Hi I'm Maura. Today, our family is going to be talking about the first of our new plants, the
Brown Turkey Fig. Our place is on the smaller side so we wanted to go with plants that were suited to
a limited amount of space but all of the choices that we made could be suited to a larger home or
property. The folks at FastGrowingTrees.com were very helpful when we called on them for guidance.
Our back patio area is our primary outdoor space and we wanted a diverse selection of plants but
we wanted to make sure that we could meet the individual needs of each plant. After considering
all of the information on their website, it was very helpful to be able to call and speak to a
specialist and make sure all of our questions were answered. Once our order was placed,
we wanted to be as prepared as possible for their arrival. We knew we would probably get a lot of
use out of a trial and watering can but you could use a water hose and attachment if you prefer. We
chose planters that we thought would suit the area that we were placing the plants in as well
as the plants themselves. We chose figs because we liked the idea of the kids having a fresh
fruit that they weren't already familiar with and it isn't a typical grocery list type item.
We were really excited for their arrival and knew that they could possibly fruit
in their first season but ours actually showed up with new fruit growth on them.
On the day the trees arrived we unboxed them,
watered them, and put them in a safe spot until we were ready to transition them into pots.
Okay, so we've got everything we need and we're going to transplant our fig
over to its new container. These figs ship in a 3 gallon container and we're gonna move it over
to a 7 gallon container to give it some space to grow. So the first thing that we're gonna
do - what comes first - we're going to put in rocks at the bottom. We're going to put a
small layer of rocks to just give that soil a nice space to drain well. The next thing we're going to
do is put the organic planting mix on top of the rocks. Can I help? Yeah, let's all do it together
Okay, all right and then, whoop, we're gonna put the Root Rocket® on top of the soil. We're
gonna use about half the packet now and save the other half for Spring if we decide we're
going to need it again. Alight, now the most important part. We're going to get the fig
into the pot but we want to take care not to damage the root ball while we're moving this over.
Yeah, two hands two hands you're good yep
there we go. Now what? Just going to loosen the dirt up very gently around that root ball to make
sure the roots can breathe and get integrated. Now we're going to fill in around the root ball
that we've placed down in there with additional potting soil and spread it out spread it out.
While you're doing this, you want to try to leave a 3 or 4 inch space at the top between the top of
your soil and the top of your pot. I think that's good. The final step for the fig is going to be
to add a nice layer of mulch around the top to really protect that root system. The figs have a
shallower root system so we need to make sure that the mulch on top stays moist so that the plant
doesn't dry out. You want to leave a few inches of space around the base of the tree just to
give it a little room to breathe. Alright. now you want to give it a good watering water all around.
Good job guys! We decided to place our Brown Turkey Fig outdoors but you could also put
yours inside near a large sunny window. The important thing is to pay attention to the
condition of the plant to learn watering habits for your area. Best care practices can be found
on FastGrowingTrees.com for each plant. We live on the hot end of the recommended climate for figs
so watching for signs of distress is key. If the plant is too dry, the leaves will feel rough,
the fruit will start to droop first and fall off, then the leaves will follow.
Checking the soil for dryness is the best way to know how much moisture is present and if you are
seeing new growth at the top of the plant you know it is happy and healthy. The biggest issues that
figs can face come from fungal diseases which is an increased risk with over-watering so please
be careful in that regard new growth on the Brown Turkey Fig looks like small fresh green leaves and
small green fruit. Once the fruit ripens and turns a rich brown color it's ready to pick and enjoy.
Thanks for growing with our family, we'll see you next time you!