Gardening thread

[chenGOD]

2 hours ago, Goiter Sanchez said:

Yeah figs come from really hot places and generally yield their best crops where there is a long hot growing season. Mature trees have better tolerance for extreme heat (100 f +) and freezes (15 f) than young ones which will require more protection until they put on some size. Anything below 15 f will necessitate protection even for mature fig trees.

We had two fig trees in our front yard when we lived in Vancouver, BC and they produced so much fruit we couldn't eat it all our selves (we did our best though!). Definitely not a long hot growing season. I think it depends a lot on the variety (even common figs have a lot of variety among them) and all the other variables. I'll see how it goes with mine.

No space for digging a big hole in the ground unfortunately, but will be putting in 2 new planter boxes this spring as the last one got a little out of control with the tomatoes. The soil on this property is really shit though, so we don't expect much from the first season of growing.

We are very lucky to be friends with a totally organic farmer (they're not no-till, but their weeding is minimal), they produce amazing vegetables, and they always give us a super reasonable rate.

Also, I am a terrible gardener.

[J3FF3R00]

9 hours ago, drillkicker said:

Did it get enough compost?

I just posted a big ass reply that vanished after I submitted it. Not sure wtf happened.  I’ll try to retype it.  Ugh.

Not sure if I gave it “enough” compost but I put some on when I first planted it and covered that with mulch but the mulch was a lot like soil.  
I’m curious now how much I should add to the new tree.

Speaking of… that new tree has several low-sprouting branches near the ground, just above the roots. Eventually, I’d like the tree to have a slightly more traditional shape with a wider canopy but I’m nervous to do anything destructive, especially since those branches have a few figlets on them. Thoughts???

*edit*
this post seems to be haunted 

Edited January 27, 2022 by J3FF3R00

[zero]

9 hours ago, J3FF3R00 said:

Speaking of… that new tree has several low-sprouting branches near the ground, just above the roots. Eventually, I’d like the tree to have a slightly more traditional shape with a wider canopy but I’m nervous to do anything destructive, especially since those branches have a few figlets on them. Thoughts???

I normally try and avoid trimming anything that hasn't grown a lot or matured yet. I had a similar thing with low branches on a persimmon tree I planted a few years back. I left it alone after planting, as I'm worried chopping stuff off of it after recently planting will cause it more stress/shock. 2 years later it was much bigger, and then I pruned the lower branches off it.

[drillkicker]

9 hours ago, J3FF3R00 said:

I just posted a big ass reply that vanished after I submitted it. Not sure wtf happened.  I’ll try to retype it.  Ugh.

Not sure if I gave it “enough” compost but I put some on when I first planted it and covered that with mulch but the mulch was a lot like soil.  
I’m curious now how much I should add to the new tree.

Speaking of… that new tree has several low-sprouting branches near the ground, just above the roots. Eventually, I’d like the tree to have a slightly more traditional shape with a wider canopy but I’m nervous to do anything destructive, especially since those branches have a few figlets on them. Thoughts???

*edit*
this post seems to be haunted 

When you plant a tree you should put a whole bunch of compost in the hole before you put the tree in, and mix that compost with the native soil.  Then when you plant the tree, fill around it with more compost/soil mixture and top dress it with compost again.

As for the suckers (the low branches), wait until summer and then prune them an inch or two away from the trunk.  Dont do that until the tree is wide awake though, or else the branches will just grow back.

Also, make sure you didnt over-mulch it.  The last thing you want to do is suffocate the trunk of the tree with a pile of mulch.

Edited January 27, 2022 by drillkicker

[J3FF3R00]

Thanks so much for all the tips. We’re actually in the process of replacing the turf in our front yard with all native, low-water plants (my wife’s project) and this fig tree is my baby. The landscapers planted it yesterday before I could get in that hole with mulch so I’m thinking I may have to dig out around it and add some compost

[drillkicker]

Oh, also make sure to break up the root ball before you put it in the ground.  If you dont, the roots wont spread and itll suffocate itself and die.

14 minutes ago, zero said:

I normally try and avoid trimming anything that hasn't grown a lot or matured yet. I had a similar thing with low branches on a persimmon tree I planted a few years back. I left it alone after planting, as I'm worried chopping stuff off of it after recently planting will cause it more stress/shock. 2 years later it was much bigger, and then I pruned the lower branches off it.

There aint nothing wrong with pruning younglings.  It's actually better to prune branches while theyre still fresh.

[zero]

56 minutes ago, drillkicker said:

There aint nothing wrong with pruning younglings.  It's actually better to prune branches while theyre still fresh.

good to know. yeah probably me being a little paranoid thinking that trimming a young plant/tree will do something bad to it. 

I also second the advice about adding compost into the hole and mixing that in with the native soil when planting something new.

also some general planting advice is to make sure the spot where you're planting is not in too much of a water ponding area. I had a shrub go through crazy transplant shock as the spot was too wet when & where I planted. I was dumb and thought that hey extra water = good, since it gets crazy hot here and didn't want to lose it due to drought. but nope, that spot stayed wet for far too long, and the shrub of course acted accordingly and dropped all it's leaves, then eventually branches died. I left it alone and after about a year new shoots started growing from the base, as the roots had adapted by that point to the terrain and soldiered through.

[Ivy Zemura yvI oo ii oo]

1 hour ago, J3FF3R00 said:

Thanks so much for all the tips. We’re actually in the process of replacing the turf in our front yard with all native, low-water plants (my wife’s project) and this fig tree is my baby. The landscapers planted it yesterday before I could get in that hole with mulch so I’m thinking I may have to dig out around it and add some compost

get in that hole with mulch?  mulch belongs on top of soil with the air.  if its underground it will rot and cause fungal infections.  mulch never goes underneath soil in nature

[zero]

^ I'll let him reply, but I read that sentence and interpreted it as meaning that the landscapers planted it and then mulched around the base before he could add compost into the hole. would think it's p obvious that mulch goes on top, and not below.

[drillkicker]

If it was planted by professional landscapers then they should have put compost in it when they were planting, right?

[J3FF3R00]

I didn’t see any compost anywhere on site. I have a compost bin that’s been cooking for 2 years that I would be excited to break into. I could always add some on top and mulch over it… or not. Whatevz. I’m still learning.

*edit*

and I actually meant “compost” when I typed “mulch”.

Sorry, my brain is

Edited January 28, 2022 by J3FF3R00