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Harvesting delicious figs every day ,even after hard frost,we had on October 16.

I get about a dozen,of ripe Malta Black,
Daily.

I get a couple of ripe fruits ,Daily,from:
Adriatic Jh (more than a couple out of this one)
Vasilika Sika
Italian 258
Improved Celeste
Nero 600 M
Ronde De Bordeaux
Saint Anthony
Negretta
Violette de Bordeaux
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I took a pix of the Malta Black i harvested,now at 5PM,because in the Morning,my family ,checks all the premium trees,i mentioned above and,first come first served,they get the ripe ones.
We are 5 persons here,so they did not last to take a pix.
The leaves are dead,still hanging on trees,and the fruits ,keep ripening;
Here is the pix of Malta black,i harvested now,and they are from all 5 trees of this cultivar i got,an older Mother tree and 4 younger plants.
They lost extra water and became delicious ,sweet and flavorful.

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Cool! I also heard that its hard to find a Nero 600m

Nice that your family loves the trees,,, means,the appropriate your time. But i know its a joy for you to have them.

Very nice for you Herman! :)

Herman, would you say Malta black is your most productive variety?

Nice!  Having a couple of nice, ripe figs can really brighten up your day!

Most Productive are Malta Black,and Adriatic Jh Strain.
At this point in time,after I kept selecting them ,yes they are.
At another point in time a few years ago,it was Marseilles black vs,that made more ripe fruits,but as the climate got more difficult ,for ripening figs here, I needed cultivars that will resist rain and cool damp weather,and so i think the 2 mentioned are better,suited to ripe properly,taking in account the last 5 years,with unsuitable climate for figs in general.
No definitive answer,is good for every location,because,figs that have difficulty ripening here (Ex:White Genoa,or Conadria),will produce good fruits in other locations.
One fact is true ,that a fig that make good edible ripe fruits in difficult climates like New Jersey,will make delicious fruits,in ideal climatic conditions ,like central California.
By the contrary a fig that makes ,delicious fruits in Central California,have a very small chance to make edible fruits here in NJ,and more likely will be a loser,here.

Quite the harvest. Guess it makes all the hard work you put in to growing fig worth it.

Real nice Herman, I have many of those I hope to taste next year.  The rest I hope to add.

Awesome group there. I hope to one day all of those lol. So far I have one! Hopefully my RdB will Fruit next year but since I've just gotten into Fig collecting, I have no experience growing yet. Really next year will be my first season so I don't know what to expect. Just hope I get the Fig trees on my wish list before then. It will be nice when I get to see and eat my first Fig (sad I've never even seen one in person lol I know) but actually growing and picking my own will be even better. Awesome figs Herman, congrats on having an awesome collection. I bet having a family to share your joy/hobby with is just great, until they eat them... :/

Fruits on Hurman's plate look yummy.
I had many plants in cool October with fat hard fruits on it with bright black or yellow colours looking ripe but hard like golf balls and with erect necks and no droops. 
Then some ten days ago there were two consecutive nights with temperature at -5C and -9C that froze the leaves dead and the fruits frozen. Later when the days warmed up above freezing, I noticed that the fig fruits thawed and were soft and fairly sweet and edible (looked much softer than shown on Hurman's plate. I believe that without hard freeze and normal descent into cooler temperatures, as in the past years, would have left the figs hard and not edible. 
A friend was surprised when I gave him a bowl full of somewhat sweet edible figs this time of the year. 

Oh my Gosh, Herman, what a treat to have so many figs!!! Good job growing all your trees. I bought cuttings of Malta black on Ebay. But Im not sure they will live. I have them on spaghnam moss but they look a little moldy. This is a problem, right? :-/. Maybe its too wet? I hope i didnt ruin them.

Thanks for providing more knowledge about cold hardy varieties that produce well! I know tree age will factor into fig production. At what age is the "tipping point" with colder climates where you get a sense about future production for a variety?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman2
I get about a dozen,of ripe Malta Black,
Daily.

I get a couple of ripe fruits ,Daily,from:
Adriatic Jh (more than a couple out of this one)
Vasilika Sika
Italian 258
Improved Celeste
Nero 600 M
Ronde De Bordeaux
Saint Anthony
Negretta
Violette de Bordeaux

4 years in ground ,providing you Winter protected the tree in such a way,the every year it came out in the Spring with one foot of live wood,and abut 3 trunks or more,all live and with live buds.
My trees are ,not in best shape this year ,because the Winter was so cold for last 2 years that they died down to soil line despite Winter protection, and that is why they have had a small production of ripe fruits,and ,also were ripening later in the season compared to other years,when they came out of Spring with live trunks.
I hope we get milder Winters in the future,in accordance with ,the global warming,idea.

Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman2
4 years in ground ,providing you Winter protected the tree in such a way,the every year it came out in the Spring with one foot of live wood,and abut 3 trunks or more,all live and with live buds.
My trees are ,not in best shape this year ,because the Winter was so cold for last 2 years that they died down to soil line despite Winter protection, and that is why they have had a small production of ripe fruits,and ,also were ripening later in the season compared to other years,when they came out of Spring with live trunks.
I hope we get milder Winters in the future,in accordance with ,the global warming,idea.

Vasile your idea of keeping 12" of live wood ties into an idea I am planning the for the spring. I was thinking of putting in a sunken bed that would be 2' wide and 12" deep lined with wood that would actually only be 6" below ground level with the other 6"mounded on the sides. In the fall I would cut back or bend down the limbs to fit inside the 12" cavity and fill with dry insulating material then cover with plywood and plastic an maybe more insulating material on top. Then in the spring I could put clear plastic structure over it early to warm the ground and give it a head start. That's the plan at least lol.

Well Tyler,I mentioned ,one foot,because that is ,minimum,but if the person goes for 3 foot of protection that is ,also good,yet ,I was trying to make it as easy for new Gardener to deal with Winter protection.
Some Winters you Winter protect 3 foot high and in the Spring you have 6 inches live wood,and others you have all 3 foot alive,so the more you protect the better.
Of course when all 3 foot is alive you are going to have an early bountiful harvest that instance.

Yes the more the better. I should be able to fit in quite a bit by bending them down. Thanks for the input Vasile.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman2
Well Tyler,I mentioned ,one foot,because that is ,minimum,but if the person goes for 3 foot of protection that is ,also good,yet ,I was trying to make it as easy for new Gardener to deal with Winter protection.
Some Winters you Winter protect 3 foot high and in the Spring you have 6 inches live wood,and others you have all 3 foot alive,so the more you protect the better.
Of course when all 3 foot is alive you are going to have an early bountiful harvest that instance.


Herman...Thanks about  the info about trying to leave at least a foot of green wood...Makes sense. Iast Winter was rough on everyone I guess, all 33 of mine planted in ground, died to the ground....But luckily they all came back besides Peter's Honey. For all of them to die to the ground, I was lucky to get what Figs I've got and still getting them. Thanks again Herman!

I'm glad your figs are giving you some pleasure for all of your hard work.  I know you've had a Hardy Chicago in the past.  Do you still have it?  It's lways my most reliable producer of good fall figs.  At least here it's better than all the others although everything else is in pots here with roots into the ground.  The HC has been in the ground for over 22 years.

Yes I have Hardy Chicago ,and it had ripe fruits too, but later than normal.
Not a bad fig , but performed only average here due to rain while ripening, in most years here in my climate.
I am sure it is delicious in hot, long dry Summer climates!

Oh my gosh just to hear about all these figgy adventures.  I love the thought of the family racing to the trees like birds looking for the most succulent morsels. Getting ready in the Verde Valley AZ for the frost.   Man against nature for sure.  I know so much more about withholding water, covering, etc. this year than last.  I read that in Paris they cut the roots on one side of the trees and buries them in "graves" on their sides.  I am trying the split pool noodle trick on mine with 18" or so of mulch.  Thanks for all the tips.  Best, Jodi