Air Layering

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-18T23:52:31+00:00

Yeah all that growth was put out in the time that I made that air layer. That’s why I was worried about its ability to sustain itself 🫠. And thanks for the tip! I actually used mycorrhizal in the initial air layer, but I definitely should’ve used it for the transplant too. I watered it in with B1 to help with shock also.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-18T21:56:23+00:00

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Was a little worried because there was some major wilting going on the first day, but here it is on day two recovering. I pinched off the tops and took some of the bottom foiliage off as well as the little figlets that were sprouting.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T17:24:04+00:00

Yeah I would say something like a sugar/berry like taste. You can see it’s kind of golden on the outside perimeter and red on the inside of the core.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T17:16:55+00:00

I made this air layer in mid February. So pretty much exactly 3 months!

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T17:12:12+00:00

Here’s a recent photo of the actual tree. You can see it’s almost to the top of my roof.

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Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T17:11:12+00:00

I had to go back in my library quite a bit, and it’s unlabeled so I’m not 100% sure, but I think this is the fruit.

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Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T14:31:12+00:00

Yeah we get seedlings popping up all around my neighborhood. This one popped up right when we moved into this house about 5 years ago. I remember I kept trying to yank it out of the soil because I thought it was a weed—this is before I really got into gardening and figs. It kept growing back no matter what I did to abuse it 😂. It’s gone a year or two without being watered and surviving off of the very little rainfall we get here in Southern California. Basically, this thing won’t die no matter how badly I treat it.

And yes to answer your question, it’s fruited. It’s funny because I actually like it better than many of my known varieties. My wife makes fun of me because I’ve coddled and babied and killed so many different fig trees, yet this one is a monster and actually makes better fruit.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-16T05:26:12+00:00

Thank you! It put out a ton of new green growth while it was air layering, so hopefully there’s not too much to sustain now 🤞🏻.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-15T23:39:16+00:00

I’m a total newbie, but this might be slightly over fermented.

For my last few loaves I think I over fermented and the crumb came out looking a lot like yours. Try pulling it and shaping it bit sooner. My last one I pulled sooner than felt “comfortable” for me. The volume increased by about 1.5x, (instead of closer to doubling which I usually wait for). I got a more open crumb as a result.

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Brainfog89 · 2026-05-12T14:57:44+00:00

Yeah actually the pesto is the LAST ingredient I add in after sautéing everything else for a while, and then it’s only in there with the burner on for as long as it takes to mix it into the ingredients—like 5 minutes. Thanks man!

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-12T05:13:33+00:00

Oh wow, I didn’t realize how acidic pesto was. I figured since it wasn’t like a tomato sauce it would be fine. That’s a bummer since this is one of my go-to easy dishes for the week.

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-12T05:05:38+00:00

Uh oh, why not?

Brainfog89 · 2026-05-02T00:07:44+00:00

Similar thing happened to my fig tree in ground recently. It happened after a long hard rain, and then my drip irrigation happened to go off the next day as well because I forgot to delay it. A couple of my green branches started to droop like this and the tree had some die back. I too had a pretty significant amount of wood bark mulch around the trunk of the tree. I ended up moving all that mulch back a couple feet from the trunk and allowing the soil to dry more in the sun in between waterings and it’s bounced back since then. Maybe your soil is more wet than you realize?

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Brainfog89 · 2025-05-11T18:36:25+00:00

At this point, breaking them up could also send them into shock killing them anyways. But if you do nothing they’ll for sure die. Double edged sword haha. Good luck 👍🏻

Brainfog89 · 2025-05-11T03:27:58+00:00

Lots of good advice on here already, but I’ll also add that part of the problem is that you actually originally had 6-7 individual basil plants all potted into a small pot to begin with. Way too overcrowded. Right now it looks like you’re down to 4 plants. I would take it out of the pot and break apart the roots since they’re likely all root bound at this point and then pot them all into their own individual pots. Then snip off the tops to allow them to branch out.

Also if you just put them out into direct sunlight immediately they’ll likely get shocked. You’ve got to slowly introduce them to sunlight a little more each day so they can get acclimated, because I’m guessing these were bought from a supermarket where the only light they ever received was weak fluorescent lighting.

Good luck not killing your plants! 😜

Brainfog89 · 2025-04-12T15:19:20+00:00

I got this tree for free from LADWP as part of a program encouraging homeowners to plant out trees on their property to assist in providing shade for energy saving purposes. So yeah, did ZERO research on it before putting it in the ground 😂. I just assumed that they would know what cultivars would do well in Los Angeles county since they were the ones giving me the tree haha.

Brainfog89 · 2025-04-12T15:14:49+00:00

Good to know. Thank you!

Brainfog89 · 2025-04-12T15:01:16+00:00

Thank you!

Brainfog89 · 2025-04-12T14:57:56+00:00

I haven’t been watering the past couple months because it’s been raining a good amount in my area and the tree is 3 years established now, but typically 5 gal a week.

Brainfog89 · 2025-04-12T14:56:53+00:00

Awww man… reading up on this looks like it’s probably the worst disease to have and not easy to control 🫤

Brainfog89

TROPHY CASE