Figs so far this year. 2.29.14

Smith Fig in Container.  Year #2.

The fig situation so far this year.

Smith fig in container was growing so I took it outside.  It spent the winter in the garage.  It's been outside a few weeks.  Looking good.  I think I'll keep it in container.  Long term plan:  Make a moveable container with removable sides, so I can maintain and move the trees when I am less able.

Smith fig in ground.  Looks dead.  That hard freeze did it in.

Champagne and LSU Tiger in ground are growing from the lower part of the trunk.  Champagne and LSU Tiger that were stored in shed are growing nicely, although not as fast as Smith.

Carini in ground looks dead.  I'll leave it in place a while to see if it sprouts from ground.  Same for Atreano.  The new Carini starts and Dominic look good, although the hail storm saturday tore holes in the leaves.  Plan this time is keep one of each in container, plus one of each to plant in ground next Spring so they have a full season to adapt to the local conditions as a more mature plant.  Vancouver Brunswick is growing nicely.  No freeze damage, and it was one of the most exposed.  Battleground is a bit colder than Vancouver, so I would expect more freezez damage to the Battleground fig trees.

At home in Vancouver, Petite negri had almost no frost damage.  Hardy Chicago had a number of dead branches.  Both are growing and have brebas.  Lattarula and King had no frost damage, but they are close to the house, on the south side, so may not have had full brunt of the killer freeze.

So there's a good chance for figs from all of the mature fig trees, and some chance for a few from the younger trees.

Thinking about a Sun Room. 1.11.14

Front Of House

Front Of House

This is the West-facing side of the house.  To the right is South, to the left is North.  The squarish window with 4 panes opens from the dining room.  I think that would be a good place for a sun room.  Replace that window with a patio door or french door.  The sunroom could be about 100 to 150 square feet.  Big enough for plants all around, for starting tomatoes and peppers, okra, figs....  flowers...  and overwintering cacti and orchids.    Maybe even overwinter a large chili pepper plant.  There might be room for the Meyer Lemon - currently bearing - and kumquat.  Wow - I just filled up the sunroom, and it's not even designed yet.

I was thinking greenhouse, but sunroom might contribute to solar heating in winter.  Or might not be efficient, but would be more protected than a greenhouse, and I could sit in the sunroom and ponder, putter, and stew.

There's a home remodeling show in portland in 2 weeks.  It would take my mind off the impending scan....

Carini Fig Cuttings. 1.11.14

Carini Fig Start

Carini Fig Cuttings, showing supplies

 The top photo is the start I removed from the Carini fig tree after the big freeze.  This was a small underground branch.  I haven't decided if it will grow or not.  Worth trying.  So far it has made no increase in size, appearing to be in suspended inanimation.

I think fresh cuttings are much more likely to succeed.  This time I won't make the same mistake twice.  One will go into garage for the winter.

Method-

1.  Wash the cuttings.
2.  Make incision about 2 cm long, shallow, with sharp knife, near base of cutting.  The incision exposes cambium, which is the "stem cell" layer that callouses and forms baby roots.  Not required, but looking at the effectiveness of root growth at incision, it helps a lot.
3.  Dip in Dip-and-grow at 1:5 dilution for 5 seconds.
4.  Wrap in paper towel, moistened with house-plant-food at 7 drops per gallon - the directions for house plants state 7 drops per quart.  That is for growing plants in soil.  I want just a trace.
5.  Place in plastic bag.  I like to blow in a little air.  Twist and clip.
6.  Now it goes onto seed starting mat, with a plastic container between the cutting bag and the mat.
7. Every 2 or 3 days, I open the bags, inspect, rinse the cuttings in plain water..  If there is a start of mold or mildew, I send the paper towel to compost and replace with a new moist paper towel.

Carini Fig Cuttings, ready to incubate.

8  When roots are about 1/2 to 1 inch long, I pot them up in seed starting medium.

Figs can be grown form cuttings stuck into the garden soil and ignored for a year.  This method gets me results much faster.  I can see the baby roots form, very rewarding.  I can trouble shoot problems, like mold.  There are no insects or gnats.  The head start gives me a year or more of growth, ahead of starting in the garden.

I really like this Carini.  If the outside tree is freeze-killed, one of these will replace it.  If not, one goes into container, and the others to give to people who would  like a really nice  fig start.

Some Old Botanical Illustrations. 12.26.13

These are selected images I liked from vintageprintable.com public domain downloadable images. The illustrate the topics very well.

Onion

Pelargonium, zonal geranium

Peppers

Red Mulberry

Fig

Fig trees after the freeze.

Brunswick fig after the freeze

 After the freeze to 8°F or 9°F, depending on what site you believe, I wanted to to a welfare check on the fig trees.  It would not surprise me if all of the buds were frozen and twigs dessicated.

Hard to say, but so far, so good.  Many of the terminal buds are frozen and dessicated, but lateral buds seem less affected.

Brunswick, so far, looks good.  I don't see any chewing damage, either.  On this or the other trees.

Champagne is a hybrid of Celeste, which is considered cold tolerant, and an unknown variety.  Developed at Louisiana State University.  Again the terminal buds look dessicated.

Champagne fig

 Give the rapid growth, it would not surprise me if this tree was unprepared for winter.  First year trees are often the most affected.  But so far, it looks OK.

Similar situation for Atreano.  Atreano is more well established for Pacific NW.  But again, this tree grew rapidly and the growth was not hardened off before winter.

Carini is completely untested for Pacific NW, being a family heirloom variety from Pennsylvania / New Jersey.  Those states get some cold.  Growth for Carini was not as rank as Champagne and Atreano, so it may be better lignified.  Looking OK, there are still lateral buds.

Smith, a Louisiana bayou heritage variety, is also untested in the NW.  One site speculated Smith was brought to the US from Yugoslavian immigrants, centuries ago.  So it may have more cold hardiness than one would guess.  Also grew rapidly, maybe a little better lignified than the two in the former chicken yard (Champagne, Atgeano) .  The twigs are an interesting light brown. 

Atreano fig

 LSU Tiger, similar to Champagne in origin, and also untested here.   Also, with growth not as rank as the former chicken yard trees.  South of the house - as are Carini, Sal's, Smith, Petite negri - so maybe a degree warmer. 

Carini Sicilian fig

Smith Louisiana fig

 Sal's fig has come through winters here in adverse conditions - in cotainers, frozen solid.   It should be more established now.  I have it wrapped for rodent protection, and sprayed with hot pepper wax - as with all of the other trees.  It looks OK.  Next year I want to train Sal's into a more vertical, less bushy shape. Easier to manage.

Louisiana Tiger fig

Sal's Sicillian fig

 So in summary, with high probability of future freezes ahead, and a historic, 40 year freeze behind us, so far, so good.  Better than expected.

Products for pest control, fungal disease, and animal pest repellent.

Bionide Hot Pepper Wax

Lilly Miller Chelated Iron Plus

 I was looking for something else in the garage.  Found these products.  I don't know how old.  Maybe 5 years old.

Hot Pepper Wax might be reduce risk for animals chewing on tree bark and stems.  Two potential benefits.  The wax might have antidessicant properties, reduce frost damage on immature fig shoots.  Hot pepper extract might reduce chewing.

So I used up that spray on the fig trees, saturating the bark, the stem tips, and the tree wrap.

I would like to come up with a home remedy.  If I can figure out a sprayable wax.  Maybe the wax component is minimal, could as well be replaced with canola oil or neem oil.

This summer I noted Ning's ginkgo trees were not as green as the older one I planted.  Multiple potential reasons.  Ning's ginkgos were grown in container several years, until late last winter.  To avoid too much root damage, we left potting soil pretty much in place.  Mine was in more of a native soil.  I don't remember - if I gave mine some epson salts in the early Spring, too.  Maybe. And maybe some fish emulsion. 

I also noted mulberry leaves were pale.  That may be a mulberry tree characteristic.  Or this variety.  I was thinking, either magnesium (epson salts) or iron.  Or both.

I also read about iron supplements for fig trees, on an internet forum.  I was looking for some to apply during late winter.  I found this container.  So now that's taken care of too.  I prefer completely organic, but then how do I dispose of this?  It's not herbicide or pesticide, so I will use it up.  There isn't much.  Later find a completely organic source.

 Also thinking about what to use for fungal spots on the bearded iris leaves.  This year I did not use anything.  The spots were significant by fall.  Maybe it doesn't hurt anything.  In previous years, neem worked well for leaf spot and for aphids.  I found this partially used container.  I can use it up in the Spring.

Green Light Neem Concentrate

Fig Tree Progress Report.

Vancouver Brunswick Fig Tree

Brunswick ("vancouver" because the source tree was here in Vancouver) - survived move to Battleground last Dec.  New growth was damaged by late frost.   Growth this year was 7".  No figs this year.  No concerns about green twigs.  This tree is mature, all growth is well lignified.

LSU Champagne.  Height now 4'8", all of which is new, grown from cutting this year.  Rapid growth due to fertigation while grown in container.  Also chickens were housed in this spot for a few weeks.  I had pinched the top to stop growth / encourage branching.   Today I picked the first two ripe figs.  Sweet.  Concern:  About the top foot is green with minimal lignification.  Will the top survive freezing?

Atreano.  Height now 5', all of which is new, grown from cutting this year.  Rapid growth due to fertigation while grown in container.   Also the chicken issue, above.  I had pinched the top to stop growth / encourage branching.   There are 2 large figs, still green.  Will I get ripe ones before frost?  Concern:  About the top foot is green with minimal lignification.  Will the top survive freezing?

Champagne and Atriano fig trees.

Row of fig trees.

Carini.  Height now 3'6", all of which is new, grown from cutting this year.  Rapid growth due to fertigation while grown in container.  I had pinched the top to stop growth / encourage branching.   There are still 2 large figs, still green.  I have eated a few from this tree.  Early starter.   Will I get ripe ones before frost?  Concern:  About the top 6" is green with minimal lignification.  Will the top survive freezing?

Petite negri.  Did not measure.  Knee high, new growth about 6".   Planted 2012.  Slow grower, had chewing animal damage last winter.  New figs did not have time to mature.

Smith.  My fastest grower this year, although Champagne and Atreano were close.  Since I pinched the tops of all three to encourage branching, comparison is difficult.  4' Tall.  Did not grow as much after planting as those other 2 listed so far.  No figs this year.  Some concerns about  lack of lignification but not as much as those two listed.

Front - Back:  Carni, Petite negri, Smith, Sal's, Tiger.

 Sal's.   Now 3'9", of which 9"  is new.  Same frost problem as Brunswick.  Planted last summer.  About half dozen new figs this year, some of the best tasting.  It should be well established now.  I thought it might take off and grow faster, but this is a more difficult site and it was not fertigated.  No frost concern, the growth is well lignified.

LSU Tiger.  3'5", all of which is new, grown from cutting this year.  Same fertigation as the other new fig trees.  Competed with Carini for the first ripe figs on new trees.  Lignification looks better than the other new trees.

The containerized trees are spares - go keep in garage as replacements, in case the in-ground trees don't survive the winter.  They can be give-aways if the in-ground trees do survive.  They are smaller than the planted ones.  I chose the biggest ones for planting.

The potted trees did not get watered in the past 2 weeks, and are entering dormancy.  Brunswick is also entering dormancy, and the others are beginning to lose leaves / yellow leaves as well.

Container fig trees.

Kitchen garden harvest

 Kitchen garden is winding down.

I appreciate each and every pepper, tomato, and fig.

I picked the watermelon.  It turned out to be underripe.   Very bland, not very sweet.  Chickens got most of it.

Blacktail mountain watermelon

Birds got a lot of the figs this year.  I didn't net the trees.  Next year, I should.  I have the net.  I did not have the energy.

Today I picked and ate, 2 more figs from the Sal's Fig tree.  Those continue to be very good.  It's nice to have fresh figs at the Battleground place.

Not ripe enough for full flavor and color

More Figs

Sal's Fig (left) and LSU Tiger Fig

Eyes of LSU Tiger (top) and Sal's

 First fig of the year for Sal's fig.  Not much on the tree this year.  During the Spring, new growth was damaged by a late frost.  So it had a set back and late start.

The LSU Tiger fig was started from cutting in Jan or Feb.  Nice to get a fig the first year.  This is the second fig.  The first was eaten by an animal.

I haven't been posing photos of the fig "eyes".  These are small, open eyes.  Potential for ants to enter, or rain if they point upwards.  But these pointed downwards.

Sal's was smaller, darker, sweeter, and more flavorful, of the two.  Both were good. 

I read, it takes a year or two for trees to produce full flavored figs.  So next year they may be sweeter or more richly flavored.

I'm pleased to have figs the same calendar year that I started the cuttings.  Even if it's only for a taste.

Sal's (left) and LSU Tiger

Carini Fig

This was the first ripe Carini fig.  A fig forum member in the East Coast sent me cuttings from his family's heirloom variety.  I started the cuttings in Jan or Feb.

This tree is one of only 2 that produced main crop figs in their first year from cuttings.  The other was LSU Tiger.  That one was half eaten by some animal, and spoiled before I could taste it.

This is not a known variety for the Pacific NW.  That it grew in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which become colder than here, gives me some confidence.

I intend to protect the tree from some of the winter weather this year.  The new growth is greener than growth on older fig trees, so might be more frost tender.  Plus, there are animals that eat the bark, during the winter.

Nice, big, juice fig.  Mild sweeet flavor, somewhat like Lattarula.  I like this fig, and have big hopes for it next year.

Fresh fruit today.

Fresh fruit today

Plum "Shiro", Lattarula figs, wild blackberries

Lattarula and Petite negri / Aubique petite figs

Tomato "Black Prince"

Good time for fresh fruits.  Shiro is so juicy it takes a towel to eat it.  First large tomato of the year, Black Prince.  I had a few Sungold and a couple Super Sweet 1000 yesterday.  So good....  Now I know why I do this.

Sun Screen for Black Plant Containers

Reflective, insulating sleeves

This was a bubble-pack type material with reflective mylar surface.  I originally bought it to cover the copper beehive roof.  Without the cover, the roof was to hot to touch.  With the cover, it was cool to the touch, under the insulating material.

The black containers dry out too fast.  Sometimes I can't keep up, especially on hot days.  So I made sleeves for the containers.  They are held in place with reflective duct tape.  With the reflective, insulating sleeves in place, I can water less frequently.

It's possible the warm soil helped the trees grow faster.  It's OK if they slow down now.  They will need to harden off for winter.  New, rank growth might not harden off as well, so it's time to slow down.

Carini Fig Update

This Carini fig tree is knee height now.  It wilted a bit after transplant but perked up with watering.  

This is the "backup" Carini fig tree.  It will stay in th garage over winter.  Next year if the in-ground tree survives winter, this tree may be a gift.

This one has been given to a gentleman in Washougal.  One less to take care of.  I'm a  bit overwhelmed by keeping them watered now.

The Carini figs are from Frank in New Jersey. A family variety, having been passed down generations.  Originally from Carini, a town in the Palermo region of Sicily.  Has not been tried in Pacific NW before.  All grew of the cuttings grew nicely, no evidence at all of FMV.  All have some small figs.  Maybe there will be a taste of these in a month. or two.

First fig. More mulberries.

First fig of the year.  Lattarula.

 For some reason I've been sick the past couple of days.  Something to cheer me up - the first ripe fig of the season.  Like last year, Lattarula was first.  Big, heavy, sweet.

Lattarula. Juicy and sweet.

 Someone feels the need to be in the picture.  Always nearby.  This fig was eaten within a minute.

More mulberries.  "Illinois Everbearing".

 Yesterday, from the Battleground place.  Every few days, a handful of mulberries.  Flavor as appealing as figs.  Very tasty.

The first fig last year was July 28th.  Se we are about 10 days ahead.  Sweet.

Carini Fig. Planted in-ground.

Carini fig

This is one of the Carini fig trees.   I started them from cuttings this winter.  I planted it in-ground today.  Most of the cuttings will remain in containers until Fall or Spring.  This start is knee-high.  I planted in the native soil, mulched with an ince of home made compost, then mulched with home made grass straw.    Watered deeply.

Since this grew nicely, but the growth looks like it will harden off before Winter, I think it's OK to plant it in ground.   This location is South of the house.  Full sun. There is room for a row of about 6 fig trees.  So far the row has a Sal's, Petite negri, and 2 other starts.  I plan to move those starts out, and replace with a Smith, Atreano, and Champagne.  Plan subject to change as seasons pass.

Petite negri fig looks promising.

Petite negri

This may be the best crop yet from Petite negri fig.  The branches are loaded.  The quadripedal squirrel guard is standing guard.

Petite negri

Fig Trees at Battleground

Sal's Fig

Truncheon Cutting.  Lattarula.

Petite negri

Vancouver Brunswick tree was already discussed this week. Sal's Fig is about waist high.  The newest leaves are full size and without distortion.  The older leaves were distorted.  Possibly a late frost effect.  There are fig buds so maybe this will produce some figs this fall.

Late winter I planted 4 truncheon cuttings from my Lattarula tree.  A truncheon cutting is a large stick cut from the tree, and stuck into the ground.  These were 2 feet long, 1/2 inch thick.  I stuck them into the wet ground about 1 foot deep. Did not expect growth.  Today I was mowing and saw these two growing.    It will be interesting to see if they establish, grow some more this summer, and survive next winter.  I'm not concerned about them.  I already have a nice Lattarula started from cutting, much bigger than these, in a container.  Lattarula is vigorous, so these cuttings could do well.

Petite negri.  As for the Sal's fig, the newestt leaves are not distorted.  This tree may get off to a slow start, same as its parent tree did, years ago.  This is a slow growing variety.