The first LSU Gold was ripe today. I had been worried about letting it fruit its first year in the ground, but since it's now by far my tallest fig tree I probably shouldn't have worried. At any rate I had removed the tiny figs as soon as they appeared, but left two as a sample. Unfortunately, the ants discovered the ripe one before I did, and had entered through the eye to enjoy the feast. I trimmed off the part they had been eating and the fig was still delicious, so I'm very pleased. Next year I'll be ready with Tanglefoot to foil the ants.

They should come in sooner next season. My first one this season was 7/21.

You will not believe the size of the figs next year, keep these picts for reference for next year.

Would that apply to LSU Purple????  I had a braba on May 24 and picked the first main crop on June 28.

FOLLOW UP:

This tree has continued to grow like crazy (over 9' tall from a small 1 gal planted this spring) and has put out several more figs. So, I got out the Tanglefoot to keep the ants from ruining them. Works like a charm! The ants seem to avoid it completely, but gnats and other little winged bugs get trapped.

Although this topic has been covered before, I'll add my thoughts and photos to the mix. I had a young pear tree die shortly after applying a band of Tanglefoot directly to the trunk (after it died, it snapped right where had I applied it), so I don't let it touch my trees any more. (It says right on the label not to apply it to young or thin-barked trees, but I missed that the first time. Of course, it also says not to apply it to fruiting trees, but since that's the whole point, I do it anyway.)

First, I wrap the trunk or branch with masking tape, sticky side out. Then I use an old artist brush to paint a thin band of goo on the tape. Super simple, and no mess!

Tucsonken,
That is a great tip with the tape.  I will use it on my guavas as well and persimmons as well.

Thanks

The LSU Gold finally got totally ripe, so I split it three ways with my wife & son. Absolutely scrumptious! As I've mentioned in other posts, most of the ripe figs from my yard seem kind of small and dried out compared t other people's descriptions, but not this one. Maybe it was due to the ant protection, but this is the first time I've seen syrup actually dripping from the eye, as I've often heard described by other forum members.

Danny K, you're right about the size--even in its first year, this was considerably larger than all my other  2012 figs. I'll be interested to see if they're even bigger next year. It was also right up there with the best of them in flavor--not as complex as some, but the thin skin and juiciness more than made up for it.

I also sampled my first full-sized Marseilles VS today--very good--along with a few other varieties. VdB is still among the best in terms of flavor, but compared to LSU Gold the skin is like sandpaper. Here's a shot of today's figs, along with some ripe persimmons. (Left to right, in front of the four Hachiya Persimmons: LSU Gold, 2 VdBs, Marseilles VS, Black Madeira, 3 Tena, LSU Improved Celeste.) Teh first Hardy Chicago ripened a few days ago, and was delicious; the first LSU Scott's Black is nearly ready to pick. I'm still getting LSU Purple and a few others.

Alan, I'm glad the masking tape tip helped. It wasn't my idea--I read it in somebody else's post on this forum, and found it to work really well. Thanks, whoever first posted it!

Congrats Ken.  They look great.

Mike

Don't you hate people in warm climates? :) Ummm, I mean, congratulations, Ken!!!

They really look great!