7/6/2006 4:15:59 PM

ha ha, that's pretty cool

7/6/2006 4:34:29 PM

craptastic

7/6/2006 4:35:20 PM

o man i love figs

that looks good, ill buy some from you

OR I WILL PAY FOR A CUTTING OF THAT FIG PLANT

[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 4:56 PM. Reason : g]

7/6/2006 4:47:18 PM

but does it taste like shit?

7/6/2006 4:52:28 PM

Doesn't belong to me, unfortunately.

7/6/2006 5:00:34 PM

wait... how big is traditional fig?

7/6/2006 5:11:17 PM

about the size of a 9-10 week old fetus.

7/6/2006 5:16:37 PM

in the wild?

about the size of a quarter to a 50 cent piece

never seen a fig as big as a damn tennis ball

7/6/2006 5:17:40 PM

why is the tennis ball leaking?

7/6/2006 6:55:47 PM

hell yeah

bad ass fig bush

7/6/2006 7:04:11 PM

^^It's water, splashed from the nearby sink.

Quote :

"about the size of a 9-10 week old fetus."

A perfect size for snacking.

But seriously, don't politicize my thread. Discussion should focus on rediculously large freaks of nature and the horrible mistakes of modern humans that tragiluckily created them.

Examples:




[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 7:43 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2006 7:29:37 PM

are the owners making fig preserves? If so, I'll pay for some. Probably at least 4 pints - maybe more.

7/6/2006 7:44:54 PM

PIGGY PUDDING!!!


(muppet xmas soundtrack)

7/6/2006 7:49:14 PM

Quote :

"Discussion should focus on rediculously large freaks of nature and the horrible mistakes of modern humans "

[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 7:59 PM. Reason : h]

7/6/2006 7:58:50 PM

i need to take a pic of my grandpas fig bushes.......they are two stories tall now and huge

7/6/2006 11:56:37 PM

I didn't think that was a fig at first

7/7/2006 12:01:18 AM

directly on top?


sure hope the roots never cause an damage to the tank

7/7/2006 1:07:33 AM

YOU GREW A TENNIS BALL???

7/7/2006 1:14:03 AM

no silly.... he pooped out the tennis ball

7/7/2006 2:13:39 AM

Quote :

"about the size of a 9-10 week old fetus."

haha, a chick said that, makes it even better

7/7/2006 2:59:38 PM

idk about the fig... but that's one big dang cat

7/7/2006 3:12:50 PM

holy shit, that's a big damn cat. i hope that thing is declawed.

7/8/2006 2:38:50 AM

hey chris, bighit, we have a fig tree in the back yard of our old house (which is up for sale). if i go home any time soon, maybe i can bring you a clipping back? lemme know, seriously, if you'd want one. PM me, b/c i'll probably forget about this thread.

7/8/2006 3:12:43 AM

Jesus killed a fig tree for less.

7/8/2006 3:16:58 AM

GOOD LORD that is a big kitty.

7/8/2006 3:21:46 AM

Maine coon cat. They get huge

7/8/2006 7:44:54 AM

7/8/2006 12:45:00 PM

too bad if they ever have to dig up the septic tank...

7/9/2006 11:48:48 AM

As those roots expand, they will damage and clog that septic tank untill it fails

and I wouldnt eat that fig

7/9/2006 1:29:17 PM

^ seriously, it's like a fucking shit newton.

7/9/2006 1:31:59 PM

that and all the chemicals found in tanks (draino and tank maintenance stuff) and stuff that leachs into compromised tanks, like pesticides, motor oils, ect.

7/9/2006 1:34:47 PM

I bought dried figs one time and they were a little bigger than grapes, and I'm assuming that drying shrinks them some

7/9/2006 2:50:01 PM

plants don't absorb all that crap you dummies

[Edited on July 9, 2006 at 3:00 PM. Reason : well, they absorb the nutrients, but you don't have to worry about eating motor oil ]

7/9/2006 2:59:44 PM

^yea they cant absorb much of the compounds, the nutrients have to be unfixed

[Edited on July 9, 2006 at 3:26 PM. Reason : f]

7/9/2006 3:26:05 PM

so many degrees, so little knowledge

7/9/2006 3:28:00 PM

ok hero, take a bite of the shit newton and give us a report

if you can tell me all of the chemicals present and all of the complex chemical reactions taking place within that septic tank, and that there is no inherent risk in eating said fig, then be my guest

Quote :

"plants don't absorb all that crap you dummies"

yeah, they can't absorb all of it. but they will absorb some of it, and that might be enough to make you sick or cause long term health exposure from longer term consumption. I've worked in the water resources department of a utility company and seen the sludge that comes out of a wastewater treatment plant. we even had a private company contact us about buying the sludge to use for agriculture, but it would first have to be treated to remove heavy metals to prevent soil contamination. like I said, if you are an expert and know everything about the health consequences of eating food that has been grown from untreated sewage, then feel free to take the first bite

7/9/2006 4:13:20 PM

alot of that food you eat in the grocery store was fertilized with hog shit too


loaded up, and thrown out with a spreader


you need to take some botany, ag, or horticulture classes...

7/10/2006 3:14:27 PM

you need to take a reading class

The problem isnt with the fecal matter, its with chemicals and metals and other compounds. If you can't be certain of what has been dumped in that system, I wouldnt do it.

7/10/2006 3:35:17 PM

I sliced that fucker up and ate it on a dinner plate.

7/10/2006 6:09:23 PM

I still want some fig preserves

7/10/2006 6:11:20 PM

There's a big ass fig tree at my parents house

I'm makin' beer with them shits

7/10/2006 7:18:53 PM

Scuba Steve:
I can assume from your misguided post that you don't have much soil/plant physiology training. firstly, plants have a very complex method of importing nutrients from the soil, designed to keep heavy metals out. most plants will only accumulate a very tiny amount of any heavy metals or radioisotopes, as most plants are normally sensitive to presence of excess metals in the soil. there are some plants called hyperaccumulators that can be conditioned to absorb heavy metals and "fix" them, with the addition of chelating chemicals to the soil. these plants are considered useful in phytoremediation of contaminated sites, but even in these plants the metal accumulations are heavily concentrated in the roots and lower stem and woody material, not in the shoots, flowers or fruits. secondly, soils have an inherent factor to fix and neturalize heavy metals based on the composition of the soil, namely the concentration of clay and organic particles.

The reason the sewage sludge has to be treated for heavy metal is not because they are concerned about uptake of metals by the plants and subsequent poisioning of animals/humans fed said plants, but because

a) the plants are sensitive to the metals and most likely not grow well.
b) since the plants aren't taking up the metals, accumulation of heavy metals in soil is detrimental to animal life, and the runoff is a water quality issue.

If you've ever been to raleigh's waste water treatment facility, you'll see that they do land apply the untreated sludge, at a rate of up to 400 lbs/acre/year of plant available nitrogen, and they test biweekly to make sure that the heavy metal concentration is below the cation exchange capacity of the soil to prevent eutrophication of the surrounding streams.

finally, household waste does not contain large concentrations of heavy metals. industrial waste is the problem, so a home septic system is a relatively safe source of plant nutrients. the chinese have fertilized their rice paddies with sewage for thousands of years, and with their large population and low cancer rates, i daresay it hasn't harmed them any.

so, all in all, i'd say it's pretty safe for them to eat the damn figs.

[Edited on July 10, 2006 at 8:14 PM. Reason : ]

7/10/2006 8:14:03 PM

^there's a reason we didn't have a problem putting a garden over a tank

(we'd have put it over the leech field, except it was too shady)

7/10/2006 8:26:24 PM

christine, i'll pay you for some figs light that if you plant a tree

[Edited on July 10, 2006 at 9:08 PM. Reason : hah]

7/10/2006 9:07:00 PM

too many trees already. You're welcome to go to my parents place and pick them, though, so long as you give them warning. Their fig tree is in the leech field.

7/10/2006 9:10:08 PM

dang, may have to do that...

7/10/2006 9:11:20 PM

SCUBA STEVE PLEASE SHUT UP

7/10/2006 9:16:04 PM

I dont think I would have too much problem with eating something fed by the drain field laterals, but I would still be cautious about anything coming directly from the tank. And sooner or later that root system is going to cause some major blockages. People put some nasty shit down septic tank systems.

I remember when I was at Virginia Tech, we had a case in groundwater hydrology about a guy who had poured chemicals from his electroplating shop down into his tank, and it ended up polluting wells and gave a bunch of people cancer when it got into the groundwater. I have seen your arguements based on broad generalizations, controlled environments and you even stated that those plants test frequently. You are probably right that the fig is probably safe to eat, but I wouldn't want to find out later I was wrong. Better safe than sorry...

[Edited on July 10, 2006 at 9:42 PM. Reason : .]

7/10/2006 9:40:41 PM

that doesn't have anything to do with plants absorbing bacteria, heavy metals, carcinogenic chemicals or radiation. that's some maintenance issues/groundwater safety, but thanks for trying!

7/11/2006 4:01:42 AM