Pruning Young Fig Trees 

Hey Margaret! Glad you enjoyed this one and found it useful. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement!

Glad to hear that Eddie. It's something I think we all second guess ourselves on. Even after hundreds of trees I still do it from time time. The Mission Fig in this video was a good example. I went around that tree multiple times trying to figure out the best way to prune it only to change my mind after I started making cuts!

Glad you found this one useful Enrique!

Glad you enjoyed this one!

Those pruners are a real workhorse. I know there are probably better options out there, but with regular sharpening these just keep on chugging! Glad to hear you're getting that pruning done. We actually have our potted moringa still left to prune. It usually doesn't break dormancy for another month or two, so we definitely have some time.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I just need to get a leather pruner holster for them but they definitely are the best for the money.

Ask and you shall receive Eric. We wrapped our fertilizing yesterday and documented what we're doing this round. Have that in the RU-vid hopper for next Saturday, but if you need specifics before then, just message us and we can share.

Sure thing. I'm glad you found this one useful!

Glad you enjoyed this one Wesley. These trees are a bit bigger these days, but starting producing well for us last season.

Glad you found this one useful and thanks for the comment!

Sounds like you have a solid plan. I would be comfortable with chicken manure at 6 months in the garden. It really depends on the pig manure. We compost that for 4-6 months and then use it in the woodchips around the fruit trees where it continues to compost down. I'm sure it's probably fine, but I've read it's best to have that compost a bit longer if you're using it around edibles.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm good advice at waiting for it to compost better...i can easily put some plantings in self watering buckets waiting on a fall garden....Im goin to put some garlic for sure in containers

@@desertdanblacksmith1394 garlic is always good!

Great request Eric and I need to film that. It would be a short how-to, so I don't really have a good excuse!

Glad you found us and are enjoying the content. Any questions, shoot them over!

Hey there Tom. First off, thank you for the tip that was very generous of you. Next, I want to link to a couple more videos we've done on fig tree pruning that may interest you and give some additional detail; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iI5x2Ui4J88.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CKuTdrUGFAs.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-byTzFU_GpZM.html As for cuttings, we're not set up to offer those to folks (too many irons in the fire already), but we may do so in the future. If you want to stay up to date on what we have available you can join our customer email list through our website. Most of it is for folks who are local, but that will expand as we have more irons to keep in that fire of ours! Thanks again for that tip!!

Yeah, didn't get that fertilizing on the camera this time! Understand completely with that peach tree. We seem to "acquire" them unexpectedly as well. One advantage we have here with the irrigation is we have to actually have an unaccounted for spot to put them in, so that tempers our spontaneous purchasing habits a bit!

Hey there Cruentus! Glad you found this one useful and I imagine your Mission figs will do really good in Yuma's climate.

Hey guys! We're kicking around the idea of getting cuttings out to folks in the future. It was great to have Natasha share hers with us and we need to keep that going!

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I know what you mean. I wish i had more but i have lost a lot on the Homestead lately(my Fault). Right now i only have moringa seeds to give out . Hopefully mid summer will have green tree collards .Next season I expect i will be able to make several Mulberry Trees Cuttings and root those. With that all said i am rooting a couple Barbados cherries right now,If those take gonna give those out!

@@gardenofthegeeks8277 you'll have to let us know how the Tree Collards do. We may give those a shot once we get the soil going in the new beds and I've heard they can be a bit temperamental.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Yeah they are have to restart them about every 3 years . BUt that is easy. They like part shade decent water and really really need to be stacked up or grape vine like situation if you can get them split into 3 or mothers?

Hey Corina. I'm glad you enjoyed this one and found it useful. We posted a follow up with this year's pruning season on 8 of our 9 fig trees that you may also find useful. I'll link it for you here; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CKuTdrUGFAs.html

Glad you enjoyed this one!

Hey there Daniela. Glad you enjoyed the video. We don't currently sell cuttings, but we have had a lot of folks reach out requesting it, so we may do so in the future.

Glad you enjoyed this one!

You know it Allan. Seems to be the theme for us here!

Glad you enjoyed this one!

Great question Laura and probably not. The only way we would let them fruit would be if they really go gangbusters with growth and we don't see the fruit set and ripen. Otherwise that first year in the ground is all about establishing the tree.

That may be on the table in the future! How are things in NJ? You guys staying warm?

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Trying ....its been cold and snowing but it will get better .....cant wait for the spring .......I really enjoy watching You guys work on the new farm ........Thank's a lot for sharing your videos

Thank you! It is actually the Arizona's Best Tree Trunk paint from Home Depot. www.homedepot.com/p/Arizona-s-Best-1-Qt-Tree-Trunk-Paint-AZP30011/100141255

Funny you should ask Chet. One of the new owners stopped by last Sunday with some of our mail that was delivered over there. He's a regular viewer and was excited to share tree updates with us. I think we may have a chance to head over there this spring if we can work out a time!

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I have a fig tree probably 5 years old, in India the climate here is hot and semi arid. I havent had the fig as i wanted they just fell off from the tree on it own and are very tiny and dry from inside. and remedy.....

@@mohammedsharif9037 it sounds like it may be a lack of water. Fig trees need regular, deep irrigation for the tree to maintain the fruit. If they get stressed during the fruit set and ripening they will concentrate on survival as opposed to ripening fruit.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thanxxx

We've been getting the same all week. Had another heavy wind storm come through last night as well. Must be pushing that cold front East I assume??

Hmm, that's hard to say without seeing what you're dealing with. It might be easier if you send us a pic of your tree. Our email is in the About tab here on RU-vid or you can message us on FB or Instagram.

Great notes Michael, you're spot on.

Great question and I'm not familiar with any limitations on what you can plant near figs. At least for us here, we don't have the wasp that is necessary to pollinate our figs, so a cross pollination issue wouldn't be a problem. They do tend to be aggressive growers under the right conditions, so they would probably outcompete most other trees for fertility!

Hey Soshana. Once our trees are a bit more established and we're pruning for more production we can cover that. The key with breba is keeping new growth from the prior year, so we would be much less aggressive than we are on these new trees that we're training for future production.

Thanks. If I were u and maybe u did....explain why u we're aggressively pruning. I understand what u did now a bit better but maybe add what you would do in successive years?SHOSHANA with an h

That sounds about right. We're usually waiting on plums and plum hybrids as one of the last trees to break dormancy as well.

Hey David! That Panache is an amazing tree that has beautiful, tasty fruit. It's very unique and worth the time to track down if you can.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm yes iv looked around some places I found some for sale 4 cuttings around 35.$ Australian dollars its autumn 🍂 down here at the moment but I can get a warnings blanket to help kick them the colour makes them stand out like Santa 🎅 Rudolph 🐯thankyou for reply I’m going to grow 1000.000.000 tiger 🐯 figs and cover earth 🌍 😇😂😇

@@davidbutton8497 that sounds like a great plan. Always great to hear from Aussies. We have several long time viewers down there. Would love to see these figs cover the earth!

Those are our bubbler irrigation heads. We cover them with valve boxes to protect them from damage.

Great question. While some varieties take a bit more coaxing to grow wide rather than tall you would be amazed just how wide these trees will eventually become when pruned like you're seeing us do here. I'm going to link a video we did on our old farm of 2, 4 year old Brown Turkey fig trees planted 12' apart. As you'll see, they had already grown into one another! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6cIrkJFf6rE.html It's one of the reasons we've gone to 16' spacing to account for that lateral growth we've seen with most of our fruit trees, fig trees being no exception. Of course, if space is limited, you can be even more aggressive with your pruning cuts as long as the tree is aggressive enough in it's growth habit.

Have to agree with you there Michael. I think most folks are just nervous to prune at all thinking they're either hurting the tree or taking the chance it won't recover.

Hey there Leo. I'll link a video here where we discuss that in detail and also share the paint we prefer to use. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WVh_IqHbXs0.html

Hey there Sheila. Generally speaking we try to refrain from making any pruning cuts during the Summer months. The trees are pushing sap very hard this time of year and an open wound, especially if you get higher humidity, can be a problem. If you can hang in there until the dormant season it would be ideal.

Hey there Paul. Our email address is on the About Tab here on RU-vid, so feel free to shoot pics over this Winter and I'll do my best to give you some ideas.

A saw will do the trick on larger branches, but you really need a pair of pruners and loppers for the small/medium sized branches. You can usually find pruners for under $30 at most hardware stores. Same for the loppers.

Glad you found this one useful Frank!

Great question Kristina. Generally we only paint them when they're young and it's primarily to keep the trunks from getting sunburn during our harsh summer weather. We have lost trees before to sunburn and have since applied it to all of our trees until the canopy is able to shade the trunk during the summer. We also apply it from time to time in order to deter pests from damaging the trunk. For this we use the 3-in-1 plant guard from IV Ogranics. We have a discount program with IV Organics, so if you plan on using their product let me know and I'll get you that code.

Great questions Salvador. If they are destined to be in the ground, I would wait until they have been in the ground for at least a year (or 1 growing season) before the first round of pruning. If they are going to remain in pots it will drastically change the way you prune them and the focus there is limited to keeping them contained comfortably in the pot and taking care of damaged, dead or crossing branches. What varieties of figs are you growing out?

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thanks for your reply! Helps alot. I'm growing about 550 black mission figs and 200 kadota and 100 tiger. How big should I make holes for each tree in ground? I'm planting next week tuesday. One more thing how far apart do you think I should put them? I'm looking to grow them bushy

@@salvadorgonzales1566 wow, that's quite the farm you'll have when you're done! We don't make the holes much larger or deeper than the root ball, but you can go slightly larger if you're concerned with the soil. Just keep in mind the roots spread very quickly with figs, so they won't be in that hole for long! As for spacing, the BM and Kadota are going to grow very quickly and spread easily so you'll probably want at least 12' between them (offsetting each row if that's possible). We had 13' spacing between our 2 brown turkey figs on the old farm and they pushed right into each other at 4 years old. The tiger figs grow more vertical in our experience, so you shouldn't need as much space for those. I would say you'll still want a good 10' or so on those.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I appreciate your time to give me your advice! You helped me out. So where I'm at it's hard clay soil will the figs still thrive? And what kind of soil do you guys have there in arizona on your property?

@@salvadorgonzales1566 we have very much the same soil. It's mainly hard clay mixed with caliche (limestone hardened rock), so as long as you have nice warm summers and cool winters you should be just fine.

Hey Eddi. We have done air layering on fig trees in the past with very good success. We actually donate most of our cuttings from the pruning we do to a local nursery for propagation.

Ah yes, that is Arizona's Best white tree trunk paint. You can find it in the gardening section at Home Depot. We use it to keep the trunk from getting sunburned. It's only necessary until the canopy can shade the trunk naturally.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you very much

We prefer to use organic products and have found the 3-in-1 plant guard from IV organics to be a solid bet. You can also find non-organic trunk paint at Home Depot or Lowes. If you decide to go the IV Organics route, be sure to use our discount code (EONFARM) at checkout for 10% off.

Also, how long does it take those fig trees to fruit?

It seems to depend on the time of year. Cuttings work best in the Fall - Spring and air layering is usually during the later part of the growing season.

@@kylanvanemmerik9397 Fig trees will try to fruit almost immediately once they're in the ground. It's one of the trees we have a hard time thinning to keep them from fruiting that first year, because they are so prolific.

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thats interesting, they work better in different times of the year. I never thought about that. And I never knew figs were such vigorous producers! Thanks for all the info!

Hey Kylan. Yes, you would prune dwarf trees a bit different as they generally grow MUCH slower than in-ground trees. Key there is not taking off too much material that it will have a hard time recovering from. Citrus trees are very flexible when it comes to pruning. The reality is, most will do fine with no pruning at all. However, we still follow the same principles with removing dead and dying branches. We also clean up the bottom, so we can see any of our slithering critters should they decide to take up shelter under one!

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thank you guys!! I have stayed away from fruit trees my whole life here because I never saw them do well in our climate! Im going to start now though after watching your videos!! Thanks again!

@@kylanvanemmerik9397 seeing is believing and you've seen what you're able to do first hand. With a little care and the right trees you'll have fruit in no time!

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I cant wait! Ill have to bring you one! After all, I wouldnt have started if it weren't for you guys!!

@@kylanvanemmerik9397 deal!

Hey there! I'll link to a video we did here as to why we paint them and what we use that will help answer that for you; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WVh_IqHbXs0.html

Watched the vid. Don’t think I need it here on the Canadian border. I did have some snails kill one of my baby trees in the Philippines. They love that green baby bark of fig trees. Thanks!

Great question Stephan and it really depends. If you're here in AZ or a similar climate and the tree grows aggressively you should still be fine to prune. The only real issue is the chance for infection in the open cuts that will release more sap during the growing season. It's a pretty slim chance, but it could happen. If you're not here in AZ and the tree is still dormant you're good to go!

Yes, the "suckers" on these trees are actually viable cuttings and can be propagated in several ways. The "fig pop" method is probably the preferred method for them, but you can also just stick them in soil and have some success. I'll link to a video we did a while back on how to do that; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C-yw2jv0SLk.html

Great question Amy and it really depends. The key factor there is how aggressive the tree growth is, so it's more a combination of variety and environment. For us we can easily prune back 50% or more on certain varieties and they just come back stronger.

That's the beauty of fig trees. You can have either...or both!

Elliot, we know exactly how you feel! It's why we put these pruning videos out there to show the effect pruning has on your trees. Truth is, we still get nervous ourselves from time to time!

I assume you're talking about a mesh facemask?

As long as they like 'em high and tight...or in this case, low and open centered!

And here I thought I already talk fast. 😂