I pick fruit from my Hardy Chicago fig tree from the middle of August until frost most years. Last winter was mild so breba survived. I’ve been picking them starting a few days ago. Other figs that perform well in the north should provide similar results.
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Do you have your figs in the ground or in pots?
I have both in large quantities. They provide an abundant harvest starting end of July through frost. You’ll have to provide winter protection for the best results and select earlier ripening varieties for the most production if you plant them in the ground. In ground figs are much more productive and less time consuming than my potted trees. Keep in mind my winters are probably more mild than what you typically encounter. Therefore, my winter protection doesn’t take very much effort other than a helping hand to wrap and cover my trees.
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Andrew,
I am in 6a. I have a CH in ground for 4-5 years now. Even protected with pile of mulch (but not buried), it has dies to the ground every year and comes back from the root. As a result, my CH won’t ripen until Sept.
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You should grow zucchini😜
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Sounds like you need an earlier ripening variety like Florea, or provide a heat source on the coldest nights like a water pipe heat cable or the like.
Andrew,
At my age, I no longer zone-push and am also too lazy to provide extra protection. I will be interested in early ripening varieties. So far, Improved Celeste (in pot) is quite early for me.
Thanks to everyone who helped me think this through.
One of the things I realized with a lot of fruit is it is either a bush or a tree. With vegetables it is all annuals that you start from seed. I think others were right when they mentioned graft or buy multi grafted varieties. That way you have successive ripening times over weeks to months. I do hear there is a blueberry variety that produces all or most of the season. Also I heard the Girardi mulberry can produce a fair amount of the season.
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My heritage raspberries is basically non stop until first frost. The largest fruits are the early ones but the quality remains throughout.
They are voracious feeders, the only plant I feed throughout the entire season
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I bought 1,000 EarliGlo berry plants 30 years ago from Nourse…and they turned out excellent.
For some reason have not ordered since.
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I still think blueberries…as I can get about 90 days harvest out of them…at least by growing some of the late varieties in the shade.
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Is this a Desert King?
No, I don’t think so. I had its name when I got it but forgot now. But is not desert king
Ed shared his method down the road from me near Pittsburgh. You might be able to train extremely low to the ground and achieve similar results with minimal die back on an established tree.
@FarmGirl-Z6A — here are my top producers for the year… (Zone 7a Tennessee). Berries, Figs.
LoganBerry May 24 - July 05 (these really crank out the berries).
Heritage Red Raspberries (spring crop) May 26 - June 26, Fall Crop Sept 1 - Dec 3.
Fall Gold Raspberries (spring crop) May 26 - June 30, Fall Crop, Late August - Dec 3.
Those fall crop dates were from last fall (first year for them).
My Fall Golds now are starting to set fruit for fall crop already, so they are starting over a month earlier this year (second fall for them).
Chicago Hardy Fig - last year July 25 - Dec 3.
We got our first hard frost on Dec 3… and that put an end to my figs and raspberries.
Some years that comes earlier…
Other long fruiting crops… Strawberries… I have two everbearing varieties… Eversweet… picking them daily now and they really do produce thru heat here in the south… they started producing good in June and will go until late Fall, Nov or so. Mostly smaller berries, but a steady supply of something good to eat for months.
I added some seascape this year, and just now starting to let them bear a little. The ones I have had so far have been very good. Hope they produce as good as the Eversweet.
I have 4 varieties of Blueberries… all rabbit eye type.
Climax starts ripening May 30… that is my early BB… and my others start up about the time it quits… and they are still producing now on July 19 and looks like may continue for at least another couple weeks. So that is near 2 months for blueberries, some early, some mid season varieties.
To add some earlier berries…
Goumi Berry, Red Gem. Sweet Scarlet… got ripe berries May 10 - May 30 from those two…
Not a long cropper at all… but gives you some ripe berries, when nothing else is ripe yet… and a nitrogen fixer too.
TNHunter
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I am growing keeper apples and pear that might can be stored in root cellar fresh cool storage conditions or refrigerated storage and keep a long time, for several months to perhaps all winter.
Some that have keeper reputations are Apple up to 6 months Enterprise, Goldrush, Arkansas Black, Keepsake, Sundance, perhaps 3 months or so Liberty, Freedom…
Pear Korean Giant 3 to 6 months, Shenandoah up to 4 months, more…
And yes spreading your crop, on Pear Shenandoah is like 1.5 to 2 months later than early pear such as Harrow Delight. And Enterprise apple is late like in October whereas early apples might be Mid August such as Priscilla or Redfree.
This is what I have read such as from cummins nursery etc…
Yes some peaches are very early like Early Redhaven and Harrow Diamond, some very late like I believe Contender and Veteran are 6 weeks later…
You could multi-graft an apple or pear tree for different ripening times, and for pollination, or plant multiple trees…
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My Double Gold and Prelude are too (I put them in in spring 2017). I was trying to figure out what’s going on.
Our strawberries are also flowering like crazy, albit, like you said, the berries are small and the Mara Du Bois aren’t really all that flavorful. The seascape are the better tasting berry at the moment.
TNHunter, picked my first Premier and first Powder Blue fruits today…half dozen each.
Tifblue is not ripe.
You should try EarliBlue highbush sometime for early berries. Probably earlier than Climax.
I’ve not personally tried Climax.