Another visit with Melba...

The weather promised today to be hot, hot as the hinges of Hades...or so they said.

DH and I were up early to walk the dogs. Both puppies are "in recovery" so we were careful with them. Paddy's feet were still a little sore. Scruffy had surgery yesterday. We are still waiting on the pathology report from the tumor removed from his face. [And we took the opportunity to get his teeth cleaned. He has a sparkling smile and sweet breath!] It was a fairly uneventful walk. We almost managed to avoid the dogs neighbors let out to roam and terrorize the neighborhood. Only one barker found us. The dogs took revenge on the trip back past the house.

It was already getting warm by the time we got home. We were all glad to stop and rest. The dogs headed for the shade while DH and I went for breakfast.

After breakfast I realized I needed tomatoes.

Last week I bought four varieties of tomatoes. This week I only got one kind - the tiny yellow ones.

The farmers markets were already bustling but I went right to the fellow who sold me tiny yellow - almost candy - tomatoes last week. Then I bought a jar of dill pickles from one of my long time farmer friends. She was selling mostly peppers with her granddaughters. They shared stories of helping "Nana" in the garden. I stopped to talk to the woman who used to sell me goat cheese.* Then bought some cheddar from a man whose wife and children I know from work.**

After unpacking the veggies I rested and then talked myself into picking figs before the sun made it impossible. I wanted to give Melba her fig preserves*** before I lost them again. I had been carrying them around for a few days and didn't think I could leave them in the car (With temps so hot now, I was afraid they would unseal. I found the bag and thank you note on my desk at work.). I also wanted to get some cuttings from the trees - the bearing ones and the mythical giant fruited one in the side yard. It hasn't born fruit in some time according to my friends. It froze back and then sprouted out again and is a nuisance now, growing in and around a pile of buckets by the shed.

I took clippers and sampled old and new wood. By the time I finished, my arms gripped two enormous fig leaf bouquets. I kept the cuttings separate. I will be keeping notes on which efforts (if any) succeed in making new fig trees. And I want to be sure I know which are the "common" fig and which are the special ones.


I loaded the few figs picked today and the bags of cuttings into the passenger's seat and then walked around to get behind the wheel. When I opened the door, the smell transported me. I thought about how I would describe this smell... warm, earthy, sweet, green, grassy - but not too much, peppery, sunny and shady. That smell brings back all the memories I have of figs - playing in Grandma's yard, picking from a neighbor's tree, arms and neck itching from scratchy leaves and sticky from the juice oozing out of stems. Smells are so powerful.

And then the smell was gone.

Fig tree cuttings fill the passenger seat.

What happened to the shift?

It was a struggle to bag the cuttings once I got them home. I will be trimming them up later. For now there are two big trash bags full of stems and leaves crammed into the top of the frig. I will let them cool off a bit as I prepare the first pots and soil.

Searches of the Internet have provided many options for propagation. I will be trying a couple in the next few weeks (some recommend keeping the cuttings in the refrigerator for a while). I tried to cut enough lengths of branches to give me options. And I am waiting now for the sterilized pots to come out of the dishwasher.


NOTES:

*She retired 3 weeks ago, sold the goats, and was preparing to move to the Ozarks!

** All the samples started to taste the same to me. I figure I can cook with the cheddar - grilled cheese sandwiches or something. (We tried it for lunch. VERY sharp and delicious!)

***Melba asked for lots of lemon in hers so I loaded that batch with more juice and lemon slices than normal. I will find out what she thinks.

Links:

Propagation directions and more...good luck. My favorite gardener is in the first two. He is a riot. We will be trying his method later in the year when it is a little cooler. I think my fig tree friends will be curious to try it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2c3zTPd3EA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckwixtXZ86c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUcA4NJxngU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyXSNzywqvw

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/fig-propagation.htm

THE BEST FIG SITE EVER. REALLY. I LOVE THIS ONE:  http://figs4fun.com/basics.html