{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Fig Culture: Helping You Grow a Fig Tree in a Cold Climate","title":"Bob Duncan: “Let’s Try It”","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1365,"description":"Bob Duncan showed Canadian gardeners that the line between possible and impossible isn’t always where we think it is.\nAt Fruit Trees and More, the nursery and demonstration orchard he ran with his wife, Verna, on Vancouver Island, Bob grew figs, lemons, olives, yuzu, loquats, feijoas and many other fruits that gardeners might not expect to see growing in Canada.\nBob was also extraordinarily generous with his knowledge. I wrote about his work in my books about growing figs, lemons and olives—and turned to him many times with questions.\nIn this special tribute episode, I’ve gone back through recordings from my visits and conversations with Bob. Some were made while we walked through his garden; others come from longer interviews about citrus and unusual fruit.\nYou’ll hear Bob talk about:\nHis enormous Meyer lemon tree, which produced more than 400 lemons annually\nWhy keeping a citrus tree alive is different from bringing its fruit to harvest\nHis focus on breba figs\nGrowing olives on Vancouver Island\nWhy yuzu is especially well suited to coastal British Columbia\nThe danger of keeping container-grown citrus too wet\nThe thinking that led him to try growing these unlikely fruits in the first place\nNear the end of one of our conversations, Bob summed up his approach in five words:\n“So I thought to myself, ‘Let’s try it.’”\nBob died on July 20, 2026. My condolences go to Verna, Bob’s family, and the many gardeners who learned from him. \nYou can read more about Bob’s remarkable life—and find details of the August 24 celebration of life—in his obituary.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/zv-BkEM5v2vKH2HknUjHcHyR5v7YVrM3AV6HEC3MLPY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80NTEx/MzQzNGJjNGM0MTQ3/NjEwM2I1NDYwZDYy/NDFjMC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}