Show Off Your Figs and "This year Harvest"

[RedSun]

@alanmercieca

I knew that there were at least two, yet I thought that only one of them got distributed well, interesting.

Anyway the one I have, I got from the source of the cultivar ‘figgy frank’. It’s the one that the figs look a lot like the figs of ‘English Brown Turkey’, the kind of ‘English Brown Turkey’ that has large figs, since I have never grown English Brown Turkey myself, I am not sure how much the flesh is like ‘English Brown Turkey’.

Now that I think about it, the fig in those 2 photos do not look like the Carini I have here are some photos

The English BT really has nothing to do with American BTs. As far as I know, English BTs are hardier than our American BTs. Even our American BTs have varieties from California, Texas (Southern) and Eastern. I’m not certain which is which. I believe the “plain” BT is the Texas (Southern) BT.

For the Carini, there is the Cesar’s Carini, which has pale yellow skin and melon inside. Frank’s Carini has light brown skin and sugar inside. The one I have is the Mariani’s Carini Green. It is a pure Adriatic fig with green skin and red berry inside.

The two photos you have do not look like any of the Carinis.

[alanmercieca]

The English Brown Turkey’s that I speak of came from Europe and are very cold hardy, they are not American. A certain cultivar of eastern brown turkey named ‘Hanc’s Eastern Brown Turkey’ used to abbreviated ‘Hanc’s EBT’ and many people jumped to the false conclusion that the EBT in the name meant English brown turkey, when the person sending out the cuttings never tried to say that they were English brown turkey, and eastern brown turkey is a type of southern brown turkey.

Frank sent me the unknown Carni cuttings him self at no charge, and lots of other fig collectors that he sent them to their figs looked exactly like the figs on mine. I know for a fact that I have his cultivar.

Laradek’s EBT (Laradek’s English brown turkey) is one variety of the real English brown turkey that is in the USA, there are others, yet it’s the most popularly known one, and it can survive down to at least -4 degrees Fahrenheit. I am not going to go much more in to detail because this is a very complicated topic due to all the misinformation out there, much of which caused by innocent misunderstandings. see these photos, poor lighting in those photo yet good enough LaRadek's EBT 2015

[TNHunter]

I gave my daughter one of my rooted fig cuttings and they planted it early july.

She texted me this picture this evening

[FarmGirl-Z6A]

Hi, I’m new to this thread. . I planted several cold hardy figs this spring. The only one that has given me figs this year are the Chicago Hardy. These were taken today:

[SoCalGardenNut]

I finally picked my Panache Tiger fig(top), it tastes like strawberry. I need to move this tree, right now I only get about 4-5 figs per year.

(

[Marco]

(I posted this on another forum a few weeks ago, but I thought I would share with the fine folks on this forum)

I’ve waited a long time for this moment to review what many consider the be a “unicorn” fig, the White Baca. I received this tree at a very premium cost from the Figman of New Mexico himself and my good friend, Lloyd Kreitzer. Some of you might not know the fascinating story behind this amazing tree, but you can find several newspaper stories online. The following is the story told by Lloyd himself:

https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast…social_sharing

I received one of the last trees in Lloyd’s possession and took on the responsibility and privilege of keeping this variety alive.

Here is some logged data:

Supposedly brought to New Mexico from immigrants, 117 years ago in 1904 and inherited by the Baca Family, until their property was acquired by a church.

Mother tree cuttings made by Lloyd Kreitzer: May 2010 in La Luz, NM.

Date tree woke up: April 15, 2022

First 3 figlets set: May 17, 2022

3 figs harvested: July 31, 2022 (75 days) - 1 was fully ripe 3 days ago, but I let it hang on the tree.

Approximate weight per fig: 20.5g to 25.4g

It’s a small, yellowish fig with a closed eye and a unique taste and look. It has somewhat of an acorn-like shape and tastes like a moderately sweet peach bellini infused with nectar. Lloyd described it as the best of 150 figs he tasted around the world. While I have not tasted 150 varieties of figs yet, I concur it is by far one of the best figs I’ve tasted myself. This includes the caprified figs I grew up tasting in Italy. I took a video of the experience of taking them off the tree and shared tastings with my family. When I figure out how to put the videos together, I will post them. It’s amusing to hear the reactions of how much they enjoyed these figs! They truly are amazingly delicious!

For now, here are a few pics for all of you…

Here’s another one that ripened a few days ago. This was 23 grams. Amazing little fig! I’m absolutely in love with this fig.

[RedSun]

@ Marco

I’m just curious what criteria you use to declare that this is “unicorn” fig variety. And it can command premium cost to acquire it.

This fig has been growing in NM, which is a USDA zone 7/8. At 75 day time to ripen, that is average. If I get chance to taste 100 of my fig varieties, to the end, I would not be able to tell which is which. There are far more fig varieties over the “world”.

So I’m just puzzled about this fig being a “unicorn”…

Certainly it looks to be a good heritage fig.

[Marco]

Of course there are other varieties in the world! Don’t tell my wife that she wouldn’t be able to tell which is which though… She described this one as “another level” of fig taste, compared to Crozes, Figoin (Bass), Sao Miguel Roxo and other 20+ varieties I grow. I happen to agree with her. I’m not hyping it, because I have no reason to hype it now, since I don’t plan on selling cuttings and trees anytime soon, or maybe ever (haven’t decided yet).

The “unicorn” designation comes from the fact that many thought that this variety didn’t even exist. However, there only a handful of people that are known to own this variety: Lloyd Kreitzer, Amado S. (collector of NM varieties) and now I have that privilege and responsibility of protecting this variety. Lloyd has sold many fig trees locally, but not this one. From our conversations and for whatever reasons, he’s been holding this one close to his chest like a highly protected family recipe.

I’m currently propagating it to create some backup in case something happens to my main tree.

[kybishop]

Just gave the link a listen and what a wonderful story. I hope that it may be passed down more freely some day such that it can be enjoyed by all. That said, if you’re ever interested in a trade…

[Marco]

Maybe down the road. I have a few airlayers on it right now. If I can get 3 more trees going, maybe in a few years I’ll be able to spread it around.

[RedSun]

When I looked up the “unicorn”, it says:

Since it first named the one-horned equine of lore around the 1200s, the word unicorn has gone on to name “a person or thing that is rare and highly valued,” whether that’s a billion-dollar startup—or that special someone in your life.

I still like to know how this fig is any special or different from all other figs. If my neighbor’s grand parent(s) brought some fig cuttings with them 60 years ago. This alone won’t make the fig a unicorn. It is rare, but it has to be very special and different. No other figs can even get close to it.

[Marco]

@RedSun You should try listening to Lloyd’s narration of the variety from the link I posted above and perhaps read what I already wrote about the White Baca. I have no further information for you at this time.

[kybishop]

Sheesh! You know we’re just talking about fruit here, right? Who cares if someone calls something special using whatever adjective they feel fits. Between its rarity within the community and storied history, I think “unicorn” is a perfectly apt descriptor for this variety.

Back to our regularly schedule programming Here is a Negra d’Agde breba I had to harvest today before the rains. It was tasty enough, but the texture was wild. Soft, spongy, pillowy; almost like a subtly sweet marshmallow without the gooey inner core. Pressing a finger into it would leave an impression like memory foam. Figs are crazy. Now I’m stoked for the main crop!

[RedSun]

A “unicorn” has to be very rare, special and very valuable. I just do not think a heritage common fig can be called a unicorn just because it is privately guarded and not distributed. Private label does not make it a unicorn. Just IMO.

If we all call those unicorns, then we’ll have many unicorns. Then they become common and not any rare any longer.

[ncdabbler]

Good pickings today - enough to fill 16 dehydrator trays. Mostly from six mature Mt. Etna type trees. Of course, the crows and wasps still got more than I did.

[PharmerDrewee]

Ben, are those greenish ones Mt Etnas too?

[ncdabbler]

No, those are a couple of Smith (and Violet de Bordeaux) on top of what is mostly Mt. Etnas.

[PharmerDrewee]

Oh boy, I’ve been picking some Smiths from my potted tree. They are excellent. Is yours in the ground? I didn’t realize it was so early until it started fruiting in earnest this year. This one took 3 seasons to really get going for me.

[ncdabbler]

I have two potted Smith trees, and I just planted one in the ground this summer. They took about 3 seasons to start tasting good and producing well for me too. They seem to be ripening a bit earlier each year too.

[Phill_Boise_7a]

Labritja fig. I have had about 10 or 15 of these now and it is one of my favorite. Better than cdd types imo. Very nice berry flavor.