Also I would say I’m not dropping off produce as a home gardener - the organization I garden with has a relationship with the pantries and has a scheduled drop off time. Volunteers package it up as requested by the pantries or food kitchens
So it’s an agreed upon process and schedule
I ordered some fresh hardwood fig cuttings a few days ago and have prepped them for sprouting. It will give me a chance to play inside while I’m still not quite ready outside. Hopefully most of them take. Time will tell.
I love figs, I have 6-7 fig trees in my garden. Peter’s honey is my favorite, this year I’m going to make smoothie out of them.
My gardener moved to Puerto Rico in Jan (sigh). If anyone wants to follow his new endeavor and is on FB, search for Jardin de Aibonito and you’ll find it. Google brings up his “first video” too. He’s bought his own property now and plans to turn it into a permaculture garden and homestead - documenting his journey along the way. I’m thrilled for him, but will certainly miss his fresh herbs and produce here.
For us? I’m not totally sure what we’ll plant this year with planned travels. We always plant green peas in March since the taste of those fresh from the garden is impossible to get elsewhere. Normally we do broccoli too, but this year I’m just not sure. Maybe.
Most other things we put in in later April or early May. I’m sure we’ll do tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, zucchini, and butternut squash - not sure about anything else TBH.
We have figs, strawberries, black raspberries, and perhaps a few other things carrying over from other years.
Saw this thread a few days ago and thought isn’t it too early. We had a sleet & freezing rain event last Thursday, but despite that I still had daffodils starting to bloom on Sunday. Guess I was wrong! Some of your comments make me want to get busy in my yard, but I am likely to put my house on the market in early May and will probably limit things to a few pots of annuals this year.
I have had very little luck with fig trees. I have purchased two small trees from the local nursery and in both instances, I only harvested something like four figs!! Both times I brought the trees inside when it got cold, but they still died (I watered them.) I live in MA–but the nursery assured me the variety I purchased was hardy and would grow in Zone 5. Any tips on growing fig trees are welcome.
There’s a variety Hardy Chicago for colder zone.
In my area figs are a pest, I have to grow them in container, otherwise they will spread. I wouldn’t dare fertilize even.
I purchased a hardy variety and I still couldn’t get them to grow.
If you can find my guy from his FB farm you can ask him. He planted our trees and last year we had more figs than we could eat, so he sold some. He told me the variety, but my brain has a tough time keeping up with it all. The figs were quite tasty though and our trees are still doing well. We’re in PA vs MA, but he still might have some tips about things you can do. Few - none I know of - have figs around us. He was told they wouldn’t work. Not true for our area.
When you say they died, are you saying they lost their leaves and you gave up or they lost their leaves, you took care of them over the winter and when spring came they didn’t resprout?
My current fig tree is a Brown Turkey fig. It is in a protected area in zone 6, probably close to zone 7. Mine are planted outside permanently. It loses its leaves earlier than most other trees. It also sprouts later. It definitely prefers the warm weather.
The varieties I’m trying to start are Chicago Hardy. I wanted something I could hopefully be less concerned about over the winter.
Planted some seed today because why not. Letting them soak in some 
because it’s 60 here today and then they will go on a heat pad inside.
Planted kale, rainbow beets and jalapeños.
Will be starting my heat loving veggies indoors today so they would be big and strong by the time they can safely go outside. 
This usually requires transplanting them into bigger pots at one point midway.
Do you plant the seedlings in the egg cartons or remove them? I have tried planting in peat pots previously but they never fully decompose.
I personally haven’t done in the egg cartons before. But friends encouraged me to try. I will
Make game time decisions whether I take some and transplant to a 4 inch starter pot or leave in the egg cartons.
I did make a hold in the bottom of each egg slot for water, roots.
I brought the trees in and took care of them over the winter. They didn’t get as much sun as they had outside (they had full sun outside). The trees didn’t come back in the spring.
Ours stay out year round here in PA, but again, we’re further south, probably not too far from @MarylandJOE . I’m not sure what your options are in MA.
I guess if I were to bring them in, I’d let them go dormant outside (lose their leaves) then bring them into a non heated space for the winter (garage), Water them sparingly, then put them back outside after temperatures warmed into the 60s with no chance of frost. That would replicate a normal winter for them.
I start mine in plastic egg cartons (eggs at Costco are sold in those thin plastic ones). I pop the rootballs out with the soil for planting or transplanting. I am not a fan of peat blocks or cardboard pots. They take forever to disintegrate.
This is what I was trying to say! Holes in my cardboard now for drainage and then pop them out for planting later - dirt to dirt!
Just added one more carton - zinnias! And ordered a grow bulb that will fit a lamp on desk in a sunny spare room where I’ll keep them! I also have a heat mat for the early weeks
