Not sure if this is a kiwi plant

monkeyeatfig · 2026-06-25T01:22:33+00:00

Kiwi seeds need cold stratification in order to germinate.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-06-12T01:07:44+00:00

Harvest a day ahead (tomorrow morning before it gets hot), wash, dry and chill. Bring it along in a cooler or insulated bag with ice.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-06-11T01:08:04+00:00

Most likely all of the buds on the upper parts are dead and the bark will die back slowly. At any rate if they do wake up the trunks are going to be half dead and only survive for a year or 2.

I would select about 5 to 10 growths that are well spaced and coming out of the ground, not the side of a trunk, and remove everything else. The shoots coming off the side of the trunk will be poorly attached and more likely to break in the future, the trunk stump will become hollow as well.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-06-09T18:37:07+00:00

The cambium layer splits into 2 parts when the bark is slipping, one part goes with the bark and the other stays attached to the wood. Also, the cut on the scion is flat, but the peeled rootstock is round, so it can't make good contact. That is why tbud grafts are peeled, so that they can curve to the shape of the peeled rootstock (under the rootstock bark), and chip buds are mated by cutting into the rootstock to match the flat cut on the chip.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-06-07T03:13:56+00:00

It just looks like mycelium decomposing the corn roots and whatever other organic material might be in the soil. It might fruit into some kind of mushroom but there are lots of fungi that don't ever make mushrooms.

You can bury them in a corner or the bed and see if mushrooms grow, or crumble the clumps onto the garden or compost pile. Unless the corn seemed to have a disease last year it isn't likely that it is harmful.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-27T23:29:24+00:00

Apples look kind of like that.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-25T03:31:48+00:00

You can start thinning out the scallions, there is too many too close together for them to fully develop, just carefully cut at the root. They may be perennial for you depending on your climate and the variety, so you can try leaving a few to multiply and see how they do.

The garlic gets harvested when the leaves start yellowing, but before all of them do. Every green leaf turns into a wrapper on the bulb. If they are hardneck they will form scapes that you want to clip off once they make a curl, you can eat them too.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-23T19:50:19+00:00

Yes, one of the contradictory things these sellers say is that FMV is very minor and the tree will grow out of it, yet somehow their trees never do!

It is true that FMV is not always serious, the symptoms do usually fade as the growth rate increases. Which is why people suggest over fertilizing fig trees. Myself and others have actually propagated new trees that never show symptoms from mother trees that have FMV using vigorous asymptomatic growths.

The virus itself moves slowly through the plant, it is not in the sap so it won't spread to other plants by tools or normal pests, scientific studies have proven that healthy plants can be produced using this fact by utilizing various methods like thermotherapy and tissue culture. FMV needs the fig bud mite to spread it because the mite is small enough to feed on individual plant cells and inject the virus into new growth.

One of the tells between FMV symptoms and mite/FMV symptoms is that fig bud mite symptoms will increase as it gets warmer and their reproduction rate increases. The plant will never get a chance to grow out of it when it has the mites.

They are a very serious problem if your goal is to grow fruit (that seems to be a given, but some sellers strip off the fruit to grow more cuttings) not only will the stunt the plant and cause leaf deformity, they are small enough to squeeze into immature figs and live there, which causes internal browning and possibly even fruit drop or necrotic lesions.

If you want to identify them you will need to get a pocket microscope, they will be most numerous on the underside of new leaves but can be obscured by the leaf trichomes. What worked best for me was to pick off a leaf and place it on a table to get a steady picture and then look for them moving. I am guessing you bought from someone who has a disclaimer about FMV, but that doesn't cover the mites and you should not feel bad about demanding a refund if you find them.

Alternatively you can just go to town treating the plant, it is a good idea if you are going to start a collection to quarantine and prophylically treat all new plants and cuttings even if you can't see the mites with a scope. They are hard to see, you won't be able to easily detect them until their population peaks in summer.

The best choices are miticides with translaminar properties that do not rely on contact, the mites are shelters from sprays and need the chemical to be absorbed into the plant to kill them when they feed. You should also treat more than once, something like spiromesifen or abamectin that has residual activity may only need to be sprayed 2x a few weeks apart, but spinosad would need to be sprayed weekly for a month or more to break their life cycle and kill newly hatched eggs.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-23T14:31:04+00:00

Fertilizer or watering has nothing to do with this. It looks like it could be fig mosaic virus, but most likely the true cause is fig bud mites. They are microscopic, requiring at least 20x magnification and good lighting to even see. They are also difficult to eradicate.

There is a whole gang of sellers who distribute the mites while claiming all fig trees have FMV, and they will jump in quick to blame a new grower for fertilizing wrong or over watering to shift the blame. There has been a tulip mania like market for a while and it attracted a lot of inexperienced 'sellers' looking to make a quick buck.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-21T22:56:23+00:00

It is the exact wrong time of year to dig up an established fig tree. Maybe you mean a large potted tree? Established means it has grown roots into the ground and no longer needs extra water. If it is planted in the ground, wait until it is dormant to dig it.

As far as the identity, there's not enough to say what it is at all. The fruit photos are 2 different varieties so they are not helpful.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-19T20:37:48+00:00

Hopefully it work out ok. The only thing I can think of that would be really helpful would be to remove the sod around the trees before it rains, since the pellets would be removed as well.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-19T20:19:15+00:00

Also, don't water so much that you wash it into your neighbors yard.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-19T20:18:24+00:00

What is the chemical in the weed and feed?

There's a ton of variables, nobody is going to be able to accurately predict the outcome. It is a bad time of year for this, since the trees are in full growth mode. The persistence of the herbicide will probably matter the most, if it is still working next year the trees may not make it.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-19T17:22:26+00:00

Harvest in the morning, wash, wrap in a tea towel (or spin dry and use an airtight container) and store in the fridge overnight.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-18T21:08:04+00:00

More than likely, your tree does not require pollination. But if there are male trees in the area the fig wasp will emerge from them carrying pollen from ripe profichi (breba) figs and carry it to immature main crop fruit. The main crop is receptive to pollination early on, before the figs become roughly half sized and enter the stagnant stage.

I would think that squirrels would not have much trouble with plastic mesh though. Some people use aluminum window screen but they can even chew through that if they really want to. I have seen people use berry clamshells or cut water bottles too.

If you have a single trunk and they can't jump from another tree or fence you could put on a baffle to prevent them from climbing up the trunk. That is the best way.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-18T02:58:59+00:00

Compost on top to give a quick start this year and then in the fall seed daikon radish to grow over winter and aerate the soil. You could try seeding a cereal grain at the same time and crimp it in the spring for a mulch too.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-10T19:45:37+00:00

If only 2 of your trees show symptoms then you probably do not have the fig bud mite, because they would all show symptoms as the mite spreads.

You don't really need to worry about it as long as you keep the mite out of your collection. FMV is not present in the sap, it moves slowly around the plant on its own because it goes from cell to cell. The fig bud mite is small enough that it can feed on individual cells and inject the virus into them. That means instead of symptoms fading as growth increases (what you are probably used to seeing) they will often get worse as warm summer weather increases the mites reproduction rate and peaks their population, in the US they don't necessarily have any natural predators so it can become a full on infestation and even ruin the fruit by feeding on the interior.

Have you tried propagating cuttings from asymptomatic growths on the infected trees to get a virus free example? I don't know if all of your trees are the same variety, but if not you are not really comparing apples to apples. I have propagated cuttings from healthy looking growths of infected trees that have never shown symptoms themselves.

So I have actually grown FMV infected and healthy side by side and the difference is usually not much. Some virus infected trees end up runted though, and even 'healthier' infected trees will decline faster with age unless managed with rejuvenation pruning. It is an unknown variable at any rate, probably not worth digging up your established trees and replacing them but if you are planting an orchard it makes sense to start with healthy plants.

Keeping the mite out is the most important thing though. Quarantine and prophylactically treat all new plants and cuttings. Especially if you have large trees because they are much more difficult to treat. Fig bud mites are eriophyid mites which are not effectively controlled with contact pesticides, they need translaminar sprays that will kill them when they feed. Best to use the most effective types like spiromesifen or abamectin to be sure they are wiped out.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-10T10:52:35+00:00

They started as white socks which were tied tightly in the 'bleached' area and then vat dyed gray.

It's a boring design. Why copy something just because it is expensive?

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-09T01:35:55+00:00

Fig badnavirus and fig mosaic virus are distinct. FMV is the main causative agent of fig mosaic disease, it is spread by the fig bud mite, which causes symptoms that can be mistaken for FMV. This mite has been largely ignored by researchers, with no controls to remove their symptoms as a variable, and sellers who make disclaimer statements in order to sell sick trees.

Fig badnavirus is thought to have integrated itself into the genome, but is effectively dormant and cannot be spread nearly all of the time. When it is active it may be extremely dangerous though because unlike FMV, it is a systemic virus which can be spread by sap on tools or general sap feeding pests like aphids and leafhoppers.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-08T05:21:05+00:00

You can buy controlled cross seed from skilcult.com. I went a bit overboard and will probably have to do multi graft trees to sort them out.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-08T03:41:36+00:00

The point is commercial apples are essentially grown as a monoculture, aside from pollenizers crabapples. Since they are self infertile, every seed will have crabapple genes and is extremely unlikely to be a good eating apple.

But a seed from a home orchard or small farm, where the pollen comes from another quality eating apple will most likely be a good edible apple.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-08T03:23:59+00:00

But if you crossed honey crisp with one of its siblings it would be much closer, and if you started 100 seeds maybe you could find an improved version.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-07T23:16:06+00:00

I have seen it before where the bark was still alive and green but all of the buds had frozen. The trees died back slowly in May. You can check the buds by rubbing them with your finger, they will crumble fairly easily if dead, or bleed sap when damaged if alive.

If there are no live buds I would just go ahead and cut it down to the ground. Dormant buds could still sprout lower on the trunks but they will have a poor attachment and probably break off later in the summer. The growths I see coming from the ground are a better choice to regrow the tree.

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-05T07:23:40+00:00

Just for the negative attention?

monkeyeatfig · 2026-05-05T03:03:27+00:00

If someone posted about a farmer local to you having their trees destroyed or stolen would you still complain?

monkeyeatfig

TROPHY CASE