Monday, October 31, 2016

Fall Fig Update

Here are some of the figs that are currently floating in wading pools:



Here are some rooted cuttings that are growing in a greenhouse area that is being converted to shelving.  The shelves will hold propagation troughs that should be able to hold around 2,000 trees.  The lumber has been painted, now it's time to build.
    


Here are some of the air-layers we've done recently.  Many of their leaves got crispy and fell off, but the trees are recovering nicely.  When we do air-layers in the future, we'll trim more of the leaves ahead of time and provide better shading to make the transition easier for the trees.




Here are some pictures showing the progress in the fig orchard.  The frames are all finished now, so we'll start covering them this week.




Here's a pic of some figs from today.  The Hardy Chicago figs were good, and the Black Madeira was great.  I ate a few Improved Celeste today, too, but they don't get very sweet in our cool weather at this time of year.  I did have a good Florea, though.


And this is Figlet, our new kitten.


I was working in the fig orchard about 2-3 weeks ago when I heard a baby animal crying, and saw it stranded out in the intersection of the nearby highway. A passerby stopped his car and ran out to pick up the kitten, which was trying to drag itself with its front legs, unable to move its hips or hind legs. I went around our fence and met the guy at the side of the road. He said he couldn't take it home, and I said I would. So my family took her in and nursed her back to health, and now after just a few weeks she is healthy, happy, and active, with full use of all of her legs and no lingering ill effects :) :)  She loves to follow us everywhere we walk now, almost like a dog.  She's an awesome little cat!