RedRockFig
Active member
Three trees for me in the desert, Da Ponta, Sultan, and St George Unk (an Adriatic that came mislabeled from the local nursery).
Fig with most net production?
- Thread starter TorontoJoe
- Start date
RedRockFig
Active member
Really impressive production.Joe, since we are in the same climate and we both live next to the lake, I'll chime in, though I strongly believe that most varieties are perfectly capable of producing abundantly given favorable growing conditions.
Here are the ones that really stood out for me in the 2023 season. Caveat: all my trees get a headstart, and all figs typically ripen.
I-258
VDB
Unk Prosciutto
Socorro Black
New varieties that I rooted last November (2023) that showed a lot of promise production-wise this post season:
Smith
Tia Penya
View attachment 2951
Crozes
Bourgasotte Grise
Craven's Craving
Figgin' A
Well-known member
Growth will be determined primarily by the ambient temperature and light intensity. The higher the temp above 50F, the faster the growth. The more light, the more growth. That's what I observed with mine. I water at about 3% by volume initially and increase to 5-10% as needed. My VDB could take up to 12-15% sometimes. You will see. Once they get going and develop foliage, they will empty those pots quickly, and you know by feeling the pots that they need water. After a few times, you will know how much and how often to water. It will also depend on the size of the tree, and the variety, and the pot size. Sounds a bit vague, I know, but I've concluded that watering my plants is a bit of an art. Different varieties, different sizes, different shapes, different growth habits... you have to make a judgment call. The good news, I've never felt like it was a big problem... I just go with the flow... As I said, it's a bit of an art, but I kinda like it... makes growing figs fun.
Figgin' A
Well-known member
I believe that's the video I used to learn about notching, I think I may have posted a link to it on the other forum... along with my notching results; here they are again:Joe,
Explain this to me as if I were 5 please.
Does that mean I could notch the main trunk on my I-258 instead of cutting it down? And does the part above the notch continue to grow and bare fruits?
I consulted with AIand found this info-
My observations:
1. Notching the way it was described in the video worked 100% for me, every single notched bud woke up.
2. Notching worked on scaffolds as well as trunks and on old wood. I notched 3-4-year-old buds on my old CH after I headed it to rejuvenate, and they all woke up.
3. While notching woke up every bud, the growth at the top (or relatively higher up) was much of better quality , i.e. thick, fast-growing branches. The lower buds produced thin, slow-growing branches. I ended up removing some as they were of dubious value to me. It's hard to fight apical dominance.
4. I did not seal a single notch and all closed up and healed just fine. See below:
This last one is my VDB. I wanted to add another scaffold to balance the tree. As you can see, the new branch is noticeably thinner... thinner than the top scaffolds were at the end of their 1st season. But it's not too bad, so I let it be; it will thicken up over time. Some other ones at the bottom locations were even skinnier and looked sickly... I think it may have, in part, been affected by the lack of light down there. Anyway, I ended up removing them.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
Has anyone used a method other than notching that they feel is reliable? I don’t know of a way that doesn’t involve cutting the tree in some way
Figgin' A
Well-known member
I tried Cytokinin a couple of years ago but it didn't seem to work much for me, though I've heard some boast 70% or so success rate.
GoodFriendMike
Moderator
I am going to have to try notching. It looks very promising.
FruitBrute
Well-known member
I have always wondered if you could force lower growth, if upper scaffolding was covered to block light for an amount of time. If I had too many scaffolds up high and the tree wouldn't send out any lower growth, could I force it too without having to remove the upper scaffolds, maybe just lose some production for a season. Never tried it on any of my trees though.
WOW! These ALL look impressive!Joe, since we are in the same climate and we both live next to the lake, I'll chime in, though I strongly believe that most varieties are perfectly capable of producing abundantly given favorable growing conditions.
Here are the ones that really stood out for me in the 2023 season. Caveat: all my trees get a headstart, and all figs typically ripen.
I-258
VDB
Unk Prosciutto
Socorro Black
New varieties that I rooted last November (2023) that showed a lot of promise production-wise this post season:
Smith
Tia Penya
View attachment 2951
Crozes
Bourgasotte Grise
Craven's CThis is nothing less than raving
I'm curious to find out: Where did you get the square pots, and how much do they hold?
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
Gro Pro Black Square Pot 8 Gallon
Request a Quote - Bulk Discounts for Large Grow Operations.
www.growgeneration.com
Figgin' A
Well-known member
Thanks. Those are Gro Pro 8 gallon nursery pots. They hold exactly 8 gallons (I measured
of water if filled to the brim, but more like 7 gallons if filled leaving about an inch - inch and a half from the top. I got mine from a local hydroponics store. I've mostly moved away from them though, I prefer 15g pots.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
From Grow it All, correct?Thanks. Those are Gro Pro 8 gallon nursery pots. They hold exactly 8 gallons (I measured
Figgin' A
Well-known member
Yes.
Gladstone1969
Well-known member
Bud grafts. Leave some space above the graft without bark and it wakes up the bud. The bottom and side cambium are sufficient. But that does involve cutting. Another hit or miss method includes growing the tree on its side or even partially upside down to wake up lower buds and switch apical dominance.
Thank you for the info @Figgin' A and @SpiritFarmVa.Thanks. Those are Gro Pro 8 gallon nursery pots. They hold exactly 8 gallons (I measured
I only have rooted cuttings (in 4x9 tree pots) right now and, after 1-2 gallon pots was thinking of 5-ish gallon pots this coming summer and then later up-pot to a 15 or 20 gallon pot. At $7 a pop the 8 (seven) gallon squares that you use look like a pretty good deal to me!
What are your typical steps in term of pot size, if I may ask so?
Figgin' A
Well-known member
Sure thing. I go from rooting cups to 1g, then 3g (if rooting in tree pots, I go straight to 3g), then 5g or 8g, depending on how vigorous the growth is, then 15g. I root my plants in November, so they usually end up in 15g containers by the following July. I see some that I may end up putting in 20-25g containers in the future. The rest will be in 15g, or at least that's the plan.
Thank you for sharing your approach!
More, smaller steps in up-potting probably have an impact on the formation of the root ball morphology, with an over all more dense structure (I guess).
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
I would the same as Figgin’A. And you kind of just let the tree tell you. Ones growing fast up pot to bigger pots skipping a step along the way. Slower trees maybe don’t step up as big as fast. That being said once they are pot bound that can also stunt them until up potted. I had trees in 4x9 tree pots that are fully rooted in 7 gal in one season, they will go in ground or to 15 gal in the spring.