The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Win a free fig tree!

Rooted fig cuttingI don't usually cross-promote books here if we publish them but they're written by someone else.  But our publishing wing has become the majority of our bread and butter lately, so I hope you don't mind the occasional plug...especially if it comes with a homesteading-related giveaway!

I'll start with the part you're probably most interested in --- the free stuff!  I rooted a cutting from my father's Brown Turkey fig this year, and the sapling is looking for a zone-7 or warmer home.  Daddy is picking a gallon of figs a day from this little tree's mother, and says that fig pie is his current favorite way to consume the fruit.  As long as you don't live in a cold climate, fig trees require nearly no care, and can be fit into an area about eight feet in diameter (although I hear they get much larger in California).  Why not enter to win your own no-work fruit tree?

What if you live up north?  Don't worry, I'll swap out your prize for something more appropriate.  You might prefer cuttings from my Chicago hardy fig --- these are easy to root and will produce fruit (with a little care) up through zone 6.  However, if even that is Burgling the Dragontoo tropical for your tastes, you can choose either a medley of our favorite seeds, or a signed copy of one of my (or Aimee's) books.  And, if a northerner wins the prize, I'll pick a second winner to give the fig tree to!

How do you enter the giveaway?  Just plug our books using the widget below.  Aimee has several new books out now or soon --- you've probably heard me mention Shiftless, which has already sold over 3,000 copies and will be an audio book within a few weeks; Burgling the Dragon is available at a special preorder price of 99 cents through September 30; and Aimee's short story Flight of the Billionaire's Sister will make you itch to read her newest novel, slated to release in November or December.  Oh, and did I mention that her short-story collection is free on Amazon today?  Once books are out of the preorder period, you can also borrow nearly all of her books (and mine too!) using Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited, so why not check some out?  Thanks in advance for reading and for spreading the word!

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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Wow, what a great giveaway! While we have no room for another fig tree in our tiny Las Vegas yard, I highly recommend them for folks in this very hot, dry climate. Our young fig tree produced so much luscious fruit this year that we happily shared some with a sweet mockingbird family. The baby loved those figs! We are loving your blog and all the great tips. Even though our yard is quite tiny, we have enjoyed growing figs, pomegranates, squash, corn, sunflowers, grapes, artichokes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, mint, rosemary, cabbage, chard, and we hope to add beets to our winter garden this year! Keep up the great work, you guys! And folks with room, -register for that fig. You'll love it!

Comment by Abby Elvidge Tue Sep 16 10:00:19 2014
I agree with another reader. What a great giveaway! But if folks live in a more cold climate you can still have a fig tree. Just put it in a large pot and move it outdoors during the summer and then bring it indoors when it starts to get cold. That's what I do with my fig, banana and lime trees, even though allegedly I live in zone 7. I think I actually live in zone 6 because of the microclimate I'm in.
Comment by Nayan Tue Sep 16 10:38:13 2014

Now I know why you rip out plants like brocolli after they give you their best. I held on to my brocolli since they have us side shoots. They got really big, and have out very little and now I worry it robbed the soil for nothing. The plants were almost as tall as me. How would you go about composting these bushes? Is brocolli mostly nitrogen, would I layer it with straw?

Comment by Kathleen Tue Sep 16 13:18:43 2014





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