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Subject: What's this about fig coffee? Replies: 24
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 348
 
An additive? An adulterant? I guess the difference is just one of full disclosure. This reference suggests figs were one of many adulterants back in the bad old days.

Of course, no one would sell impure products in this day and age, would they?

  Coffee.jpg

Subject: What's this about fig coffee? Replies: 24
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 348
 
I was just reading an old article on identification of fig varieties (1) and came across these two references to fig coffee.

[the fig seeds] "are sufficiently characteristic of the species to enable their identification in food preparations such as marmalade, jam and coffee substitutes."

"latex cells of the fig are so striking that by means of them, one may easily recognize an adulteration of 'fig coffee'."

What's this about fig coffee? I admit to have tossing a Fig Newton into my mug once when no one was looking, but these references sound like something more widespread.

Are any of you acquainted with this practice of fig as a coffee substitute?


(1) Ira J. Condit, Fig Characteristics Useful in the Identification of Varieties, Hilgardia May 1941, pp 30,35

Subject: Figs Popping UP All Over Replies: 12
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 476
 
"Are you going to take some cuttings . . ."

Actually, last month I did take one cutting from this tree and one from the 5-lobed tree. I shoved the green stick into a cup of chipped tree trimmings, soaked it in water just once, put it in a Subway sandwich bag, and left it on the sunny front porch. Yesterday I looked for the first time in a month. It now has healthy roots and three cute little 5-lobed leaves the size of a quarter.

Unfortunately, the cutting from this tree didn't take. Totally my fault. This one I tried to root on my shady window sill without a bag. Even well watered, it dried out and died.

Now I know. Bag my green cuttings in full sunshine.

Subject: Figs Popping UP All Over Replies: 12
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 476
 
" . . . would it be worth growing?"

It's hard to give a definitive answer. This plant grew in the wild without irrigation. The figs were not as nice as the Black Mission figs from my well-watered garden, but that's comparing apples to oranges.

Let me put it this way. If this tree were in my garden, I would care for it and enjoy the fruit - even if some other variety might be a little bit better.

Subject: Figs Popping UP All Over Replies: 12
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 476
 
The figs shown in my photos 2 and 3 above are ripening now. I picked two of them today. They may have needed a couple more days to achieve peak ripeness but even so, they were very nice. Sweet, with a rich flavor and crunchy seeds.

Not bad for a wild fig.

Subject: Figs Popping UP All Over Replies: 12
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 476
 
For the last year or so, I've had my eye on a half dozen figs that seem to be growing wild near my workplace. I had assumed they were planted by some guerrilla gardener. But just this week, I spotted a young fig growing in my girlfriend's back yard. She didn't plant it, and I don't imagine the guerrillas would plant there. So, it's wild? Planted by birds and squirrels?

How common is it for figs to pop up on their own?

Here are a few snapshots of them.

Optimized-DSC04906.JPG  Optimized-DSC04907.JPG  Optimized-DSC04908.JPG  Optimized-DSC04909.JPG 

Subject: St. Augustine grass plugs Replies: 1
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 70
 
Some 20 years ago we let our back yard die out during a drought, and just kept the front yard watered. When the rains finally returned, I replanted the back yard with plugs very much like you describe. I planted 2"-4" plugs every 12"-18".

It took the whole season to fill in, but your St. Augustine is a more aggressive spreader than the fine leaf grass we had. You should be doing well in 6-8 weeks. 

Subject: Wire cages and Stopping Nibbling Deer Replies: 10
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 193
 
Ken,

I also use stucco netting to make my gopher baskets. I have used poultry netting in the past - smaller holes but thinner gauge wire - but found they rusted out in a year.

The holes on stucco netting are large enough (1-1/4 inch?) that a juvenile gopher might get through, but they last a long time. Just last weekend I dug out a nonperforming tree. After three years of daily watering, the basket was still tight and strong.

Now if I can just stop the ground squirrels. Last year they ate my freshly planted avocado tree to the ground. This year they're picking on the prickly pear. 

Subject: WILD LIFE Replies: 25
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 580
 
Pino,

You may appreciate squirrels up there where you live. Here in California squirrels are the #1 carrier of bubonic plague. The number of cases is small. California has just a few so far this year, but that's because the department of health knocks back the squirrel population with poison when plague starts to rise.

Some of the more progressive communities try to appreciate wildlife. There are experiments with bait stations that dust squirrels with flea powder. There is birth control for squirrels. But in the end, these measures are too expensive for any but the wealthiest communities.

Subject: WILD LIFE Replies: 25
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 580
 
Squirrels aren't easily kept away from foods they like. The only sure-fire way I know of is to get rid of the squirrels. 

Subject: OT: anybody trained a pomegranate as a tree? Replies: 30
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 543
 
I don't have any photos, but I can say mine will need another year or two before it begins to look like a tree rather than a whip.

When I see feral pomegranates growing in the Las Padres forest, they're usually 6 - 8 ft tall.  That's without any water, pruning or any other care. In well tended gardens they easily reach 15 ft in southern California.

Subject: OT: anybody trained a pomegranate as a tree? Replies: 30
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 543
 
I have a "Wonderful" pomegranate, three years old and with a single main trunk 7 ft high. The first year in the ground, the main trunk didn't seem to grow, so I allowed the new branches to do their thing. In retrospect, I think allowing all that bushiness just sapped the growth potential from the main trunk. I cut them all off, and the main trunk doubled in height in one year.

Just spend 10 minutes each spring cutting off the branches you don't want. That's all there is to it.

Subject: Q re Harvest Season of Cultivars Replies: 2
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 84
 
Now that my first fig tree, a Black Mission, is well established and fruiting nicely, it's time for me to think about planting a second tree. It would be nice if a second one came to harvest at a different time. Are there any varieties that would significantly extend my season?

Subject: Need advice: Ebay, replacements, and dead cuttings. Replies: 21
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 533
 
Did you offer a guarantee that the cuttings would root and grow? If not, your responsibility ends when you deliver the items as described. You have no control over the buyer's technique, which plays a big part in successful rooting.

Having said that, I have always refunded customers' money when they complain. I view the occasional scammer as part of the eBay experience.

Subject: no IBT brebas this year! Replies: 5
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 144
 
" . . . fig bush looks like it will not produce a breba crop! . . . Just wondering if any one else in the desert south west is experiencing the same thing?"

I have the same situation in Coastal California. Our winter was like yours. Not a single frost. My Black Mission has been in the ground three years and gave me a small breba crop the last two springs. This year, I have healthy foliage and six inches of new growth, but no hint of breba breaking out.

Subject: Ugliest Sap Sucking Critter Ever Replies: 8
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 264
 
I've been reading up on it. Apparently this is a cottony cushion scale insect. A sap sucker, but easily dealt with.

Subject: Ugliest Sap Sucking Critter Ever Replies: 8
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 264
 
This time of year I check my fruit trees every few days for any sign of problems. This evening I came across  the ugliest critter I've ever seen. It looks like a cross between a space alien and a deep sea relic of the paleozoic age. A quick flick of the finger knocked him off. 

No room for ugly things in my garden.

Ugly Critter.jpg

Subject: OT Is this a red guava? Replies: 8
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 156
 
I hope it's ok to ask this question. There seem to be a lot of people who know their fruit here.

Last March I planted a red guava in my southern California garden. This week I picked my first crop. Just two pieces of fruit, but I'm really pleased with the size and quality.

They're not what I expected, though. These fruit are larger  (4" length), and the color is more yellowish than red. It leaves me wondering whether I got ahold of a misidentified tree. What do you think? Is this a red guava?

4 Inch Guava.jpg  Cut Guava.jpg

Subject: Strange--mouse mummy on a fig twig Replies: 32
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 689
 
I suspect the mouse was injured or ill and chose that as a safe place to lie down . . . until he felt better. They will do that, especially after eating D-Con.

Subject: OT Is this an apricot pest or disease? Replies: 4
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 212
 
Just one branch on my otherwise thriving 2 year old Blenheim apricot has a problem. Leaves are wilting and shriveling at the branch tips. Farther down the branch where the leaves are still sound, the leaf edges and stems are covered with bright red shiny bumps.

Do you think these are responsible for the die-back? Any idea what they are and how to control them?


Apricot Trouble.JPG 
IMG_0238.JPG 

Subject: OT: Lamb Hass avocado... Replies: 7
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 356
 
The Lamb Hass was developed just down the road from me. Local growers know about it, but they prefer to keep growing the better known Hass variety. They consider the advantages of (slightly) smaller tree and (slightly) higher yield to be too slight to take on the unknown risks of an unknown variety.

Still, a smaller tree with higher yield - both desirable qualities - make the Lamb Hass attractive for the back yard grower. But if you already have a Hass, why plant another tree so similar? I would be inclined to plant one of the B types and enjoy the improved yield on both trees that will arise from cross pollination.

Subject: Problem: Leaves Yellow and Drop Replies: 11
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 391
 
Thanks to all for your input.

<Are all the leaves blotchy like that or do they start green and get blotchy? If they are all blotchy like that I would say you have some FMV there.>

Six weeks ago all the leaves were healthy and deep green. Now they all have yellow blotches. I just read up on FMV and that does seem to fit. I wonder whether it explains the slow rate of growth (only about 2" per season) too.

<Every fig grower should have one of these. 40x handheld, any hydro shop has them for $20 or cheaper on Amazon.>

I actually have a very nice microscope. Not handheld, but I think I can get it out to the garden. Where would I look for mites? On the under side of the leaves?

<Step back from the tree and take a picture that encompasses the tree and the ground cover. What is that ground cover? How are you watering?>

I'll try to get a wide view tomorrow evening. The ground cover is Orange Clock (Thunbergia gregorii) that crept in from a nearby fence. I let it grow around my trees hoping to shade the ground from the hard bake of the summer sun. Just today I cleared it out to probe the ground for gopher tunnels. Thankfully, no gophers.

I water with a drip nozzle (1 gallon in 5 minutes) for 20 minutes every other day at 6 a.m., and supplement with a hose end sprinkler for wider coverage, 10 minutes two evenings a week.

<Turning yellow and falling off is another whole issue. That is usually a sign of underwatering, extreme overwatgering or too much shade. Underwatering includes situations where you put on enough water but soil conditions to not allow for the uptake of the moisture, or prevents the water from penetrating the root zone. It is not about how much you water, but how much water gets "to the tree".>

I test the soil moisture periodically. It's moist, but not muddy, to a good depth. It drains well, and has enough organic content to stay moist for two or three days. I wonder whether I might be dealing with a disease of the root?

Thanks again for all your comments. There's so much to learn. A pointer in the right direction makes all the difference.

Subject: Problem: Leaves Yellow and Drop Replies: 11
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 391
 
I've had an ongoing problem with a Black Mission fig I bought from HD and planted three years ago. Each spring it starts off strong, but the leaves slowly yellow and drop as summer arrives. The last inch or two of each branch also wither and die, taking all the year's growth with it.

There's no sign of insect or fungus. No spots or damaged spots. Just an overall progressive yellowing.

The first year I attributed it to lack of water, so the following year I made sure to soak it twice a week. No improvement. Come July, the leaves yellowed and dropped.

The second year, I thought it might be sun damage or mineral deficiency, so I erected a partial shade to shadow the mid day sun, and added a teaspoon of Miracle Grow to each watering. But here I am in year three, and early signs of yellowing are appearing again. 

Are there any other precautions I should take?

   FigLeaf_1.jpg 
This photo show the early signs of this leaf yellowing. Blotches on the leaves have lost their deep green and turned light green. 

Subject: Advice on Rooting Cuttings Replies: 6
Posted By: Wekadog Views: 297
 
New member here in need of advice.

This evening when I admired a fellow gardener's fig trees, he made me a gift of cuttings from his trees. The cuttings are 18" long, and 1/2" diameter. Unknown varieties, but he described one as "green" and the other as "brown". 

I've read a few write-up on rooting cuttings, but they usually speak of taking cuttings in the dormant season. Mine, obviously, are not dormant. Maybe I need a different approach?

I'm thinking I should:

Strip off the leaves and fruit
Recut the base at a 45 degree angle
scrape the bark on the bottom inch to expose more cambium
plant them in damp (not wet) potting mix and
keep them in the shade until roots develop and it leafs out

That's what I'm thinking, but I'm new at this. What do you think? Is there a better approach?

I appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks!

IMG_0230.JPG  IMG_0231.JPG