3 Coats of Wilt Pruf: My Fig Trees Winter Protection
Channel: Ross Raddi
Date: 02/12/2018

From Fedco: 
Paint the trunks
Painting is likely the best deterrent. I’ve tried a number of recipes and this is my favorite. It’s easy and requires no hard-to-find ingredients. Mix white interior latex paint with joint compound. (The stuff you smear on sheet rock joints and nail holes—you can buy a small tub at any hardware store. Some exterior paint formulations contain ingredients that can harm the underlying phloem.) The consistency should be thick but still quite easy to paint, not glob on. Repaint as needed. This mix will help deter borers and also make detection of infestations easier. Look for the frass!

We are experimenting with a borer-protection formula using more benign ingredients. It doesn’t last or adhere as well as the paint-joint compound mixture, but it appears to work fairly well.
2 qt quick lime
4 gal milk
1 gal boiled linseed oil

Mix well. Thicken as needed with clay or Surround (available in the Organic Growers Supply section of the Fedco Seeds catalog). Apply with a paint brush. Reapply as needed.

Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia
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