Winterizing In Ground Fig Trees with Mr. Figs

The Figtator

The Figtator

Well-known member
I had a great time visiting with Bill last week and he showed me his techniques for winterizing his in ground fig trees. It is clear that it works in his zone so I will be doing the same!

I hope this is helpful to others that are in similar zones and looking for a great way to keep their trees safe.

Thank you Mr.Figs

There are 4 videos. One is soil prep talk and the others are 3 different sizes / growth patterns of trees.
 
At 8 minutes 30 into the 3rd video..... This is huge! My pop always told me when he started growing figs here... and, loads of old-school italians als..... so many swore up and down that temps aren't the problem (to a point)... but the cold, dry winds are especially problematic.

I don't entirely understand yet, but I like looking into old cultural practices
 
ktrain said:
I miss the soil from Indiana, dirt as black as midnight and nutrient rich.
Going from that to pure hard clay.
Sucks.
Click to expand...
I’d like to see pics of your soil sometime. I would have figured with all the wooded area around you there would be lots of loam
 
TorontoJoe said:
I’d like to see pics of your soil sometime. I would have figured with all the wooded area around you there would be lots of loam
Click to expand...
I'll show ya, the only good place is around the deck, for years now we have been dumping soil conditioner in and mixing it.
Flowers love it.
I grow rocks better than most. Lol
 
ktrain said:
I'll show ya, the only good place is around the deck, for years now we have been dumping soil conditioner in and mixing it.
Flowers love it.
I grow rocks better than most. Lol
Click to expand...
So I guess those pet rocks you had as a child are multiplying like trebles on Star Trek and now nobody wants to buy them anymore.🥹
 
ktrain said:
I miss the soil from Indiana, dirt as black as midnight and nutrient rich.
Going from that to pure hard clay.
Sucks.
Click to expand...
Have you tried wood chipping your growing area? Supposedly that is the way instead of mixing things into the soil, which can make it worse and is only good for plants with shallow roots. They say it takes a few years, but layering wood chips a couple times a year is supposed to transform clay soil. A quick homemade JADAM microbial solution is also supposed to help make soil more fluffy.
 
TorontoJoe said:
At 8 minutes 30 into the 3rd video..... This is huge! My pop always told me when he started growing figs here... and, loads of old-school italians als..... so many swore up and down that temps aren't the problem (to a point)... but the cold, dry winds are especially problematic.

I don't entirely understand yet, but I like looking into old cultural practices
Click to expand...
Over the last few years, the only time I had unprotected trees die close to the ground during winter (5-10 F temps) was when I removed large air layers late in the season. Other trees in the vicinity had no or slight tip damage. My belief is the wound didn’t callus and cold winds desiccated and killed the branches and parts of trunk. This is why I wait to prune until Spring if I’m not protecting the tree. 100% anecdotal evidence with limited sample size - i.e grain of salt.
 
Inflorescence said:
Have you tried wood chipping your growing area? Supposedly that is the way instead of mixing things into the soil, which can make it worse and is only good for plants with shallow roots. They say it takes a few years, but layering wood chips a couple times a year is supposed to transform clay soil. A quick homemade JADAM microbial solution is also supposed to help make soil more fluffy.
Click to expand...
Actually my wife does layer stuff in certain areas.
Sometimes sticks, sometimes leaves, grass...cardboard.
It does seem to help over time.
We even layer some chicken bedding in it.
 
Inflorescence said:
Have you tried wood chipping your growing area? Supposedly that is the way instead of mixing things into the soil, which can make it worse and is only good for plants with shallow roots. They say it takes a few years, but layering wood chips a couple times a year is supposed to transform clay soil. A quick homemade JADAM microbial solution is also supposed to help make soil more fluffy.
Click to expand...
After just 2 years, my soul is already significantly improved from just adding wood chips. Anything outside of the wood chip zone is like concrete but my garden is finally looking a little like garden soil. 😂 Few more years and it’ll be prime!
 
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