Gardening is basically an infinite food glitch. Once you've got your green space figured out, you'll have tons of produce to feed yourself and your community.
The scoop
Fig trees are one of the easier kinds of plants with which to accomplish this. In an Instagram reel, Vanessa (@fromthe.garden) shows viewers how to collect cuttings to propagate new fig trees properly.
The first step is to get your trimmings. Woody cuttings (as in cuttings with thick bark) that are five to six inches long will work.
Vanessa then creates a soil blend of half vermiculite and half perlite. You can put the cuttings in the soil mix upright in Mason jars. Laying them down and placing them in a fridge also works.
They also recommend "simply shoving your cutting into the soil nearby, layering into damp sand in a bucket or clear plastic tote and using rooting hormone in potting mix." Regardless of your method, if you keep the cuttings watered, they should sprout leaf buds and roots within a week.
Vanessa ends by saying that their fig tree was the size of one of their clippings two years ago. The tree is now incredibly large and has many leaves.
How it's helping
Growing your own food has a cornucopia of benefits. You might not even need to invest money in seeds; your local library may have some you can use for free. If your town has a gardening club or you otherwise know people who garden, they might give you seeds, too.
Maintaining your own or a community garden can be great for your mental health. If you have the ability to do so, you can get a great arm workout from weeding your beds. And you'll even save money by not going to the store as much to buy produce.
Fig trees help out their ecosystem as well. They're great sources of food, and they're both flood- and drought-resistant, according to Stone Pier Press. In a world with a constantly changing climate, fig trees are crucial to keeping everyone, including humans, alive.
What everyone's saying
A few people expressed disbelief and shared their own fig-growing experiences.
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I already have 🧑🌾 "I didn't realize they grew that fast," said one Instagram user.
Another person said, "Mine are in a pot and were planted a few months ago. The recent lows killed some leaves but they're still growing and going!"
When one person asked why their tree still wasn't bearing fruit, Vanessa said, "The first 3-5 years fig trees need to focus on root development. Some varieties establish quicker but most need a few years to really be able to support the last stage of fruit maturity."
She also suggested "using a balanced fertilizer that has higher potassium and phosphorus."
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