My Mom, pictured here with her beloved fig, has as green a thumb as anyone I ever met.  She didn’t grow up growing things but since the day I bought her the first of many antique roses it was all we could do to keep her out of the garden.

My mom’s fig is like one of the children.   She babies it like you might see a mother with her “little” quarterback “baby”.  Although a typhoon couldn’t harm this tree she still cares for it as she did when it was nothing more than a twig brought from the “Fig Man” in Indiana.

What we have found to be true about figs is that they love the south and are very much content with a good, wide open spot

in average soil.  Take care of them for the first couple of years by covering them with some burlap stuffed with leaves as a good winter coat and after that they can withstand the coldest of winters.   Keep them watered when dry but don’t overwater. There is no need to apply fertilizer as they seem to be able to get all they require from average soils and a tender nurturing nana.

Now that we have finally convinced Mom that her baby doesn’t need all the TLC she continues to foster on it we have found her propagating more babies with great success.  This year she will have three fig trees for sale for $12.00 each.  They are two years old and are now old enough to go straight into the garden.

Figs usually appear the third or fourth year of life.  Now, at the ripe old age of 5 this member of the family contributes many nutrients to our diet by ripening about 200 figs and we’re still counting.

 

If you are interested in growing figs of your own just email Debbie and we will let you know if there are any wee ones available for adoption.