Fig Talk

There are over 2300 named fig cultivars circulating in the USA.

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Yeah, that’s a good idea. The woman who introduced me to figs insisted that I have a taste test before buying any trees. She prepared a package of ~50 ripe figs, 3-4 from each of ~15 different varieties. As I recall, my wife, granddaughter and I polished off the whole batch in one sitting.

Luckily I don’t have to worry about thousands of named varieties. If we eliminate synonyms, there’re fewer than 20 names that perform well here. And I know that those are very good because the figs I pick routinely in my back yard are just as good as those that I’ve picked off trees in Istanbul or purchased in markets in Barcelona.

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there’re fewer than 20 names that perform well here

Could you share that list?

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https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/1262279-what-if-i-can-still-grow-only-n-figs-in-the-northeast-which-should-i-choose

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Nero600m
… how do i know when it’s ready? Does it droop when ready? It’s soft.


Lattarola as well… it’s droopy but i picked one about a week ago and it was no where near ready but drooped more than this one. This one is soft and has a little more color to it.

I’ve noticed in the last month and right now, I’ve been a little over 10 degrees warmer than Seattle. I set the pot on rocks so it’s even warmer where the figs are by at least a few degrees. Yesterday it got to about 95 degrees on my driveway and i had to water the figs twice.

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ideally, the fruit will not only droop but also shrivel. The skin should get somewhat wrinkled, maybe lightly cracked. Nero 600M can be very tricky because it colors long before it fully ripens. “Hang time” is 2-3 weeks.

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I have never even tried to let them ripen to maturity. I know they will continue ripening after harvest, and I am sure that they will not get as sweet and the texture will not be as good as letting them ripen to maturity. However, for me, I would never eat a fig if I waited that long long between the rain and the mockingbirds, I would get nothing so I just settle for figs that are a little less sweet but still good to eat fresh or make fake preserves

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I’m in a very similar climate and have industrial quantities of rain and mockingbirds. The rain there’s little to be done about, but for the mocking birds, I’ve had good luck with organza bags. I slip them on when color change begins as the figs start to swell up. Fire ant bait in the fig orchard a few weeks prior to ripening is also a must do for me.

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I work on hopes and prayers most of the time :joy:

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Someone offered me 200$ for my 2-3 ft Nero600m tree because they said they have a fig tree but they never get any figs from them and they were shocked at how many I have that have figlets.
I’ve grown attached but I’m considering it :thinking:

I stopped watering my Latarolla to try to sweeten it up. Hoping the birds leave it alone and just stick to the berries that are overflowing right now

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I think I have noticed a lot fewer bird attacks on my figs since my wife put out her birdfeeder and put feed in it. Not really sure if it’s a real thing or just something I want to happen.

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In my experience, we can get only roughly 1-2 days worth of ripening indoors. So it’s a help but not a solution. In your situation, I’d probably try growing some small (aggressively pruned) trees that would accommodate nets. Or I’d net the lower branches.

Increasingly I’ve been throwing nets over my potted trees.

Take cuttings and sell.

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Eventually but it’s so pretty right now :weary:

Is there anything significantly different in the process of rooting dormant vs non dormant cuttings?

You could make an airlayer and sell that to him/her and also you get to keep your plant.

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Fruitnut talked about the rain hurting his figs right now.
When is rain bad for figs? When is it good? It is variety dependent?

Our monsoon season is generally July and August. Wondering if certain varieties will be less impacted by those rains. Early vs late maturing fruit etc.
I’m planning on some being in greenhouses but likely some outside also…

I love figs and many times have eaten them fresh from friends trees in southern Utah, but this is the first year that I have started growing any myself and I am definitely a neophyte.

As figs ripen rain can cause them to split. If they don’t split, it can cause the flavor to be watered down or washed out.

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My first fig this season :sob::sob::sob:

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Awesome, congrats! Which variety is that one?