Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith is taking fig cu ings and repots his ‘beef and onion’ plant
Cuttings of these tasty festive favourites are very simple to take
The festive season is here and there are a few things I’ll be doing this week that really do have a Christmas feel to them, including taking fig cuttings! We all know about figgie pudding, but have you thought of gifting a fig cutting to a loved one or gardening friend?
To be honest it couldn’t be easier and it allows you to share your favourite variety for next to no cost, be it ‘Panache’, with its striped fruit, or ‘Brown Turkey’ for its ability to withstand colder weather.
Simply select a healthy branch around pencil to finger-thick with no damage to it, then either prune it out to the main stem or remove the top 30cm (1ft). Hardwood cuttings from figs need to be 15-30cm (6in-1ft) long, being cut just below a leaf node (this is where the roots will come from). Remove the soft tip with a slanted cut so you know which is the top; far too many times I’ve put cuttings down and not remembered which was the top when I’ve come back to them! Once you have your cuttings I add rooting gel or hormone powder, then insert into decorative terracotta pots of gritty potting compost in the middle of the pot; this is because I want to make them look good as presents.
If you’re taking cuttings for yourself, you can slide them down the side of a pot, three to four cuttings in each, leaving only half to a third showing above the compost. Cuttings can be left in a cold frame or cold greenhouse to give them a better chance of success, but figs root easily outside too, making them one of the best to gift at this time of year. You will see signs of life come spring and should be able to plant them out next autumn when they’ve rooted well.
Another job I’ll be doing is turning out my Christmas potatoes, which are in their containers of dry compost since their stems died back, and have been in the greenhouse ever since. Keeping the tasty tubers in the pots has kept them in tip-top condition compared to keeping them in the fridge, so they’ll be great for home-grown new potatoes in December
– and to cook on Christmas
Day! The compost will then be added to the flower borders to help lighten the clay soil there.
Another veg (even though we eat it as a fruit) that needs some preparation at this time of year is rhubarb. I want to force some stems from one of my plants, so will be covering it with a rhubarb forcer to exclude the light and blanche the stems, producing light pink, sweeter-tasting stalks – perfect for a crumble! You don’t need a
terracotta forcer as a black bin will work just as well. If it’s very cold, stuff the forcer with straw.
If you’re growing blueberries, remember they like acidic compost, that’s why I’m replanting mine, as the openbottomed containers they’re in have allowed the roots to grow through the ericaceous compost and into the clay soil, which they really don’t like. I’m transplanting to large pots of acidic soil where they should be happier, and then planting currants in the original containers.
Have a happy and safe festive season from me and Winston!
NEXT WEEK Planting out ‘Wizard’ beans and making squash birdhouses