Garden Questions and Comments

Fruiting Fig Tree

Kathy asked:

I, too, am wondering if the {pots of} figs will have room for the roots. I've heard that roots look very much like the tops of trees, only down in the ground. If you cut the bottom of the tubs out that would allow the tap root to go down into the ground. Otherwise they might get root-bound very soon or fall over in the wind

 

 It turns out that containers are the way to go, because figs need root pruning every two years or so for enhanced fruit production. Wonderful! We live and garden in zone 7A and these Chicago fig trees are hardy to zone 5, which means we needn't worry about our winter hurting these new figs. I found lots of information on container growing figs here and here. I plan to prune the tops too, to keep them at a height where I can easily get at the fruit. Figs can be pruned to artistic shapes and have been for centuries. 
I have the pots next to the fence where they are out of the way of the wind and yet in full sun. The most important part is that the hose reaches them, for watering! Good thing I am retired and interested in all this yard work. Interested is putting it mildly. Obsessed is more accurate.
We are planting just about everything in our garden in CONTAINERS because we have NO SOIL. Honestly, if you saw what it took for Dave to dig a hole in the clay/rock of our yard, you would understand. Plus, with these containers, I don't have to bend over, or dig, or fight moles, or weeds or anything that made gardening a trial in our other gardens.
I was looking at last year's photos from our garden in the country. I planted hosta and within two weeks they had been eaten from the roots up by moles. It was so demoralizing. In these containers, we are above the usual feeding height of most crawling insects and while I have seen a bit of damage from slugs (some hosta in the front of the house are planted in the ground) nothing is bothering our plants in pots.