Here it is what i harvested yeasterday:2.7Kg,or, 6 Pounds,of high quality fully ripe figs.Jam Time!!!!
_Excuse me for this other subtropical plant,that Jon might,want to see,in his tropical garden.(See picture #1).(It is very late in the Fall but it doesn't want to quit making flowers,that smell Havenly good.)

Looks good. Well, hopefully someday soon I will have at least half as much in my plants instead of just 7 or 8 unripe finishing the season.

on Monday of this week when temperatures were in the seventies, i was 
picking yellowed leaves from the fig trees and found a fig on Hardy Chicago
that was almost ripe!  that was a surprise.  i picked it just three days
later on Thanksgiving Day when the temperatures were below freezing  
and cut it in into eight pieces.  yes, eight.  only intended to cut it into four
but the grandchildren walked into the room as i was preparing it for their
parents and wanted a bite.  so, eight pieces.  one child decided she didn't
want any so i got a bite as well. 

we were all in agreement, it wasn't worth eating.  the color was light
greenish brown with a purple or reddish blush, completely different from the
dark purple (blue - whatever) color of summer fruit.  it tasted rather 'green'
and only mildly sweet.

not really a "harvest", but thought i'd share the surprise.

elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth:I had the same experience on Thanksgiving Day,with my Hardy Chicago.
However My Maryland Brown Turkey,is still Giving us very tasty Ripe figs,at least it did on That day.
We had our grand doughter wich is 16 month old and allready know how good figs are from this Sommer when we let her pick ripe ones off the tree.
Well!!!She ate 12 figs on Thanksgiving day and after each one she said,MMMMmmm,wich is the aproval when she likes something.
I tasted them myself and yes they were still very delicious.
The tree reassemble Hardy Chicago but has larger better tasting fruits that ripe till winter comes even without leaves on tree.
Here is a pix of this unassuming prolific fig ,today Nov 24 07
It had much more fruits on it but last night we had 23*F,and i was cutting a lot of branches for cuttings before the tips will get frost damage.
I will also mention that last winter(forth),was not protected from cold but left in the open and no cold damage i have seen.

say, Herman2,

if you have an extra cutting or two of the Maryland Brown Turkey i would like
to try it here in Missouri.  do you have any others that are extra hardy that
might work outside here without a lot (or any) protection?

i wondered later if i just needed to wait until the Hardy Chicago shriveled like 
some people have described some needing to do before best flavor is
achieved.

did your granddaughter have a tummy ache after so many figs?  wow, she
likes grandpa's figs a lot!

i read somewhere that Hollier ripens even when it is cold (got one of those
from Jon this month) and that Adriano said Schar Italian ripens after the
leaves fall, but i don't know where to get that one since he doesn't ship
outside of Canada.  guess those attributes would be quite good for some of
us.

elizabeth

Well Elizabeth,I will Take cuttings from your best tasting against mine,
Just Tell me what is your best tasting fig,and assuming I do not have it I will trade.
I do not do multiple trades because i allready have too many fig trees,but i will do one variety for another assuming i am trading with people that also have some experience with more than one variety.
If you do not have just one variety,then i will take your "Greens" for my cuttings,and that way you will have some varieties next time somene wants trade.
Added later:
OOO! and By the way:My niece was just fine no problem,because she come and stay with us every about 8 days,so she was eating figs started ,end of July when my first brebas started getting ripe.
ADDED Later:
By the way I checked you out and you got a nice collection of figs so far.
I am interested to trade My fig for your Italian honey fig.
I do have an Italian Honey but mine is not as delicious as you say.It is sweet but not flavorfull.
There are more than one Italian Honey,and i bet yours is different,from what i have.Here is mine ,is yours identical inside outside?
Stay well

must say that i am not very experienced in differentiating between figs.  my
Italian Honey is light green when ripe and amber fleshed.  it is very sweet
and i like the flavor.  i like mild, not strong.  cannot stand onions or garlic. 
sweet potatoes i like but not squash.  get my drift?  each is different in what
we like so there is no way to tell if mine is better flavored than yours and like
jon keeps saying about flavor changes as well as colors, well, it is a challege
to figure it all out.  kinda like the Black Madeira and Barnisotte thing.

elizabeth

Well I am wrong then,it looks like your Italian Honey is identical with mine.
How about Violette de Bordeaux from Burnt Ridge.
I will take cuttings from that one to compare against my other VDB from 2 other sources.
I do not care if it is the same as mine,because i chopped mine down badly,this year by promissing cutting to other fig lovers,and now i do not have any spare to start a second tree as ,insurance.
My VDB are both inground.
So let me know.

Herman2,

i can do the VDB.  mine still hasn't lost all leaves.  i am assuming they are
basically dormant after they have lost all leaves.  if you send your Maryland
Brown Turkey to me first, i will understand better how to send VDB back
to you.  will send my address privately.

elizabeth

OK ,send it,Thanks

Herman,

did you get my private post with my mailing address?

elizabeth

No I did not.
I also covered up my trees,for winters.
Forget about it.No more trades this year.
Stay well