Figgin' 'Eck III

Various circumstances conspire to keep me out of the allotment yesterday, and so far today too. But I've taken the time to prick out those fig seedlings. 2 module trays, each with 40 modules, and seedling growing medium, 50/50 sand and peat-free compost. These were planted in 2 improvised seed trays, (the tin trays that come with a supermarket chicken) with holes I stamped in the bottom. They took ages (6-8 weeks) before beginning to germinate. Back in July, I estimated 40 seedlings.

And then a couple of weeks ago, I counted roughly 100.  And then this morning, I got 85 exactly from just one tray: that's 80 in the modules, 5 in a small plant pot. The other tin tray contains a few less, maybe 40-50, and I've just left them there until I think on what to do with them, (fill another module tray, maybe, but I'm running out of windowsills, and these need to stay at home until I get the allotment shed built and stove installed).

40 Fig Seedlings, Pricked Out this Morning.
Slow to get started, figs, but worth sticking with. That's 100+ plants altogether, even counting for losing a few along the way, to go into the hedgerow, all from one dried fig from Turkey, (although there were a dozen or so seeds in the mix from a Brazilian-Israeli fresh fig, I don't know if they germinated). The reason I'm keen to have figs in the hedgerow is not for their fruit. I like dried figs with coffee, but I'm not fussed on the fresh fruit. Anyway, it's unlikely that a var. grown for the Turkish climate would produce fruit in Glasgow.

Years ago, at the original Pig Sty Avenue, there was a fig growing on our boundary. Been there for years, never produced fruit, no-one could say who planted it or when. But one mild-ish November day, (November!) I noticed its wee stubby flowers were mobbed with pollinators. I can't recall now exactly which insects, except that there were hoverflies. And attracting insects, which also attract birds, is a significant element in the hedgerow's rationale: to sustain a rich and complex food chain which means the chance of pests getting out of control is lessened.

Anyway, figs and gorse in the same hedgerow. How many people have thought of that?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leech or flatworm? Ants and Swiss Chard

Image
For the 2nd time in a week or so, (1st time regarding dwarf beans ), I'm following Alys Fowler's advice, this time with regard to Swiss chard .  Long story short, after midsummer plants which often bolt if planted in spring will resist the impulse to do so, probably because of shortening days; (I say shortening, but in Glasgow, in July, we're still getting 18 hours of daylight).   I got a packet of Bright Lights , at a good price, (another reason to wait until July before sowing, lots of bargains, I've noticed). But where to sow them? Most of the 2nd bed is under a tarpaulin, but it wasn't quite big enough to cover the whole bed, so the last 5ft or so went under a sheet of plastic, (in the background of the photo in this post, here .) Transparent plastic was a foolish idea, weeds were growing underneath it, so I covered most of it with sheets of metal from the old shed. I decided to leave the tarp, but use the area beneath the plastic for the chard. Who-ah there...
Read more

"Chevy Chase. Fuck ever happen to him?"

Image
As Paulie Walnuts said in The Sopranos. It got me thinking. As it happens, he's been working steadily , but you can see what Paulie means. It's like that with film and television actors: you don't see them in anything for a year or two, and you wonder if they're dead or perhaps on a lengthy charlie and booze session. Or maybe doing proper acting on the stage? Only appearing on the telly gives them meaning to us. That video with Paul Simon was on one of the cable music channels the other day. It always makes me smile. As for Paulie and the rest of the crew, the clock's ticking. Of course, America already knows how things finish, but we don't. My mate Ian was telling me about a friend of his, visiting the States a few weeks ago, flicking through the channels in his hotel bedroom, he hit on a repeat of THE final episode, just beginning. What a quandry! He watched it, as it goes, but kept shtum when he came home.
Read more

How many pallets can you fit in the back of a Fiat 500?

Image
At least 1. Maybe I could have got 3 altogether, at a pinch. Also 200+ gorse seeds, which have begun to look in danger of damping off, so I'm thinking they'll be better off at the allotment in the fresh air. I'm worried about slugs, snails and woodpigeons, though, so I put them in a wheelbarrow, covered with a net. Also this morning, planted a row of beetroot detroit.
Read more