here’s an off topic. I grow fig trees up here in the frozen north. I have 21 which i cover each winter in leaves and carpet. I tried covering a bunch once in buckets but they died. Can anyone explain to me what kills plants in the winter but doesn’t kill them if covered in leaves. The only thing I can think of is that winter sunlight kills them or exposure to drying out. It’s not the temperature because potted ones can live uncovered in the garage. I just want to find an easier way to cover them and don’t want to lose any in experimentation.

How Not To Kill A Fig Tree

http://www.tropicamango.com/figs.html

That’s the best I can do Ralf, but you may send the owner of the website an email if no one else gives you an answer….

here’s another off topic. I was flipping thru the channels wednesday night and noticed a show called “Art Zone” on KCTS in seattle. The description of the show said something about kids inventing stuff using recycled objects. That’s not what the show was about and I looked everywhere for a show that fit the description and found nothing. Has anyone seen a show like this? I’m asking because I’m tentatively involved with a TV network to start a show called ENVentorman which has the same theme as the one I read in the listings. “ENVentorman, environmentoring the inventive spirit.”

Now that I think about my father use to mulch up leaves and pine needles and spread it around his trees during the winter months to protect the trunk and roots so the tree would not freeze and die, so that must be the answer??

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/welcom... Ralf…maybe this is that children’s program? I think it has been broadcasted on PBS.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/02/make_t...

Yep this is all about making inventions from junk and so on…………..

Thanks, I’m glad it’s not related to what I’m doing.

About the fig tree thing. All the insulation in the world should not affect the temperature inside the leaf pile. The leaves are 20 below zero, the ground is 20 below zero yet the trees survive through the winter only if they’re covered. Something more is going on and I thot the article would reveal it but I guess I’m going to have to experiment. I’m wondering if wrapping the tree will be enough to keep it alive or does it have to be kept close to the ground and why. I’m sure rose gardeners may know the answer as they have the same problem. I suspect it’s either the sun or the wind that kills the trees.

Ralf- I think your idea for a show is awesome and I share your dream for how creative/innovative thinking can be used to help us achieve zero waste. I really hope you are successful in this venture!

Ralf, your right on target, it is the wind that will kill them. It zaps the leaves of chlorofil. That is why landscapers have to cover trees during transport. I developed a burlap cover years ago for transporting high dollar trees. Never pursued the idea but have a garage full of burlap.

Hmmm, frogs, snakes and bumblebees bury themselves under rocks for the winter. No compost just a cold rock and the frozen ground. There’s no heat but there is protection from the wind and sun. I wonder if they could survive under a plate of glass. If yes, it’s the wind that kills them. If no, it’s the sun that kills them. The same would apply to my fig trees.

The animals hibernate which slows down their metabolism, which of course is a survival mechanism so they can bury themselves for warmth and stay in that state while their food is harder for them to get…… And trees go through a similar state……….

Ralf..I did some quick googling about the care of fig trees last night when I saw your post…I read on E-how that people also use chickenwire to protect them and stuff the leaves all around; kept secure with wire-ties. Some use burlap and the people back east in the US actually use tarps! I read that it is important to cover them up right before the first frost and uncover right after the last frost because they are very prone to mold disease otherwise. I also read somewhere that if you have new, smaller plants to bend them towards the ground before you wrap them and potted ones can go in the garage (like you said)…When just planting fig trees, they suggested to plant them in the sunniest spot in the yard. Prune/trim also before winterizing. I guess they need to have some airflow to avoid mold rot??? I was curious about your question on figs myself…I had a giant fig tree at one of my childhood homes (we never did a thing…just let it be)it never had any problems…but it was planted too close to the home and when it was windy it sounded like our house was being pelted with mudballs!! Hope any of this is helpful to you…the E-how site that I read the most info was E-how (UK)…and the site I read about tarping was this one http://www.treesofjoy.com/figcare.htm

Yes there is a huge amount of mold but they have no problems with it. I’m just trying to come up with a quicker way without sacrificing trees trying to find it. I’m tending to think no leaves and just a carpet and maybe a sheet of plastic would work but I’m hoping someone has tried this already. Remember, it gets to 40 below up here so the stuff that works in the states may not work up here.

I just read the link, it seems that a tarp will work so either wind or moisture must be the problem.

On that chickenwire they also put a sheet of plastic over the top of it and secured it with wireties…but yeah, that doesn’t sound like it would be quick!

Ralf, you answered this question long ago………………..Have you forgot about Emery Carpet?

Ralf…found this article. It explains why figs hate the winter. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/nyregion/16fi... Ha-ha..reddawg, OH NO..here we go with the Emery again!!! Should we go suggest Emery Underwear to Matt C.??? LOL!!!

Matt C is very open to suggestions, but a line of Emery Undies and condoms might be a very Itchy subject to get into.

Excellent, that’s the answer! Carpet and plastic. Yay! Thanks.

This is great. I have hundreds (if not thousands) of questions that I search for the answers and they consume my life. Usually you have to read hundreds of pages just to find one sentence that is really worthwhile.

Well, reddawg…some women are swearing by that other sandpaper stuff to get rid of their body hair (I forget the name brand of that product)..so who knows?? We certainly gave him some underwear ideas though! Today, I was waiting for my youngest to get out of school and thoughts of figs, underwear, and names of pans were swimming in my head…thank goodness people can’t read minds or I would have been quite embarassed!

Sherri, no need to be embarrassed….In the old days creative minds where prosecuted as witches and burned at the stake or stoned to death……

Who knows??? Just maybe a gritty pair of panties that smell like a fig and that comes in a foldable pan may just be the next Snuggie………..

Oh crap THAT’S funny…just make sure they are remote controlled and have an I-pod ap!!!

Let’s not forget that the durable texture makes for a great motorcycle helmet, so if you can whip them off quickly and strap them to your head, well then…………

But wouldn’t we be knocking off the fig leaf?? LOL

Never worry about knocking of the Fig Leaf…..According to Patent Law the twenty year protection period is over… Besides I hear the new snuggie Snuggets and Snugleafits are out and the swingers are really into them……..To my understanding Ralf was the inspiration for these as he was doing some barbecuing and his neighbor, well you know?

Thanks for bumping up the “Off Topic” thread, Reddawg..You’re right, I guess there IS a need for this! I wonder what Ralf has been up to…haven’t heard much…among other things,he must be busy working on that LPS? The Idea Den has been very quiet also!!

It is very quite and it appears many people are gone as they have become weary and tired of disappointments and the unsettling nature of things that has been going on within these forum walls. I know I am not innocent as I have been in trouble here for trying to bring a bit of levity here which only resulted in offending people and upsetting others, which of course I never meant to do, but I am not the loan offender here….Unfortunately I have not learned my lesson as I have gone through several jobs on the outside world due to my humor which at times is not humorous to anyone but me or one or two others:}

Well, if it is any kinda consulation to you, I have laughed about Lurch at inappropiate times this week…laughing inappropiately can be very embarrassing! I also learned not to blog when I am extremely tired or very hungry and hope I didn’t make Phil think I was weird because I congratulated him (for the pan) and then started talking about cheesesteaks!!

LOL, my problems arise after I have a cocktail and my good senses are far behind me……..

I can’t believe you are still laughing about Lurch, that’s Great…….Don’t forget that when you send your kids off to school not to forget to pack them their school Lurches…

When I was in first grade, I had a boy in my class that could imitate Lurch very well..he sat in front of me and whenever I tapped him on his shoulder he would turn around and say “you…rang?” I was always in trouble for laughing at school and became quite a target for the class clowns!! I’m glad that my children maintain better composure than me in their studies!

I was a pretty shy guy in school and it wasn’t until my navy days that I started breaking out, but honestly I am still a pretty shy guy, but I do like to write and that more than anything has got me banned from forums and has been my curse by saying things I did not believe were offensive at all.

As good old` Will Shakespeare once said…….“The Pen is mightier then the Sword.” I wonder what he would have said about Blogging?
“To blog is fine and to strike from the mighty keyboard could also be fine, yet the input button once submits to all to see that casts aspersions onto ye fellow man may cast ones hide into the mighty can is not so fine!”

That’s pretty sad to be fired at work for being humorous…many have stress, anger or power-trip issues and I think humor is the very best “counter” for that!

I’m a navy brat! My mom and dad both served during Vietnam…I was going to enlist in my early twenties…but they both talked me out of doing it!

I have no problem leaving a job where laughter is looked at as inappropriate. I do not wish to work for uptight people, what irks me is that you get disciplined for something and later on see the same person that yelled at me doing the same thing, but for some reason now it is alright???

I have had so many jobs my mother said she believes I have had more jobs then anyone still living, maybe there is an award for most jobs held by an individual……If so please nominate me…..

Maybe you would do better doing something where you can be your own boss? You’re living in CA, though…my husband and I saw the economy taking a real nose-dive there and we bailed out and moved to Texas in 2005. Well, maybe things will improve for you if the toy company likes your board? And what about the skateboard shops? Have you already approached them?

The toy company said they would call today and they did not so I am a bit bummed..but I have been contacting others….

There is a big online skateboard place..if I’m not mistaken it is called Skate America…anyway, if you google and look..they said that their business has increased so much that they are currently moving to bigger facilities and they are in Northern California, I think? You might try to find some contact phone numbers on the web…I wonder if they would consider a patent-pending product, though?

Thanks! Patent Pending does turn people off and I don’t blame them, but I will look into it:}

I liked the “Shakespeare on Blogging”, BTW!! To blog or not to blog…That is the question.

I am not a Blogger or a poet but what the Hey?

There’s always Ripleys

Maybe you can get together with someone and make some “sample” boards…while waiting for your patent to go through…Give them to a few people in the San Fran area, Berkeley, Venice Beach, Rodondo, and other fun tourist spots (run a really cool Craigslist ad?) if they will agree to give you some feedback/advice where design improvement might be needed,etc. and will sign some sort of agreement for liability (in case of injury)…they might be such a huge hit, you would have all kinds of people “banging on your door” wanting a “Reddawg Board”, too?!

Or…is that a really stupid idea?..Whew, thank goodness I’m in “Off Topic” where I’m hoping it is alright for a “newbie” to suggest something pretty dumb! Hmmm..I think it is strange that people have been having computer issues and picking up viruses through here, as of late and that the images are not being uploaded…maybe this is not EN’s doing with the photos? Wouldn’t they have made some kind of formal announcement?

Sherri, to start with you never ask anything dumb, as they say the dumbest question asked is the one that never is…..

Chris gave me a lead that Tony Hawk is looking for new boards and other sporting equipment so I have been working on my board and website to reflect an image that would appeal to him….Check it out and tell me If I am on the right track???

http://redfart.solidwebhost.com/Glideboard/inde...

I haven’t clicked yet..but Wow..Tony Hawk…Can I have your autograph, Reddawg It is great that Chris caught that, too!!!

Yes, I am grateful to Chris, I try to be helpful on this board and it was nice that he helped me and that is what this forum should be about, helping each other and not attacking each other over petty issues……

When I click on that link…it is not going through but bringing me to a page about fart searches! (I’m being serious, too!)

LoL! It works for me, but I guess Farts have a place on the Internet too!

I don’t get it, maybe this is why I am not getting any responses to my emails as they think I am a Fart Master?

It says sorry, the web address is not available and gives me other sponsored links for “farts”.