Figs are a delicious, exotic fruit often eaten as a dessert. The sweet fruit grows on trees that are adaptable to most environments and can be propagated either from a cutting or from seed, but there are many hardships that come with starting from seed. Depending on the species of fig you are trying to grow, some need to be pollinated by a very particular wasp while others self-pollinate, but this latter category doesn't produce viable seeds. In order to obtain seeds from a viable fig, the best option is to buy dried smyrna-variety figs from parts of California or the Middle East. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Purchase dried figs that come from parts of California or the Middle East where a special wasp pollinates smyrna fig varieties. These dried figs should be available at most grocery stores, health food stores or, if you have one, a Greek market. Smyrna trees grow large edible fruit with seeds that can reproduce and germinate. Two other general varieties of fig trees exist, San Pedro and common, but neither produce viable seeds.
2. Soak the dried figs in water overnight to rehydrate the fruit and moisten the seeds.
3. Using a glass jar under a slow running tap water, wash the seeds off the pulp. As the seeds fall into the jar, the viable ones should be heavy and sink to the bottom while the small pulp pieces will float and can be gently washed away.
4. Place clean seeds on a paper towel and either dry them for later use or plant them right away.
5. Sprinkle seeds on top of nutrient-rich soil in a deep tray, in peat pots or in moss pellets. Cover very lightly with a layer of soil and mist thoroughly with water.
6. Place tray atop a heating pad or on top of a boiler, if your home has one, for some bottom heat. This will encourage the seeds to germinate faster.
7. Keep an eye on the seedlings as they germinate and make sure the soil never dries out completely. If the watering displaces the soil, sprinkle a bit more soil or sand on top to gently cover the seeds. In 10 to 24 days you should see the first sprouts.
8. As soon as the second pair of leaves develop, transplant the strongest seedlings either outside if you are after the last chance of frost or into a larger container.
Tags: dried figs, California Middle, California Middle East, from parts, from parts California, from seed