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What does it take to grow figs on a restaurant rooftop in Pittsburgh?

In this conversation from 2018, rooftop gardener Seth Finn shares how he grew fig trees in containers, protected them through Pennsylvania winters, and supplied fresh figs to his daughter's restaurant, Dinette.

Seth started rooftop gardening at his home in 1992 and later brought his growing experience to Dinette. He grew figs in large, sub-irrigated containers, pruning the trees to make winter protection easier.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Growing fig trees in 10-gallon containers
• Pruning figs to make them easier to lay down for winter
• Insulating fig trees right on the rooftop
• What happened when Seth tried overwintering the trees in a garage instead
• Using wicks and water reservoirs in homemade containers
• Reusing and refreshing potting mix instead of replacing it every year
• Growing crops for a restaurant kitchen

It's a conversation about figs, inventive container gardening, and making a productive garden work in an unexpected place.

Get more fig-growing ideas between episodes. Sign up for the free Fig Culture newsletter for practical tips, seasonal notes, and news of upcoming fig events.
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Can you grow a productive fig orchard in Scotland?

After tasting his first tree-ripened fig on a trip to Italy, Scott Horner returned home to Fife, Scotland, and embarked on an ambitious experiment: growing approximately 180 fig varieties in a cool maritime climate.

He soon discovered that winter hardiness zones don't tell the whole story. Scotland's mild winters don't make up for its cool summers and limited growing degree days.

In this episode of Fig Culture, Scott joins Steven Biggs to talk about his experimental orchard, the sheltered growing environments he's creating, and his unusual approach to preserving fig-tree growth instead of pruning it away.

They discuss Scottish polycrubs, microclimates, locally adapted fig trees, growing mixes made with crushed brick and granite, and planters constructed from whisky barrels.

It's a conversation about curiosity, experimentation, and finding ways to grow figs where the climate doesn't make it easy.

Get more fig-growing ideas between episodes. Sign up for the free Fig Culture newsletter for practical tips, seasonal notes, and news of upcoming fig events.
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What is it about figs that gets people collecting—and keeps them coming back for more?

Danny Gentile, founder of FigBid, grew up playing beneath his great-grandfather’s fig tree in the Bronx. Years later, a satellite image led him back to that backyard—and to cuttings of the family tree he thought he’d left behind.

In this episode of Fig Culture, Danny joins me to share that story and explain how his interest in figs grew into an online marketplace. We talk about the growers who helped bring fig collecting onto the internet, the importance of trust when buying plants and cuttings, and the friendships that grow around figs.

Danny also has practical advice for new collectors: build your skills alongside your collection. Before spending heavily on sought-after varieties, get some affordable cuttings, practise rooting, and pay attention to fig trees already growing near you.

In this episode:

• Recovering a family fig tree decades after leaving the neighbourhood
• The story behind FigBid and its 2017 launch
• Why collecting varieties and learning to grow them go hand in hand
• Finding practice material through local growers—with their permission
• Fig gatherings, friendships, and passing the interest on to children
• Danny’s favourite varieties, including Corinth, Sweet Diana, Ronde de Bordeaux, and Nero 600M