We’ve been here almost two years and we’ve planted 20+ fruit trees and will hopefully plant about that many more. Due to a late freeze, we didn’t get anything this year except figs. We might not have gotten anything anyway since our trees are so young but we did get a few pears and a couple of peaches last year. This year, not even the big orchards in our area got anything because of the late freeze.
We had one fig tree that froze completely back. We’ve planted six fig trees and the others were fine . . five of them had new leaves and were growing just fine. Just one froze all the way back and it is a bit separated from the other trees. It’s over by the duplex chicken coop. We were about to dig it up and replace it when we noticed one of the branches that we thought was dead had sprouted a little green. We talked about whether it was damaged to the point that we should dig it up and decided just to leave it alone and see what happened.
Fig Tree
What happened was that it grew and grew and grew! Four of the other fig trees and about waist high, one is about to my shoulders but the one we thought was dead is about two feet taller than I am. We’ve gotten a handful of figs from each of the other threes but this one tree . . I get four or five figs from it each day!
Fig Tree
The other trees have pretty much slowed down with the shorter days and cooler nights but this one tree . . just keeps on producing figs. The new ones will probably be lost by a frost before they get ripe but that tree has been a great producer.
Fig Tree
It’s still adding new leaves too! Maybe it feels like it has to work extra hard since it got such a late start.
Fig
The grasshoppers love them too! They munch away on them and I try to leave them on the tree til they’re completely ripe. Then I wash them and cut away the part the grasshopper had been nibbling on. No way am I going to let these things go to waste. These are brown turkey figs and would get dark brown if I could leave them on the tree til they’re completely ripe. We also have black mission fig and celeste fig varieties.
Celeste Fig
The tree shown above is a celeste variety. It produces figs that are as sweet as candy. I’ve never had such sweet figs. I surely hope it produces a ton next year.
Vince and I both love figs and I’m hoping our 6 trees will provide more than enough for us to eat, and use in recipes.
Sherry says
So jealous of your figs! I really love them and about ten years ago I toured Egypt and was so looking forward to fresh figs but I was there at the wrong season. I did get to see the fig trees just hanging full of green figs.
Susan says
That is an amazing tree. I know that in the forests of northern Arizona, the Ponderosa pine cones really need the heat of forest fires to produce viable seeds that make the healthy trees. Maybe freezing back the fig served some similar purpose?
Judy H says
Congratulations! I love figs, too! Down here in southeast TX, my turkey fig produces in the spring. The city nearly killed it a year ago when they dug up water lines and replaced them, but it is slowly recovering. Last spring I didn’t get many figs, but I was fortunate because a friend told me to pick what I wanted from her tree. I made fig preserves with sliced lemon and gave her a jar. She thought it was an excellent trade, and I was thrilled to be able to make my fig preserves! Love, love, love figs! I sure hope my tree does better next spring!
Figs dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with salt is another favorite of ours. Rats! Now you have me craving fresh figs! I’ll have to go open a jar of preserves!
Nancy Garner says
Judy,
I am so happy that your fig tress are prospering. It really makes me happy, I cannot wait to see the figs and hear about the great things that you will do with them.
Nancy Garner
Spring Valley, Ca.
Evelyn Starfishy says
How fun to see your trees start to get established and you get the fruits! People used to always plant fruit trees and the other day – when I paid 69 cents for ONE apple at the store for a snack – I really realized the wisdom of having your own trees! Cheers! Evelyn
Rebecca in SoCal says
I always liked fig newtons, but hadn’t had a fresh fig until 10-15 years ago. What a treat!
You know the saying: what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger? Apparently it applies to fig trees, too!
Since you can grow about the same things there as here, have you considered (or even already planted) persimmons? Those are another of those delicate fruits that would be lovely to pick in your back yard! Any pomegranates? I’m not so wild about those, but they are a classic.