by pa_friendly_guy » Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:27 am
Here in western Pa it's a lot colder than it is down your way. There used to be many old time Italians living in our town. When they came over from the old country they wanted to bring a little bit of home with them, so many of them had fig trees in their yards. Because of the cold winters here it took a lot of work to keep them alive and producing fruit. They used to dig up one side of the tree roots, then lay the tree over to the ground and cover it with mulch every fall. Next spring they would uncover the tree , set it upright again, re-cover the roots and let the tree grow until next fall. By always digging up the same side of the tree roots the trees seemed to get used to being hinged on one side. Many of these figs lasted for many years using this method. The old timers are all gone now, and the younger generation [ myself included ] feels that it is too much work for a fresh fig. I have talked with a few older Italian gentlemen that tell me that if I ever tasted a tree ripened fig I would change my mind. Right now I have too many other projects going, maybe someday.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.