Negronne has started ripening breba this week for my potted trees (2 trees, both 3rd year, 6' tall 1" trunk caliper).  Only ~12 fruits between both trees, but that's OK with me.  We at two over the last 4 days, one was tiny (smaller than a dime) the other was just small (between nickle and quarter size).

The flavor was mildly sweet, a slight hint of dark berries, moderately figgy, almost no crunch.  It is a breba, but it tasted way better than many main crop figs I've had.  I give it a 6 on sweetness, 5 on figgyness, 6 on richness.  It has a certain "something" to it that really sets it apart (berry flavor).  I'm guessing it would have only gotten more intense if we let it ripen for a couple more days.  Can't wait for the larger ones!!

This was the small one:

This was the tiny one:

Looks good, Jason! The only brebas I have ripening are everybody's favorite--Brown Turkey. Ummm-umm!

Nice looking figs Jason.  I don't have Negronne, but I do have VDB.  I know they are similar figs.  The VDB has given me the best brebas that I've tasted so far.  Enjoy those Negronne brebas.

Thanks, guys.  I had to start over from scratch on VdB and just finished rooting more out this year thanks to a kind soul up in NY.  Those are still only 10" tall.  Curious to taste the difference.

I'm really looking forward to main crop on this.  I have a feeling it's going to be awesome.

I have a Salem Dark which is about to ripen breba (Sunday, probably), and that's the last of my varieties.  Only 5 varieties put on Breba this year and managed to keep them.  I had breba drop on Malta Purple Red, 143-36 and a couple others.

Jason,

They look great. I'm still waiting on my VdB breba to get to right size and swell up. I doubt I'll taste any figs till end of June. If I'm lucky.

Pete

Well Pete, let me rub it in a bit more ;)

Mother in law came over and wanted to see the VdB tree I'm giving to her.  Our 1½-y-o daughter went with (like Nelson's daughter, she looooooves figs) and grabbed hold of the biggest Negronne breba, which is just smaller than a golf ball.  Her thumb went right through it, so it got picked, cut open and eaten.  It didn't have as much berry flavor, but it was noticeably sweeter.  I guess the berry flavors come as it goes from just about ripe to way ripe.

Greetings All:  I am brand new to the fig game and planted eight trees this winter.  I live in Statesboro GA, about 50 miles inland of Savannah.  In the old HZ 8a, but I'm in 8b according to the new HZ Map.  Anyway I have Negrone which is a wee little thing, Black Mission which got killed back to the ground but is coming back nicely, "Large Brown Turkey" from Just Fruits and Exotics, Celsteste, Alma, Bornabat, Texas Everbearing and Nero.  Everyone has at least some maincrop fruit starting except Nero which has grown five feet so far, and Negrone which is very small and growning very slowly.  The most advance fruit is on Celeste.  I had a real dibate with myself about planting Bornabat.  According to the Just Fruits and Exotics folks they thought that its fruit quality was better than the other green varieties hardy to our aria which they had.  They also said that they were getting fruit from their trees.  Some of the folks on this forum had warned that Bornabat requires a wasp to bear fruit.  As for my tree I guess the jury may still be out depending on when an unpolinated fruit shrivels in a fig.  Mine have fruit on them about the size of a small acorn.  There is probably about a half dousen figs on this tree from pen head size to acorn size.  Alma tried putting on a breva fig, but it shrivled and fell off.  It has one main crop fig about the size of a quarter and growing.  It looks like it might be trying to start more.  Celest ane Texas Everbearing have twenty pluss fruit each on them and their growth may actually be suffering on account of it.  The Large Brown is just beginning to put on tiny little figlets and the Black Mission Fig is just a little further along with three figlets.  I plan to take pictures and send them when the figs are further along.  Anyway, I am especially interested in seeing what Bournabat does.  Of cours it may well be that if this tree fruits that it may be a different fig from the one that others say requires a wasp.  Thanks and God bless.

Jason, thanks for the pics they look delicious. Does your Negronne have the typical finger like leaves? The one variety I have that was originally from Raintree looks more like HC type leaves while the other from Rolling River has the finger leaves.

  Take care
   Pete

Jason Stop it.  I'm drooling on my keyboard.

jason,

i gave VdB to my mother in law also.. last year that is.. my wife's niece over watered it and it died. i gave her one of my best White Ischia rooted cutting this year.

pete

@Pete (PHD), yep, it has the typical leaf.  Very similar to VDB.

Jason - they are beautiful, and look so succulent.

Very sweet of you and Pete to give trees to your MIL's - I'm sure that kicks you guys up a notch in her eyes ;)

Thanks for sharing those pictures Jason !

Very nice! Thanks for posting those...

Looks tasty.

Always nice to see figs ripening.

Sorry I keep posting pics of Negronne, but the figs have been awesome for brebas, I'm wishing I'd found this variety sooner.  I picked two more today, a medium-larger one and an average-medium sized one.  Pics as follows.  This is what they're supposed to taste like, very sweet (7), great berry flavors(8), much more figgy flavor (7) and this is breba!  No crunch at all, which I prefer with something that has this depth of flavor.  Meat just melted in my mouth.  Don't have to wait for the neck to go flacid on these, neck stays green and firm while the skin wrinkles with the touch.  Still got a good half a dozen left, and will probably post pics of every last one to keep folks drooling.  (you probably need this variety - lots of rain, no ant problems, no spoiling)

That was the first I ate today, it was riper than this one, but I shared this one with two friends that are moving to CA this week who are fellow artisans.  They said it tasted awesome.  (And yes, the skin not only stained the interior of the fig, it also stained the paper towel, and the skin was sweeter than all get-out!)

I just want to add one more comment:  I've tasted a couple of dozen varieties at this point.  Negronne is the first variety I've had that tasted good even if it was a couple of days pre-ripe.  I've had others that have that washed out 'watery fig' taste if you pick them a couple days early, but this one ... you pick it a couple days early, it's really good.  you pick it ripe, it's even better.  You pick it a couple of days late and it's awesome.  I'm going to let the last one go to the point of drooping and wrinkly and see what we get.

YUMMY! Jam-on-a-tree … Mmmmmmmm …
Glad I was sitting, it looks so scrumptious, my legs went noodly.
Thanks for posting. Now to mop-up the slobber … looks like a Saint Bernard was here.

A quick post to show the difference 5 days time can make, exactly what I was talking about in my previous post.

MIL came back over tonight and picked what she thought was ripe.  I had to educate her on ripeness and - if she was going to pick my figs - she needs to understand what "ripe" is or defer to someone who does.  Here's why.

She picked the bottom two figs in this picture (I picked the top one, which she left on the tree!)

[more text after the picture]

The left one was about 4 days from being ripe.

The right one was about 2 days from being ripe.

The top one was ripe, and 1 day from being 'dead ripe'.

It wasn't clear the top one was black, while the bottom/right was black and red, and the left one was red.

I told her if she nicked the top 1/4" of the neck, if it weeps milk, it's not ready to come off.  It should be limp on the neck, and be soft to the touch and it's ideal when you squeeze it and it doesn't bounce back into shape.

She laughed, thought I was joking, so I cut all of them open to show her the insides, and a light bulb seemed to go on.

[more text after the pic]

Clearly, from the inside:  the middle two small halves are the black one I picked.  The top two halves are the one that's 4 days from ripe.  The one on bottom left and right is the one that was about 2 days out.

Note that the top two halves aren't jammy, there's no liquid in the void.  The pulp is still very clearly visible and the flesh tone is a dark pink to light red.

The middle small halves are totally jammy on the inside.  Almost no white outer flesh or pulp visible.  Skin is starting to stain.

The halves on bottom left/right are jammy on the bottom 1/3, pulpy on the top 2/3, skin is a less white and starting to stain purple on the bottom.

I had her taste them afterwards, in order of less ripe to more ripe.  The one 4 days before ripe was pretty bland, watery and seeds crunchy.  The one about 2 days out was slightly jammy and berry-like and sweeter with almost no seed crunch.  The one that was totally ripe was very berry-like, sweet as hell and no seed crunch at all.

It was a learning experience!  Hope someone else learns from this.

Oh - even Negronne at its worst - 4 days under-ripe and weeping milk when picked, it tastes at least 10 times better than a real Brown Turkey ;)

Here's another picture of the most ripe one and the least ripe one.

The larger, redder one (top) is the 4-days-from-ripe fig, the smaller blacker one (bottom) is the perfectly ripe fig.

That was an excellent explanation for your mother in law, great pics too!

love the mother in law

Jason,
After seeing these images and reading your post, I must seriously reconsider Negronne. Wow.