NDR-fig trees

greg setter

greg setter

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I think since it is the summer, it is ok to talk about things other than ducks. One of my prize possessions is my fig tree. I dug this as a root ball a few years back. It was in a vacant lot behind me, and the woman that owned it had let a guy garden there for 20 years. but she had 1 rule, which was pretty generous. And that rule was, no killing the animals-squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, whatever. And she put up with his boards and old windows and all of the crap that a gardener can accumulate to do one task or the other. This guy was quite a gardener, and probably grew enough stuff to feed three families. But he wouldn't pay attention to the owner, and set some box traps that year-and then didn't tend them. Somebody found a squirrel or woodchuck that had starved to death, and he lost his privileges. A shame, but it was totally his fault and he was not respectful of the property owner(whom was paying $8K per year in taxes on that lot-same that I pay). So he had this fig tree that he didn't like and just cut it to the ground every year, and told me I was welcome to it. So I decided to dig it up and transplant is to my yard. Well, that was one hell of an endeavor. It took me two evenings to dig around and under it and lever it out of the ground with some boards without destroying the root system. When I finally got it out, I turned it on its side, flipped the wheelbarrow on its side, pushed it in and flipped it back up. The thing must have weighed close to 200 pounds. I was pretty proud of myself.

Figs are one of the sweetest things that you can grow. The problem is, they are at their very best when the skin is splitting and juice is starting to ooze out, and they can't be marketed like that because they only have a day or so before they start to rot at that point. So while you can buy them sometimes, they have to be picked early and they just are not as good. Lots of the old Italians in NJ had fig trees, often from a cutting they took before they left Italy. Not being Italian, I never really got it until I was older and became friends with a guy that has 8-10 of them and several different varieties. What I have are black figs, the skin actually gets purple when they ripen, which is in August and into September.

In this climate you have to take a little winter care of them, which means wrapping them up in something to keep the buds from freezing. It won't kill the tree if they freeze, but will kill that growth, which means you have to prune it back and it may not produce that year or will produce less. I use carpet padding to wrap them in, then put a plastic garbage bag over the top to keep water out. The branches stay flexible so you can just get a rope or twine going around the branches horizontally and pull it tight so it squeezes together compresses the tree and forms a straight up and down bunch that I then wrap. After the bag I usually wrap some burlap around it so it doesn't look like Appalachia in my front yard.

I enjoy watching my figs grow throughout the summer, as I am sure others do with various things that they grow. Here is my tree(or bush).
View attachment whole tree.jpg

And here are some little figs growing, like all fruit, they start out really tiny, but you can always tell that they are little figs and not a leaf.
View attachment little figs.jpg
 
Very nice. Interestingly enough, I used to have (2) potted fig trees that were about 7.5 feet tall. I would put them in the garage in the winter and I never had a problem with them. One provided figs in endless supply during the summer months and the other only provided figs every couple of years and they were a different color. I believe they were white. The neighbors loved whenever I brought them over. It got to a point that I told the neighbors to come over and pick them whenever they desired; we had so many. I had a black fig also. If you fertilize it often, you might get fruit earlier in the summer. Enjoy those figs.
 
Gregg, I lived on Long Island during my first 24 years and my father would wrap tar paper around the fig trees for the winter. He also fertilized with eels and fish guts when he was done cleaning them, (put them in a hole close to the figs) every year tons of figs. Good luck with the figs....
 
I worked for a nursury throughout highschool and college. Right before i went back to school every year i gorged on figs. They usually had 20 or so plants in pots then a few massive ones in the pool house atrium. That was one of the best perks of the job.
 
We always had fig trees and figs, when I grew up in the 50's & 60's. Prior to winter my father would dig just enough, to bend them, wrap, and bury them. Nothing like a home grown Fig - Enjoy.
Man that brings back lots of memories...
 
Pete-you would probably be better off keeping them in pots and putting them in your garage in winter, but probably still need to wrap them. Or you could go Vince's route, which is also a good way to do it and would probably work fine. Overnight low temps won't hurt them, but sustained low temps( a week with daytime highs in the 20's, will freeze the buds and prevent new growth on them in the spring.
 
Thanks Greg, that sounds like the way to go. I've never been known to have much of a green thumb but babying a Fig in order to reap the harvest would be worth it. Just checked my local nursery and they are out of stock at this time.
 
Pete,

You probably won't be able to find any 'good' figs locally. Here are some places to look:

http://www.figtrees.net/
https://www.willisorchards.com/category/fig-trees
http://www.raintreenursery.com/fruit_trees/figs/
http://encantofarms.com/

I have not bought any figs and have only used one nursery on the list, Willis. If you have a perfect location, south facing and protected, you may be able to grow them in the ground. Growing them in pots and then putting them in a protected location may be best for you. I would guess an unheated detached garage would not give enough protection during a normal winter.

I have a spot I want to plant one but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It has only been three of four years so it may happen soon!

Tom
 
Thanks Tom, good info. Looks like it's iffy up here on a good year. A winter like our last one and no way would they make it outside. My zone is 5a and according to Willis even zone 6 is problematic. Yes, I could grow them in pots but I know me well enough that I will likely forget I have them outside until mid January LOL. Maybe I'll build a green house addition.........Hmmmm.........OR just go to the grocery store and buy some figs.
 
Greg - I live in AL and my family is from both here and MS. We have always had fig trees on family properties and surprisingly they are not very common. Most folks I come across are either hesitant to try them or tell me they don't like to eat them. I chalk that up to them eating the "unripe" commercial versions you mentioned. Being from our area (or the south in general), we have to make everything unhealthy so one of my favorite ways to eat them is "fig preserves"... my mouth is watering now. I eat them on biscuits or just plain and you can't beat the natural sweetness with some carmelized sugar cold out of the fridge.

One of our biggest problems has always been getting the "just right" ripe ones before the birds do. We have the same problem with blueberry bushes but you can at least cover the blueberries with nets but our fig trees are so large there's now way to manage that. If you have any tips on keeping birds out of very large fig trees then I'd like to hear them.
 
Kyle-the only way I have heard of to keep birds out is either a bb gun or a .22. I had blueberry bushes years ago, but the birds cleaned them out the day before I would go to pick them. Since blueberries are grown on a large scale locally, I have just taken to buying 100 lbs this time of year and freezing them.

You are in great fig country, you don't really have to do anything to them in the winter. I need to hear more about your preserves and how you do it. That is something I would like to try.
 
Greg, I really enjoyed this. Thanks so much for the story. I found that interesting about the Italians in the area planting them. Makes sense. Boy, you sure should be proud when getting that root ball of considerable weight back into that wheelbarrow and upright. That made my back ache. However I'll bet with the first bite one quickly forgot the trials it took to get it established.
Al
 
Growing up figs were a staple around this area. My mom and grandma always made jam and preserves from the figs. We have a few old fig trees around us. Last year the wife and I experimented with making preserves. They were good but I like jams and jellies better. This year I made a flat of fig jam. I should have made two flats. The stuff is great on whatever but pairs really well with peanut butter. Will be making a lot more next year for sure. Also made a couple of flats of Muscadine jelly.... another southern fruit.
 
Gotta love ripe figs, some of the best fruit out there.

We didn't get any this year, our varieties are cold-sensitive and last years ice storm really put a hurt on them in our neighborhood. No one I know had any.
 
Kyle,

My grandfather (Andalusia, AL) used to hang pie tins in the trees and surrounding the to scare off the birds. He also had a "fleet" of barn cats that kept domain over the birds.

More recently, I've used mist nets to manage birds. I checked them once a day and released anything I wouldn't eat. Kept the birds out of my fig trees.
 
I think fig newtons are the closest I have gotten to eating figs. I appreciate you sharing this thread with us. Should I ever have the opportunity to eat one fresh I will be sure to give it a try.
 
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