Any Fig Fanatics?

[ultrarunner]

I got mom this cap to wear when she sold her figs…

 

[kenmbz]

I dehydrate some figs, some I eat from the tree, some I use to cook.
Gave some to my neighbors yesterday.

Fig tree is so tall again that I can walk upright under the branches.

Still plenty of figs left to ripen.
Birds have been very active on the tree also the last few days.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I hadn't thought about birds! But ... I was thinking this morning that the rotten raccoons may try to steal them, so this morning while I was headed home for a long lunch break, I decided to add a few strands to the bottom of the 3D fence I have to keep the deer away ... Unfortunately I ran out of wire, but got a strand at 6", next time home I'll put another one up at 12" ...

It's got plenty of juice!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I finished up the fence today ...

The fig is the only one with fruit on it ... Not sure when they are ripe, but they feel firm to me ...

 

[Jstpssng]

Stark Bros had fig trees on sale last fall. They said that in my zone it's best to pot them and vring them into someplace cool and dark for the winter. I was ready to order until I read that they grow to be 10 feet tall.
That'd take someplace taller than what I have, accessible via tractor. (Granted it'd be foolish for me to have a building NOT accessible by tractor...)

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Stark Bros had fig trees on sale last fall. They said that in my zone it's best to pot them and vring them into someplace cool and dark for the winter. I was ready to order until I read that they grow to be 10 feet tall.
That'd take someplace taller than what I have, accessible via tractor. (Granted it'd be foolish for me to have a building NOT accessible by tractor...)

But they don't have to grow 10 foot tall. You can train them to grow out not up. But yeah, some sort of mechanical advantage would be a smart play with a fig in a 25 gallon pot.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I just picked some leaves today before they all started to fall. Fig tea is supposed to be really nice.

 

[Jstpssng]

I just picked some leaves today before they all started to fall. Fig tea is supposed to be really nice.

Let us know how you like it!

 

[kenmbz]

Got another bag of figs picked and into the freezer.
probably one more round to go and will dehydrate those.
I will leave anything after this to the birds and bugs.
It's rare my fig tree does not get to 10' tall.
I pick them when they start turning brown, leave them when they are fully brown and start splitting and get too soft/mushy.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Its time to start harvesting our fig leaves. THere is no certain time, first time I harvested them they were green as a gourd. I put them on the kitchen table for a few weeks until they go crunchy. Worked fine.

Yeah as mentioned above you can prune them to any shape you want. It does affect production somewhat though. Hmmmm

Just thought about this, I bet I could graft one type of fig to another... Hmm I may try that this spring.

Anyone ever try grafting a fig tree? I'm guessing they are all in the same Genus or cultivar that should allow that. Better look that up...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Checked on my one fig "bush" ... It had 3 that looked ripe and felt soft, I picked another one that is still firm ... I'm not sure if it will ripen once picked ... I left the other few that were still very green ...

My first figs!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Checked on my one fig "bush" ... It had 3 that looked ripe and felt soft, I picked another one that is still firm ... I'm not sure if it will ripen once picked ... I left the other few that were still very green ...

My first figs!

View attachment 4293697

Yay! Congrats! I have heard they do not ripen off the bush but I feel like they do get softer if left in the fridge for a couple of days.

 

[ponytug]

Yay! Congrats! I have heard they do not ripen off the bush but I feel like they do get softer if left in the fridge for a couple of days.

Our experience is similar as our kalamata figs don't ripen after picking.

All the best, Peter

 

[kenmbz]

This was a great year for figs, but the crop ran almost a month later than last year.
The birds that help clean off the last of the figs were gone for weeks before the last of the figs came in.
I dried quite a few pounds, froze some, we will see how the freezing works.
Still have some ripening.

If I pick them right when they start turning a light brown they seem to finish ripening. Too green and they just stay that way.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I ate the three soft ones, they were sweet and tasty, will take the other one with me when I go back on the road, at least the rotten raccoons didn't get any!

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Our brown turkey figs I often harvest them before they are real soft to eliminate competing with the critters and bugs. They get get/got sweeter and softer.
Congrats on the first of many harvests for you.

 

[Doofy]

I haven't had a fresh fig in 64 years. I sure enjoyed them when I was young though. Fig Newton's are my only source now.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I put that last hard one that I picked back on the 21st in my truck ... Dug it out today, and it seemed to have softened up, but also "shrank"!.

I took a bite, the skin was tough and leathery ...

Didn't have the sweet fig taste of the others, almost bitter and I spit it out into the trash ... !

Can you just let ripe figs sit on the counter? Or how do you "preserve" them?

 

[kenmbz]

I dehydrate or freeze them.
I will find out how regular freezing works as it's my first year doing it.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I got home today and went to check on the figs ... One was almost brown, and was softish ... I picked it and it had a little milky juice on the stem ... It wasn't sweet, but not bitter like the other one ... Nor sweet like the first three ...

We did have a bit of a frost, it had a bunch of shriveled up leaves, but also half a dozen more little green firm figs!