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Author Topic: I miss my brown turkey.  (Read 3937 times)

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
I miss my brown turkey.
« on: September 01, 2014, 09:41:13 pm »
I grew figs in the garden in surrey before moving here. I love figs and rooted some cuttings before the move. Somehow they got neglected and died in last years hot spell and it's ridiculous to see the price for young plants when cuttings are so easy and cheap to do.

If anyone is game to do me a couple then perhaps we can find a swap - I can do dessert grape cuttings, I've got a couple of spare sweet chestnut seedlings and I might even part with one of my monket puzzles (although they are planned for a monkey puzzle forest for the nuts but I have lots). Actually there's loads of other stuff around - assorted self-set native trees, blackthorn and the like too.

Even better if it's within a sensible travel to avoid post (llanfyllin)..

It's getting a bit late in the season for cuttings but if they did take then they could go in the citrus house to extend them before wintering... or just wait 'til spring.

HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2014, 12:28:26 am »
Where are you? I'm guessing Wales? I never come anywhere close (or should say I have no immediate plans to come anywhere close - otherwise I sound as though I'm Welsh hating) but could try and post?

I've got figs coming up everywhere. We had four taken out last year and all are trying to come back - plus the four that we didn't have taken out that are trying to take over the world. I think they're all Brown Turkey - fruit looks like it from what I can see. Tempted on the monkey puzzle but nowhere to put it really - the rest we have already.

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2014, 06:20:16 am »
I'll happilly spring for a courier - just resented the silly asking prices for something so easy to propagate. I would have guessed you had one or more. I'm cheeky enough to ask if you could stick a dozen fresh kentish cobnuts in with any package - I've just got the tiny varieties here - assuming your squirrels leave any once they're properly ripe ;) . I'm guessing they treat the shop bought ones 'cos last years dozen didn't germinate.

As you know monkey puzzles are single sex so unless one has 3 or 4 the odds of getting nuts aren't so high after a very long wait. I've got a couple of dozen I did a deal over - about 4 yrs old now but still too small to compete with the brackens and grasses on the slopes even with a metre of ground membrane around each. One as a specimen tree you'ld be welcome to, though. It's a long term project - probably beyond my lifespan - for another edible 'nut' grown UK. Along with the cold hardy pecans and hickory nuts but i only have a very few of those.

HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2014, 09:44:45 am »
No probs - tell me what to do. Does it need to have root attached to it? Or can I just cut a bunch of suckers? Then root end in a plastic bag with something damp? I can send Royal Mail first class and it should be there next day if I send it early in the week. All the hatching eggs I sent out this year were next day delivery and a guy down the road sends out plants for his business with Royal Mail.

 I can check for nuts. We have huge trees but strangely the squirrels seem to appear for one week only and strip the lot. I did find one ripe one the other day but I ate it!

Don't worry about the monkey puzzle - I just love the look of the mature trees but no idea where I'd put it. I'm thinking about starting off a pecan too but again no idea where it'll go for now. My planting project for this winter is bare root roses on the end of the vine rows - just when I thought I'd have a winter of not having to brave the elements and frozen ground.

H

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2014, 10:26:43 am »
Something with a root on would be perfection this time of year but if that proves difficult then a bunch of 10-12 inch sticks with some internodes (even better with tips) in damp tissue at the thick end is fine. Reality is that they're best about feb or june/july but I'm impatient. I used to cut a bunch in feb and just stick them in a  jam jar of water on the kitchen windowsill to root ..or just pruned mid summer and stuck bits in pots. About 8/10 rooted and one or two are enough when mature trees for any family.

I searched a long time for pecans. There is a place in the USA that exports cold hardy ones.. but only by the container load!! And they have to go through all sorts of export quarantine. The only place I ever found UK was http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/plantorders.html But they germinated seeds to order (from cold hardy known stock) and send tiny seedlings in the autumn. About half didn't make the first winter outdoors.. perhaps I should have greenhoused them until a bit bigger.

Most Roses, I find, are hard work - always needing spraying with something although there is a small flowering pinky-white climbing rose on the side of this house that has been bullet-proof. The only rose here. I made a conscious decision not to do flower borders - enough weeding as it is.

I'll PM my address etc and if you send back a postage estimate and email I'll paypal the cost over.

Incientally.. you mentioned no blueberries due to soil type. Back in Surrey I grew them in large tubs of ericaceous compost for that reason - cheap ones from wilkos did well. I also sent my sister a 'set' from http://www.talatonplants.co.uk/ as a birthday prezzie and she has them in tubs near Reading

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2014, 07:23:49 am »
HesterF very kindly :love: indulged my foolishness in trying cuttings this time of year and sent me half a dozen cuttings. I chucked them in a jamjar of water so i could see if there were signs of rooting..and this morning I can see 1mm rootlets starting on half of them. As I said previously they do root very easily.

I'll stick a couple into potting compost now and keep some longer in the water because the obvious issue is one of whether this late in the season they can store enough energy to overwinter or manage to grow a late leaf bud and build up a better store after using reserves to make roots - it's only a few weeks before they'd drop any leaves anyway.

An ideal would be a grow-light to extend daylight length for an extra month with timers and bottom heat but I'm not that organised. :-[

Hester also sent me some hazelnuts but there's no likelihood of a report on those until spring. There's masses of hazel here but it's all local smaller-nut stuff. I did buy 2 kentish cob saplings when we first moved in but sadly one died after a heavy attack from some sort of leaf flea beetle thingy that turned them all to lace.

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2014, 07:42:07 am »
Update:

The cuttings i potted on in the big greenhouse are sitting there looking healthy enough -as in happy green bud tips waiting for spring.

the cuttings still in the sun-room/extension in water have suprised me by the tip buds starting to burst open and one cutting that I'd have sworn must be dying (tip bud withered) has grown a tiny leaf from the axia node below. Time to pot those on and keep them indoors.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2014, 11:30:35 pm »
I would love to grow a fig tree but the best place for it is against our back wall which is south facing. The front of the house is too shaded. Unfortunately, I have goats who can get to the back wall so a fig tree wouldn't last long.  :'( :'(

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: I miss my brown turkey.
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2015, 12:41:47 pm »
Thanks to Hester four of the cuttings have survived and are showing the start of leaves. It was a daft time of year for me to try it but appear to have got away with it.  I'll keep them in pots this year.



 

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