to that one.

Subject: Introductions Replies: 14
Posted By: HanburyHouse Views: 438
 
Hi Everyone,

I have dropped by F4F many times over the last few years and benefited from the wealth of information here. Thank you.

After attending the L.A. CRFG exchange today and speaking with Tyro, I decided it was time to stop being a lurker and register here. Although I grow figs, I am more of generalist when it comes to what I collect. I live on a postage stamp size urban lot, so I don't have room to collect dozens of any one species. Instead I grow things that other experienced gardeners say "does really well in my zone" or "it is the best variety" or "this is the only one you'll need." It sounds like with figs there are quite a few that fit all 3 of those.

I am a long time gardener, mainly with a passion for edibles. I keep chickens, a desert tortoise, a golden retriever, a retired farm cat, plus a variety grapes, kiwi, feijoas, figs, stone fruits, apples, loquats, persimmon, citrus, goji, guavas, pineapple, and berries. Most of them, the fruit plants anyway, were collected from O.C. CRFG members or specialty nurseries. I am also fond of bearded irises, especially rebloomers.

Thank you everyone for sharing all the fig experience and I look forward to learning more from this helpful community.

USDA zone 10b/ Sunset Zone 22 California