I read this post by tony on Brooklyn White,

"Seems no matter if picked within a range of a week or more, whether field ripe, store ripe, dead ripe, or fairly early with raw sap pouring out of the end of the neck like this one, Brooklyn White packs enough sugar and flavor to be jelly good"  

This post raised the question, how many other fig varieties have a longer harvest window where the flavor and quality remain good.  For those of you have have the experience I would love to hear your opinions about which other varieties share this trait.

That is a very good question.

For me there are two that have been good, before they are completely ripe. First one is Figo Preto. Picked 3-4 days early, they still taste better than many fig varieties when they are dead ripe.

Second one is Grise Olivette. It is a large sweet brown fig, but even when the bottom is still green, it is still very good.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  The sharing on this forum is wonderful. 

Florea, RdB, Osborne Prolific, LSU O'rourke

A lot depends on what you're willing to accept as 'good' from a fig.

Based on what I've seen so far, the number one enemy for a long harvest is overwatering. Overwatering will not only dilute the flavor, but will cause early spoilage and make the eye open up for ant armies to invade. For me the best tasting figs that will taste great even if picked a little early or little late are usually the ones that are deep red on the inside.
So far, the top spot in my small collection goes to Col de Dame Blanc (UCD) which is a very late ripening variety. It might not be suitable for colder zones.

fig varieties have a longer harvest window where the flavor and quality remain good.



Mead, Salem Dark, Brown turkey, improved celeste, Florea.


Doug