We are waiting for the first harvest of our figs.

When my husband bought the dacha, there was an unknown bush growing in the corner of the property. It was unsightly, weak, and didn't resemble either a flower or a berry. He wanted to uproot it, but his mother-in-law, out of curiosity, took the seedling to her village. She planted it in the black soil of their huge garden (thankfully, it was June), watered it daily—"watering" it, as she called it—and fed the unknown plant with a complex fertilizer. The bush revived and quickly grew. It turned out to be a fig—a southern crop with sweet and healthy fruits.

That year, we harvested our first fig. It wasn't exactly bountiful—about 20 berries. But we really liked the flavor, so the bush became our favorite. The following year, it grew so large that by the end of the season, we not only had enough figs for the whole family to eat, but also made several jars of jam.

This year, in early spring, before the sap started to flow, I dug up four roots from my mother-in-law's and planted them in my garden. For a long time, the dry stems remained stuck in the soil, showing no signs of life. We assumed the donor bush had died from the winter cold, even though there hadn't been any frosts that year. By mid-June, our bushes had revived, and the first leaves had appeared right at the ground.

Generous watering, adding wood ash, eggshells, and slaked lime did the trick—the fig tree grew strong. The fourth root never recovered. But I didn't remove it; I cared for it just like the others, hoping for a miracle.

Imagine our surprise when the bush even started bearing fruit this year! Each bush already has at least a dozen large ovaries, and new ones are constantly forming.

Returning from visiting a week later, we saw that the fourth root had sprouted. Of course, it wasn't as strong or abundant, but it was still a joy.

I fed it with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer so that it would gain strength and develop a healthy immune system.

But we had to repot it. We didn't wait until late fall or spring; we moved it to a new location in early August. That was our mistake—the bush's leaves wilted and fell off. We really hope it survives. We water it and give it plenty of care.

It's so exciting to try the first fruits from your own fig tree! It makes a difference whose garden you pick the berries from—your own are always tastier.