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"Dark Portuguese Brents Quarter in a Shot Request" !

Brent in this thread
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=5454172
How big is this fig, I am used to a quarter being in the shot :) But say compared to Sals EL?



Well Brent here is new thread as promised and here is quarter in a shot.   ; )

Brent -
by holding mouse over picture the file name will tell you which is drk port and sals. Both similar in size but figs can vary slightly from year to year along with taste depending on weather.

Click to enlarge thumbnail.

Nice shot Martin, man those figs look darn good.

Now I need to get another dark portuguese, funny enough I had two gave one of them away and mine shriveled up within 3 days think it was a case of heartbreak.

EDIT

OOOPS My Bad, guess I had one too many corona's last night hehehe.

Thank you Martin, that was very nice of you. They look great and I bet they were good. I have a bunch of Sal's started this year for a "commercial" planting and wanted to know if Dark Port was a better option, size wise.
Mind if I ask what you would plant if you were going to sell fresh figs? Omitting the light varieties; I have Sals EL, Sals C, BMVS, DFIC17 BT, and Gino's blk. I am thinking lot's of DFIC 17 for the late season and mostly the Sal's and BMVS for early season. I would be willing to try some with unknown hardiness, and think I will be able to give some winter protection anyway, or grow a few in plastic barrels. If you would rather not answer that is fine. Thanks again.

Yeah Brent i could not answer i only have the el sals and Sals C from what you listed .
My Sals C just aquired this season .

Brent, I would say that Sal's EL is a good selection, if your looking for cold hardiness, and sweetness.


We are in one of Connecticut's cold areas, zone 5, and Sal's EL was cold tested about 30 miles north of us in another cold part of Connecticut, by Paul Tracesky in the 90's.

We have been told that after testing, Paul only kept one fig from his test plot, and that was Sal's EL.

It's considered the gold standard for our area. As to it being a good selection for marketing I don't know. I guess it will depend on how much flavor it has prior to being tree ripe. We put one in the ground last fall. So, our tree has not ripened this year.

We find it to be a very healthy, strong grower, with dark green leaves. We also have several in pots, of varying sizes. 

I would think a selection for market would need to be cold hardy, and not need winter protection. Become tasty before it becomes tree ripe, to avoid becoming mush before you can get them to your customers. Also, it should produce a lot of fruit without the taste, sweetness, and flavor being diluted. I would think having large fruit would also help.

I noticed in your list you did not have Marseilles Black VS. If I were to attempt growing figs for a market, I would think about planting that one.

Mother tree has taken cold down to minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit, and survived.
It has been reported producing as many as 200 fruits on a three year old tree. and is easy to grow.

The only draw back I can see with it, is it might be to small for the consumer. But, because it is so early the consumer may not care about size that early in the season. 

You may want to consider contacting Bass in Pennsylvania, Herman2, and Gorgi. They all have tested many figs in this area of the country.

Hope that helps.

Bob

 

Brent, I just noticed you did list Marseilles Black VS.


I think it is a good selection for an early market fig.

Bob

Thanks anyway Martin, if anything ever pops into your head please let me know. I think more people would prefer dark figs, so i thought to ask a true connoisseur.

Thanks for the input Bob. I have been trying to weigh the variables you listed and am sure I will have to alter the plan as I go to fit my needs. Good point about flavor before fully ripe, I expect to be able to refrigerate them and sell them quickly but a few extra days storage would be nice if they could still taste good. Maybe that is a good enough reason to trial Dark Port.
I have been hunting through the forum for a while now trying to find all the info that Bass, Herman2, and Gorgi have up already. I will ask them directly before too long when I have more targeted questions.

I just got the joke! Haha. I could not figure out why the shot glass was there.  Good one Martin, i can't believe I didn't get it sooner.

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