Question for all you Fig Tree Growers out there

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larry_stewart

Master Chef
Joined
Dec 25, 2006
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Long Island, New York
I have a fig tree.
I thought it was the dark/ black figs.
The issue I have is this is the first year it is producing.
There is one plump fig on it ( almost the size of a tangerine)
It has not turned 'black' yet.
It is a greenish/ yellow color
But it is soft, like a ripe peach.

Do the dark figs soften like that at this stage, and then darken up? or do they only soften once they turn color?

Could I have a different variety ?

If I had many figs, i wouldn't care, but this is it. I have one shot to get it right.
 
Ours turned a kind of purple hue as they got ripe. They never turned black, or close to it, really. We checked by feel. They will get soft and squeezable, like a ripe peach on a peach tree.

CD
 
larry, did you buy that fig online? Like maybe from Logee's? If you picked the plant up locally, it might be hard to track down your receipt and check with the seller. However, if you ordered it online, just contacting the seller might get you the name of the variety you bought.

Whenever I've stopped at Logee's (their nursery is about 20 minutes from our house) they've been very helpful and tolerate my many questions. Perhaps a quick phone call to them might help you, too.


...If I had many figs, i wouldn't care, but this is it. I have one shot to get it right.
We know, we know, you're not throwin' away your shot. :mrgreen: Danged song's been runnin' through my head ever since I read that sentence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcM20zu51Aw
 
larry, did you buy that fig online? Like maybe from Logee's? If you picked the plant up locally, it might be hard to track down your receipt and check with the seller. However, if you ordered it online, just contacting the seller might get you the name of the variety you bought.

Whenever I've stopped at Logee's (their nursery is about 20 minutes from our house) they've been very helpful and tolerate my many questions. Perhaps a quick phone call to them might help you, too.



We know, we know, you're not throwin' away your shot. :mrgreen: Danged song's been runnin' through my head ever since I read that sentence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcM20zu51Aw

Its possible I may have gotten it from Logees. They are my go to place to get exotic plants. Usually I get things through the catalogue, but I have visited their green house and had a blast walking through it. And yes, they were very helpful. Ill see if I can track it down , although Im not sure If I killed the one that I bought from them, and this one is from a cutting of another one. :)
 
I don't have a fig tree, but we get greenish-yellow figs in the grocery from time to time. I don't remember their name, but they are ripe at that color.


I don't know how old a fig tree has to be to bear fruit, but when growing citrus you have to feed the tree citrus fruit food, as well as apply trace mineral element spray from time to time to get a good yield. I'm sure you are feeding it, but I didn't know about the need for trace mineral element spray until I did some research about why we weren't getting great yields. The trees exploded with fruit after I started doing that. Might want to see if fig trees need that too.
 
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Update:
I went out to feel the fig again, and as i squeezed it, fell off in my hand, so basically , the fig made its own decision.
Tasted good, not great. Probably could have used another week, but still didnt appear to be changing colors. There are 2 other baby figs on the tree, but I cant imagine them ripening due thaw late in the season it is, and the temps are supposed to drop next week significantly.

Good thing is , that at least I know it is at a producing age, so hopefully next year I have more to pick and let ripen on the tree.
 
I don't have a fig tree, but we get greenish-yellow figs in the grocery from time to time. I don't remember their name, but they are ripe at that color.


I don't know how old a fig tree has to be to bear fruit, but when growing citrus you have to feed the tree citrus fruit food, as well as apply trace mineral element spray from time to time to get a good yield. I'm sure you are feeding it, but I didn't know about the need for trace mineral element spray until I did some research about why we weren't getting great yields. The trees exploded with fruit after I started doing that. Might want to see if fig trees need that too.

We literally did nothing to our fig tree, and it loaded up with fruit every year. Our property was about 200 feet uphill from a lake on the Trinity River, so we used fertilizer very sparingly.

CD
 
larry, I found a list (with photos) of 18 different varieties of figs. Does you fig look anything like one of these? 18 Excellent Fig Varieties



This thread has me wanting (again) to make a Logee's run and buy a fig twig (they sell the plants in 4" containers, so they're small). I'm going to wait until after the holidays, though, so I won't have to hire a babysitter for my plant. :LOL:
 
We literally did nothing to our fig tree, and it loaded up with fruit every year. Our property was about 200 feet uphill from a lake on the Trinity River, so we used fertilizer very sparingly.

CD

Then obviously the soil had everything your tree needed. Not all soil does.
 
larry, I found a list (with photos) of 18 different varieties of figs. Does you fig look anything like one of these? 18 Excellent Fig Varieties



This thread has me wanting (again) to make a Logee's run and buy a fig twig (they sell the plants in 4" containers, so they're small). I'm going to wait until after the holidays, though, so I won't have to hire a babysitter for my plant. :LOL:

Brooklyn White looks the closest
Best I can describe it was Greenish , with slight hints of yellow on the outside. Pinkish on the inside, but most likely would have gotten a little more pink/ red on the inside if it had another week of warm weather..

Logees is great, I look forward to getting their catalogue each month or two. ive already gotten Fig, coffee, avocado, cinnamon , all spice, curry and kaffir lime trees which are all still currently alive. Ive killed Vanilla bean vine, peppercorn plant and probably a list of others.

Fig trees are also relatively easy to make cuttings from. Ive seen a few different ways ( cutting twigs to about 6 inches or so, wrapping in damp paper towel, place in fridge ( i think) and wait to root. Ive also seen people do the same in moss and placing it in a closed plastic bottle. Honestly, i had my best luck just tossing them in my aquaponic set up and they rooted really well. So now I have one Producing tree ( which is more like a sorry looking bush), and a few smaller twiggies that i just started this past year. Theoretically Im supposed to cut it back significantly for the winter ( by 2/3) and then wrap it up.
 
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