I-258, my first December fig. Very delicious, bigger and a little better than bourjsotte gris. Some of these have been splitting pretty bad though, I have to be pretty careful with the amount I water.
12 Likes
Anyone grows Eastern Purple fig? Can you post some photos about the figs?
Is this a Mt. Etna fig? There is not a lot info about it.
I think you are probably talking about Easton Purple. I got it about 10 years ago along with 2 other varieties from someone’s grandmother’s estate in Easton MD. She was a rare plant collector and the trees were supposed to be really old so I was hoping for something unique and shared them with others. I believe Purple is the same as LSU Tiger and or Mega Celeste, does not fit with being an old tree, but could have been added to the group later on.
It is a good fig. About as early as Etna types, but larger, sweeter, and better flavor to me, also seems to be hardier. The downside is it ripens more slowly and is prone to splitting. It Is a vigorous grower with large leaves that are usually mitten shaped, has a sprawling growth habit that can get weedy without some pruning and training.
2 Likes
Yes, I was talking about Easton Purple. TY.
How cold can container figs handle?
I would normally already have all my figs inside my garage or crawl space by now, but work has gotten crazy and I’m behind on the figs among other garden chores. I’m planning to put them away this weekend, but we do have one night coming this week that is forecast to go to 26 degrees. Should I scramble and get everything except my 10-20 gallon figs in before then or are they okay? I really need to reshuffle things in the garage to make room for all of them, so I’m hoping to be okay holding off until this weekend. Thoughts?
If they are not too young (ie from this year), I think they should be fine. I actually left out a first year Pastillière at 17 degrees in a pot without protection and it did fine.
1 Like
If your branches are about pencil thick or better, then they can take up to 25F or so. But if those are the first year plants from cuttings, then they can get damaged from frost temperature. Better to move the small ones inside before any frost.
I’d say you have a good chance. Here in Vermont I once put a hoop of welded wire fencing around a potted Chicago fig (10 gallon pot) and then filled it with leaves so the plant was under a foot of leaves, with a similar thickness surrounding it. The winter was bitter cold so I assumed that plant was history. It did die back and lost most stems, but came back with good growth. No fruit that year, however. Now I winter the potted figs in a crawl space that rarely goes below freezing, with no set back, except for vole damage. I discovered that voles burrow in through a drain hole in the larger pots and have a merry time circling inside the pot eating the roots.
10 bales of hay… 12 CF pine bark mulch… 1 tarp… rope.
Hope that does it.
@Phill_Boise_7a … very nice looking fig… wish I still had some. Next August is a long time off. Anticipation !!!
4 Likes
I 258 and labritja. The i258 was better, but this was the first labritja I have tasted, so I am not sure how accurate the experience was. Last 2 pics are labritja.
7 Likes
I made a short video about the Labritja fig. I was pretty curious to try it.
3 Likes
2021 was a good year for me, I am improving at protection during winters and was rewarded with lots of great figs.
9 Likes
@Anjeerfarmer Very nice! I’d love to see pics of your low cordon/low tunnel setup sometime.
Edit: Ah, you’ve already posted some pics in the Intro thread. (Pay attention, Jeremiah!) Looks great! I’m going to start converting some figs to such a system myself. Wrapping multiple bushes is for the birds!
1 Like
Anyone else working fig propigation yet ?
I am new to this… I have my thermostat for the heat mat set on 77 degrees… checked it a few times today and saw a low of 73 once and 77 once. Seems like it may kick off at 77… and cool off 5 degrees or so then kick back on. Seems to be working pretty good.
I am attempting to root 6…
Keeping them in my basement in a location with no to very little light for the first month or so… and hopefully after roots develop will move them to a window on the south end of our basement that gets some good sun.
My temperature probe for the thermostat… I have it stuck in the medium between the pots at the level I would expect roots to develop. I have the above medium part of the fig cutting wrapped in parafilm.
Any tips would be appreciated.
TNHunter
3 Likes
You do not want any water condensation inside the box. Extra moisture and the paraffin film will trap moisture and introduce rotting.
Also, this thread gets very long. Maybe it is a good time to start a new one? People on cell phone may have a hard time to see this thread. Also, with all the photos.
2 Likes
@RedSun … I had moisture accumulating on the lid and sides… I left the lid on but scooted it over a bit so it is not completely sealed and will get some air circulation.
I will adjust that over the next few days to where hopefully I can keep some moisture in but not have it accumulating too much.
Thanks
1 Like