No, not a new variety of fig...just a tale of woe...

So I come close to losing my brown turkey tree this year when a pine tree falls on it. But it has come up nicely from the roots.  Its always given me an abundance of figs and I know Ive lost a few to critters, but the net gain was always ok so Ive never sweated it.

I've added a few new trees to the backyard and one of those is a Hardy Chicago - I pinched off most of the baby figs but kept a few on to taste.   Lo and behold two of them start to turn color.  My daughter snags one, and as it was not ripe she didnt like it and declared herself NOT a lover of figs (fine by me...she Hoovers up almost every piece of fruit Ive grown on 20+ trees in our yard...it'd be nice to eat the fruit of my own labor every once in awhile (pun intended))

Down to one.  Deeper and darker she goes. Deeper and darker. Wait for the droop , man, don't be a pig. Wait for it...wait for it... couple of more days and it will be...

Gnawed by birds, of course.  When one has only a few fruit each one becomes precious. Oh, that loss hurt.... 

Now I have  a Scott's Black beginning to get a nice shade of purple.  If i lose that one Im declaring war!

Organza bags James

forget the organza bags.  Whatever eats my figs, bites right through those bags!!  What a friggin waste of money!  I find comfort in those rubber snakes, bird scare tape, and the plastic snap containers that cherry tomatoes come in at the grocery.

Our birds destroy those bags.  Birds do respect a snake.  They actually don't wish to become dinner. 

Wondering what a furry stuffed cat would do?

Suzi

Don't wait and see.  You will lose that fig if you don't protect it. 

Hi Nativesun,
Give them your shirt !
And, no, I'm not kidding !
I had an old shirt (Brown, opaque cloth) and I cut pieces and put them over some figs since the house sparrow ate two figs from my "Goutte d'or" and that got me sick !
For now they haven't learned to remove the pieces of clothes - of course the pieces are tied to the branch.
In case you're wondering why I didn't use the journal trick ... It is raining now and then and I didn't want the paper to get wet and stick to the fruit !

Thanks for the advice, Fellas -

I thought about several ways last night to deter the birds - everything from carving up myself a hawk "decoy" (decided against that as It'd bring the wrath of the bluejay community that calls the pines home) to the rubber snake idea (daughter has several). I went with the snake and attaching a few thin strips of aluminum foil to a couple of the adjacent branches.  I figure Im a few days away from prime-time -- the fig is swollen and Im hoping it survives long enough for me to enjoy it.

Ill post pics soon of my little Smith tree -- such a pretty little tree.

If I were you I would use rubber snakes/aluminum strips AND cover the fig fruit in an organza bag. 

Triple protect that precious fruit!

Sorry about the 'fellas' comment - forgot there were ladies present :)

Wouldn't know an organza bag if it bit me.  I did remember I had an old, beat-up cast net that I didnt use anymore.  Little potted tree is now safely netted up. I hope.

I also tasted a fig from another tree, but that experience deserves its own post...

The organza bags do not protect very well. Like for Suzi, mine were bitten through many times.

For me, only the cut plastic bottles help. I take a small water bottle, cut the top (neck) part until you have about 70% left, make two holes with a knife on both sides, insert a string through those holes and tie around the branch while keeping the fig inside. You can V-notch the bottle in the two spots where it touches the wood to have a better coupling.
The modern plastic water bottles are very light and can be used on the smallest branches.
I believe you could also use the plastic cups but I find the bottles of a more suitable shape.