Another Newcomer!!!

[TigerTom]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post here. While I am a relatively experienced gardener, I am pretty new to fig growing, having only a few cuttings rooted and growing in small pots at the moment. I look forward to being a part of the fig growing community, being able to learn and being able to contribute back. =)

-Tom

[figgrower]

Welcome, Tom!

[growcrazie]

Welcome Tom

[eboone]

Hi Tom, whatcha growing?

[lauralou]

Welcome aboard, Tom!

[COGardener]

Welcome

[Taverna78]

Welcome to you new home

[WillsC]

Welcome Tom

[figwood1]

Welcome!!

[Fygmalion]

Welcome, Tom.... Do you have the wasp in your area?

[BrooklynMatty]

Welcome Tom, glad to have you here.

[Atlatl]

Welcome Tom! You are going to love this place

[fitzski]

welcome, Tom.

What else do you grow besides figs?

[figgary]

Always happy to have another Californian join us, Tom. Being in Sacramento, you'll find your fig options mind boggling, since you have the wasp. Welcome!

[JohnnyK]

Welcome to the forum Tom

[AndyG]

Welcome from another Californian new to figs!

[wellingtonbill]

Welcome Tom, you found the right place. Always good to have new fig lovers among us.

Bill
NC7b

[KyFigs]

Welcome Tom...especially to someone from my old hometown! I am sure you will enjoy it here.

[Hershell]

Welcome Tom

[reydmd]

Welcome from a fellow newbie.

Rey

[Bren55]

Welcome Tom

[Backyard_Fig]

Glad to have you here

[TigerTom]

Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone! I'm definitely glad to be here!

I have done quite a bit of reading here and on F4F, so I got myself a decent theoretical knowledge, but now it's time to see how well I can make it work. Nothing like trial by fire!

To answer a couple questions:

tsparozi:
Yes, I'm fairly certain we have the wasp here. (yay!) It's pretty common to see wild fig trees either in peoples' yards or along the rivers. I'm not sure how dense the population is, though.

eboone:
I have a small collection going of very small trees. I got Vasilika Sika VS off eBay from Vasile, and I also have a variety I bought off eBay from nixgardens, one he was calling Giallo Meille, which is supposed to translate to "Yellow Honey" - I think the seller was assuming it is an Italian variety. (Anyone know what this one might actually be?) His Lebanese Purple/Black looks pretty good, but I can't really find anything about it, so I can't justify $20 for two cuttings. I also have a single very small green caprifig, also from eBay, a seller in Fresno. None of these is a year old yet, so very small.

I also have several cuttings from my father-in-law's fig trees. He lives in Los Molinos, just north of Corning. He has three huge trees of some kind of honey fig, a very tasty black fig that is probably a Mission, and then about 800 feet away a massive purple-ish caprifig. His honey figs are amazing. They are caprified and they practically burst with juice and flavor - they're really something else. All of these trees are probably 80 years old or more. They were planted by his parents when they bought the property, except maybe the caprifig. I'm certain he has the wasp that far north simply because he has fig seedlings growing like weeds everywhere. Literally, he mows them down all the time. He potted up and gave us a peony division this past fall and last week I checked it to ensure it survived the winter and found five fig seedlings in the pot. I'm sure they will probably wind up no more than rootstock material, but I'm going to grow them out and see if I get lucky. Next trip up I'm going to snag some caprifig cuttings as well and in a few seasons, if the wasps haven't taken to the caprifigs, I'll bring some down and get them started.

And for other cuttings, I just ordered four from Figaholics: White Adriatic, Sucrete (not Baud), Ronde de Bordeaux and Inchario Preto - just one of each. I read a thread that described Inchario being the best in Portugal with lots of pictures, so I couldn't resist.

fitzski:
What else do I grow...I grow lots of vegetables - lots of different tomatoes and peppers, cole crops and this past year I grew garlic for the first time. Much like home-grown tomatoes, store-bought garlic absolutely pales in comparison. I prefer to grow the tastier crops that produce over a longer season rather than crops that produce a glut all at once. I also like crops that have a bit of history to them. I'm sort of sentimental like that. I'm very interested in herbs for different types of flavorings. I recently discovered Corsican Basil which is quite different and exciting for someone who grew up just using Italian sweet basil. I do have a few other fruit trees as well, though I'm looking to eventually expand.

We'll see what happens as the year progresses!

[FigMania]

Welcome Tom.. good group. We have a few N.Cal growers here.. both newbies and experienced..

[Vincent_15]

Welcome Tom