Hey Sara. You're a real gem, so plse don't think I was having a personal dig at your expense!

Too late I'm afraid - 'green shoot in water' has already been potted, & I don't want to disturb it now, for obvious reasons. So I'm just gonna have to hope for the best now. I realise of course that leaf growth can be a false dawn, and isn't necessarily indicative of survivability. Even so, I am optimistic about this cutting. I only had sphag. moss on hand, so that had to do as my PM.

As for the 'bagged' cuttings, the other two that appeared healthy just a few days ago have now gone a strange colour, and show signs of fungal infection. The DoA, which was the first to succumb to the dreaded fungus, ironically now appears quite healthy compared to the other two - ie the tip is still a healthy-looking green colour. I have potted the lot, & kept them apart from the other rooted/potted cuttings, just in case. If I lose all the bagged cuttings (and the green shoot in water), that's still 3/7, which I'll take any day against a total wipe out.

But thx for your words of wisdom anyway.

Thanks Costas....looking forward to hearing how everything turns out for you.

Hey Sara & co., long time no speak/update, so on the basis that late is better than never, here goes.

In the end, only 2/7 of Greek Yellow survived. The less prolific was gifted to my wife's cousin, who took it back home to Cyprus. It should do very well there, considering the climate. I kept Mr prolific, and it is now in a large white pot and stands 1.30m high!!! From c. 8" to well over 4' in less than two years!?! Amazing, or what?

Unfortunately, no ripe fruit yet - probably still too young to support such luxuries, tho it did produce 2-3 fruit around March/April that eventually fell off before reaching maturity. Hopefully, that means the xtra energy is going into shoot/root growth. 

There are four healthy-looking ground shoots that will provide a good source of air layers and cuttings to send to some of you who requested them in earlier posts on this thread. Sara, if you see this, one of those shoots has your name on it. But bearing in mind earlier advice that cuttings should come from previous year's growth, you may have to be a little more patient before you finally get your cuttings. 

I can tell you this is one handsome small fig tree, and pictures will follow shortly to prove the point. Still debating with myself whether I should put it in the ground now, or over-winter it indoors for yet another year. Any strongly-held views out there in fig-land?

I never did find a replacement for Greek White after all, tho we did bring back some cuttings late last year of Greek Black and Greek Green. Yep, that's right - the latter are still green when they ripen, which might beg some obvious questions for those who can't otherwise tell when they are ripe enough to eat.

As mentioned in an earlier post (possibly on another thread), I also have another well-established unidentified that I refer to as fussy but tasty. Fussy coz it needs an exceptional English summer to produce a decent crop. Well guess what folks? We are currently basking in a heatwave that is now 6 weeks old, and looks set to continue for some time yet. So fussy but tasty has never been more 'fruitful'. When that fruit starts to ripen around mid-August, I'll post some pics, & hopefully one of your experts will be able to identify it for me & finally put me out of my misery.

Toodle pip for now - more anon. And Sara - watch this space.

Costas 

PS My Italian Purple is also going like the clappers, and as for the Brown Turkey........well, it's aptly named, is it not? Whoever it was on this forum who said they hated it - I'm afraid I have to agree. I intend digging it out in the winter and relocating it in our front garden to make room for one of the new arrivals from Greece. Any passers-by who can be bothered can help themselves to its fruit. It won't be missed.

Dear Costas,

Just read all of your post with great interest. So sorry about all that theft that you had .....but I am glad that you managed to get a couple to grow on.
I also live in London,and if possible would very much love to try some of your cuttings if possible please.?
Do please PM me .I live in Hampton, near Twickenham ,I have an allotment Here.
You are more than welcome to come over.

Liza,

So good to hear from a (relatively local) fellow figgist! Dunno if such a word exists, but if it doesn't, it ought to!

Yes, of course you can have cuttings from my figs. I can give/send you cuttings from my Italian Purple and 'Fussy but Tasty'. If you can wait a couple of months, I can do even better for you, coz I'll have some substantial air layers ready by then, and they will fruit much earlier of course because of their size.

The Gk Yellow and other recent arrivals aren't ready yet for being butchered, but as soon as they can take it, you'll be among the first to hear about it. Let me know your preferences re the others, and how you prefer to take possession. I'll have to check my map to see exactly where you are, and a visit might well be possible. But m/time, by all means keep in touch.

Regards,

Costas,
The allotment is at Bushy Park, Hampton High Street. Next to the open air swimming pool.Let me know when you want to come over.?
 Best to call.......07861 448 445.

speak soon

To whom it may concern:

Regarding the Greek Yellow figs I have a tree and it is called Zailata.  I will be posting the figs on this site so you can get a better view of the Yellow Greek fig.  It is a very sweet fig with a strawberry taste to it.  It is a medium size with lots of large seeds inside.  Most likely this tree comes from Peloponeso.

If anyone is interested on more info I will be posting next week with photos and a brief description when the figs are fully ripe along with many other Popular Greek fig varieties .

Thank you all and I will speak to you fig lovers soon.

George

looking forward to more pictures and info

Dear Greg,

I have the Vasilika Mavra and the Vasilika Melissi.  Sika in Greek means figs then you have the different Vasilika Varieties.  Hope that helps.  Sorry we don't carry any other of your wish list.

Giorgos 

@ Ektor - Thx for the info. Giorgos. Interesting and useful to know. Your description of my Gk Yellow sounds pretty accurate to me, so I'm fairly confident your ID is bang on the money. Henceforth, I shall be calling it Zailata (sounds like salata, Gk for salad). I'll be posting some pics of my little 'un too very soon. Just need to recharge my battery!

So my Gk black could be Vasilika Mavra as well? If that's correct, that's two hits in one post - not bad going for a new contact. What colour does Vasilika Melissi ripen to?

@ Liza - Don't worry chuck, I'll be in touch soon to make some arrangements re delivery and/or collection. I think the easiest route is to send you some cuttings anyway, then arrange delivery/collection of the larger air layers sometime later. Unless you have a better idea?

@greg88 - Hopefully you won't have too long to wait.

I'm seriously flattered this thread has had so many views. I must have struck a vein with a lot of interest.

Later 'gators.

Slightly off topic, but has anyone else on this forum ever come across this 'recipe', given to me by our former pastor who swears by it - without using profanity of course. It's totally anti-intuitive, since you would think figs are already sweet enough without the need to call on the addition of honey.

Cut the figs twice up to around 2/3rds - 3/4 qtrs straight down the middle, the 2nd cut @ right angles to the first. Place on foil, & pour a tblsp (or 2) of your honey of choice into the cut. Wrap up in the foil, then place in oven @ gas mark 6/180deg for around 20 mins. Obviously not economical for just one, so recipe assumes you'll be doing this with at least 4-6 figs, or possibly whilst cooking another dessert as well - use your imagination.

Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream for an outrageously delicious dessert. I've never tried it, but I intend doing so this summer when we get some large ripe figs from our Italian Purple. They are slightly less sweet than our fussy but tasty, so I think the xtra sweetness provided by the honey will 'travel' better. If any of you give this a try, please let me know what you thought of the result.

Fig chef at your service,

Fair comment Alan, but we always pick ours either fully ripened, or else even slightly over-ripe, so always sweet enough for our taste. And as for the Zailata (Gk Yellow) that is the main topic of this thread, we might as well be eating balls of honey, coz that's almost exactly what they taste like, aside from the hint of strawberry. So adding honey to them seems a bit perverse. I take your point tho about other varieties not being quite so sweet, which is why I think this recipe might work better with our Italian Purple. The Italian fig is also a lot bigger than the Zailata - almost half the size of my fist.

Was also wondering about drying a few to eat over the winter period. Do any of the experts on this forum have any advice about how we can make our own dried figs? Is it just a case of leaving them out in the Sun for a few hours until they shrivel up? 

The idea of drying anything in London outside sounds counter intuitive  :)

Drying figs in the sun takes several days.  You have to protect them from bugs, birds and mammals.

Figs dry fastest cut in half length-wise.  A food dehydrator or in an oven on a temp about 95 degrees will speed things along.  Higher temps risk a cooked taste to the figs which I don't like but some might.

What a great thread this is.  Can't wait for photos  :)

Hello rcantor,

Welcome to the thread, and thx for both your kind words and the advice re. drying some figs for Winter consumption.

I realize your comment re counter-intuitive drying in London might have been tongue-in-cheek, but you might also have missed my comment above that we are currently basking in a heatwave - the best summer we've had since 2006, and still on course for beating 2003, when we saw our highest recorded temp. of 38.50C (just about topping 100F if you're still using 'old money'). Not bad for gloomy, cloudy, overcast, rain-soaked and sodden London, right? Eat your heart out Uncle Sam. I know you hold the record for highest temps on Earth in Death Valley, Arizona, but we don't all have the 'luxury' of a desert in our backyard, right?

Anyroad, as far as the 'drying' topic is concerned, I think we have plenty of Sun energy in reserve to do the job over here, but one more idea occurs to me that also avoids the 'cooking' problem. What about putting them in a frost-free fridge, spliced down the middle as you suggest. These fridges are well known for sucking the moisture out of anything that isn't sealed air-tight. Also potentially solves the prob. of the local wildlife taking an unwelcome interest in my highly prized garden produce, right? Any comments on my hair-brained schemes are welcomed, even if only to shoot me down. 

Anyways, time to get me some shut-eye. One thing we don't have is Eastern Standard Time!

Ciao fellow-fig-nuts. Or should that be kali nichta?

PS Hopefully, you won't have too long to wait for those pics either, at least as far as my modest efforts are concerned anyway.

cut the figs in quarter, but leave the bottom uncut so it will open up. stuff it with goat cheese, add nuts if you want, wrap it with proscuito... might need tooth pick to hold everything in place. bake it in oven till cheese melt to your liking and the proscuito is lightly browned. drizzle with honey if you like. i think that's a standard recipe for fig dessert.

Costas, your figs sound wonderful. Where have you acquired your cuttings? I have a good friend with a house in Kefalonia, and she also has family in Patra. Her grandmother makes the most excellent fig preserves I've tasted (really good apricot and strawberry jams, too), I'd like to get them to send over some cuttings at some point. :-)

@ tamarness: Thx for your interest Elisha. Origins as follows:

Gk Yellow: (provisionally identified as Zailata)  - from our own garden in Itea, district of Fokidos, near Galaxidi, Amphissa and Delphi (home of the eponymous Oracle - must remember to consult it sometime on the best variety to grow). Almost 2 yrs old now, plenty of foliage but no fruit yet to speak of. It's the apple of my eye, & i'll be posting some pics in a few days. The fig is smallish, yellow bordering on orange, the sweetest we've ever tasted. 

Italian Purple: From a tree belonging to an aunt in London, which in turn was grown from a cutting brought over from Italy by another aunt (by marriage - she was Italian). I don't know what part of Italy (she died quite a few years ago), but I intend to find out from my cousins. 

Unidentified: Nicknamed 'fussy but tasty' for the time being until I can post some pics of ripe fruit and leaves in late August. Hopefully, someone on the forum will be able to ID it for me and put me out of my misery. Purchased from a nursery in NE England by my sister as a birthday present for my mother, who then gave it to me for some tlc. Ripens to an orangey-brown colour, and one of the best-tasting figs we've come across, so quite infuriating not knowing the variety. 

Gk Black: (possibly Vasiliko Mavro?) From friends in Itea.

Gk Green: As above.

Are you by any chance hinting that you would like some cuttings from me?

@ bullet08: I was with you right up to the proscuito. To quote my old friend John McEnroe - you cannot be serious. Processed meat with figs for dessert??? Ugh. I'd rather poke my eye with a toothpick. But hey, if that lights your candle.......

costas, anything with pork fat will do :) i love pork fat. or you can go without pork.. maybe sprinkle touch of sea salt on top? give nice balance to the sweetness of the fig.

Bullet: Do you also love coronary thrombosis? Coz that's where you're heading mate. I avoid all animal fat that I can see like the plague. Or is it plaque?

not particularly.. tho i get my coronary health checked often enough and so far so good. life is too short. i'll try to enjoy everything i can before i kick it. everything in moderation..

Hey Pete,

Glad to hear the old ticker is still merrily pumping away. Live long and prosper mate. And go easy on that pork fat.

Avoiding the plague and arterial plaque are always positive things. I actually wasn't hinting at getting cuttings from you, but would never say no to an offer. :-) I have yet to try any food originating from Greece that I don't like. In fact, I only use oregano that my friend brings back from Kefalonia, and my favorite uses of it are sprinkled on some Dodoni feta and lavraki. 

tamarness: As one forum member has pointed out to me in a PM, there are legal implications to sending cuttings to most countries, including the US. However, if you're willing to take the risk, I won't disappoint you by saying never. Let me know which one/s you're interested in, & I'll see what I can do for you.

Slightly off topic, but IMHO haloumi (Cypriot cheese) is even beta than feta. Try it fried, grilled (I think you guys say broiled instead) or bbq'd, with fried egg & toast - sensational. Or even eat it 'straight' with whatever takes your fancy. Costas' Culinary Corner over & out.

there is a heavy penalty, if one get caught, without proper paper work. everyone has their opinion on this subject, but until the law changes.. be careful..