Really Weird Questions For Y'all

[tlcmd]

Because of the late freeze here in piedmont N.C., our fig trees were killed back. Over the summer, for each branch that died, 2 replaced it. Our trees are loaded with small unripened figs and we were concerned that they might not mature and ripen before our first frost.

My wife read "somewhere on the net from a blog in San Francisco, California"' that if you used a matchstick Q-tip and dotted the blossom end of the unripened fig with olive oil, it would mature and ripen within 5-6 days. (It also repels ants from the figs.) She did this with 2 branches as a trial, thinking that some joker somewhere was chuckling at all the people who would take a Q-tip and treat their figs. Darned if all of the treated figs doubled in size, matured and ripened in 5 days. The rest of the figs on the tree have not.

My questions: How come? Has anyone else ever heard of this and/or tried it? Does anyone have an explaination for this phenomenon?

[cosmicgardener]

Must be the ear wax!

cosmic

[robbins]

Ok, I'm confused - a matchstick or a Q-tip? And just rub it around? Nothing on it? I too have loads of unripened figs - would love to have them ripen soon!
Thanks in advance - Robbins

[tlcmd]

Olive oil. Just a drop (dot) on the blossom end. Darn if it doesn't work.

[robbins]

How embarrassing! I swear the olive oil part wasn't there when I read it the first time! And I'm sure the fig gods got a real laugh over some fool out there rubbing Q-tips and matches on the end of figs. Duh!
So today I did it again with olive oil. I'll let you know how it works. (I'm not sure that the match and Q-tip alone might have done some magic - there were three ripe figs today that sure weren't ripe yesterday.)
Robbins - who once was a reading teacher!

[Mischka]

Originally Posted by robbins

How embarrassing! I swear the olive oil part wasn't there when I read it the first time!

It wasn't.

The post has been edited.

[cosmicgardener]

Phew - I proof read and am a writer and I didn't see it either! Sanity restored......

[remy]

Hi,
It is a method that has been around awhile.
Below is a question asked on the FAQS at Ray's Figs.
http://home.planters.net/~thegivans/
Q. My fig always has lots of unripe figs left when frosts arrive. Is there anything I can do to get more ripe figs?
A. When September rolls around you might think about oiling the ones that won't ripen on their own before frost. Oiling is easy. Take a toothpick and apply one drop of vegetable oil to the eye of each unripe fig. This is a practice developed by market gardeners growing fresh figs for the Paris markets 150 years ago. Some varieties like Hardy Chicago respond incredibly well to oiling. Virtually all of their oiled figs will ripen within a week.

Remy

[robbins]

Well, glad to know I really can read. And even happier to know that this really works - the figs are growing and ripening as we speak. But why???????????
Robbins

[Worth1]

Last night I searched until I was blue in the face and found out the folks that do this say that the fig is of a lower quality than one not treated.
(Not as good a taste, ‘I don’t know; don’t have a fig tree, never done it.
((((((BUT)))) I can’t find any information on why it does it to begin with.
I did learn a lot about figs though and I do love them I just don’t know what kind to get.

Any ideas for me in Texas, ‘or should I just get a cutting from someone?

Worth

[remy]

"folks that do this say that the fig is of a lower quality than one not treated."
Worth,
I've read that too, but having some figs before frost instead of none is a much better option.
Remy

[robbins]

Worth - I don't know about the quality thing, but the 25 figs I picked tonight sure beat the little green ones that I didn't get to pick last year! And there are lots more to ripen soon - I hope. And they sure do taste good!
As for cuttings - I was told that when I cut back my trees (bushes) this fall I should just stick pieces of the trimmings in the ground and they will root and be good for next year. Sounds good to me - at least worth a try. I grow them in a high tunnel and didn't mulch or anything last winter and they survived that Easter freeze of 8 degrees - which my raspberries didn't survive!
Robbins

[redbrick]

If I can throw in my two cents here, I've only ever had luck with cuttings once, and that was this summer when I had to move my tree (Yikes!) to make way for Municipal water. When I dug the tree, one of the lowest branches from last year snapped off, and I found it when I went back to clean up around the old hole. The branch was about three feet long with several leaves and (here's the important part) root initials at the base. Figuring nothing ventured nothing gained, I stuck it in a nursery pot of native soil and cut it back by half. Within a few days the remaining leaves fell off, so I wrote it off as a loss. A few weeks later, it sprouted new leaves, and is growing nicely now!

I have tried taking cuttings when I pruned for winter "crating", but they never grew. It's too cold to leave them outside over winter here, and I can't find a good spot indoors where they don't either mold or dry out!

BTW, mine is a "Golden" fig that I found at a local nursery five years ago. I've never seen one listed in a catalog, so I wonder if maybe it's really a Marsalles or something similar?

[Granny]

You folks that want to try propagating your figs from cuttings should try rooting them with hormone powder.

Take a cutting about 4-5 inches long, making sure it includes a growing end of a branch. Use a really sharp knife to cut off the broken or cut end of the cutting. Gently score the last 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the cut end to scratch up the outer skin a bit. (I use the edge of a finely serrated paring knife for this.) Dip into rooting hormone - I use the powder for this. Put the treated end into a pot of damp potting soil in a not very sunny spot, keep it damp (but not wet) and wait. In a week or two it will have rooted.

You can also air layer them - directions should be easy to find online.