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My First Almost Ripe Fig of 2013

My Brown Turkey has a fig that should be ready to harvest in the next few days!





I also harvested my first blueberries of the season today and have a couple of bushes that are just loaded with nice huge berries - yummy!





I'm hoping my Black Mission fruits for the first time this year!
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Ah, that south florida weather in winter. Your stuff sure looks happy.
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Figaro....

I have no idea what it's like to have such an early season.  I hope the fruit is delicious.

Question:  What happens for the rest of your season?  Since your figs have already set fruit and figs will be ripe shortly, will you get a 2nd and 3rd crop....or do you have to plant varieties that ripen at differing times within your long season?

I need to move to Florida.

Frank from the freezing Bronx,NYC
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Originally Posted by mgginva
Ah, that south florida weather in winter. Your stuff sure looks happy.


Thanks!  Yeah, the weather is paradise, just don't try growing anything in the soil down here!  They way I keep 'em looking happy is by growing everything in containers or raised beds! :)
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Originally Posted by BronxFigs
Figaro....

I have no idea what it's like to have such an early season.  I hope the fruit is delicious.

Question:  What happens for the rest of your season?  Since your figs have already set fruit and figs will be ripe shortly, will you get a 2nd and 3rd crop....or do you have to plant varieties that ripen at differing times within your long season?

I need to move to Florida.

Frank from the freezing Bronx,NYC


Thanks, Frank!  Right now, I only have two fig trees that are large enough to bear fruit - The Brown Turkey and a Black Mission.  I do have another four cultivars rooting now and three more on order from UCD.

The Brown Turkey fruited for the first time last year and the Black Mission has not yet set fruit, so my experience is a little limited, but last year I did get two crops which I assume was simply a breba crop and a main crop. 

I only had about 6-8 figs in each crop and they did all ripen at different times. 

I beleive the type of Brown Turkey I have is a "Texas Everbearing" which are supposed to produce a breba crop in May and then a main crop from June through August, so it's a little early but we had a pretty mild winter here this year.
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wow enjoy......
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I can't believe it's a whole month since I said I was going to harvest my first Brown Turkey in a few days.  Well, a month later, I just harvested it today!  I guess I'm getting better at judging when a fig is ripe, or maybe just getting a little more patient, but this fig tasted fantastic - even being a Brown Turkey!

Here's it is just after being picked:



It had very few seeds and was like jelly inside:



Here's a close-up:



The flavor wasn't very complex.  It tasted similar to a mild peach, but was very refreshing and delicious.  I've heard mixed reviews about Brown Turkeys and it seems most of the people liking them are growing them in the South.  While I'm anxious for my other, newly acquired figs to fruit, I really can't complain about the BT here in S. Florida, at all!
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Even in the South, Brown Turkeys are not very good even if they are acceptable.  Best ones are from areas of SoCal, and even so, the store bought one are not very good at all, compared to store-bought Missions.
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Looks and sounds great!  Nice pics too.
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any fresh fig would be nice just about now. home grown, of course...
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Juicey and looking nice! Let's not get too particular here in mid-March! Regardless of ag zone. looks very tastey!
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Figaro,

The in ground nematodes are bad? I noticed you say everything looks great because its grown in containers.
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Looks very tasty and its march. lucky you.
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figs in March...who can ask for more''''
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Thanks everyone for the good words.  I'm pretty happy with having figs this early in the season, too, and anything I grow myself is always better than anything I buy in the store - even the Brown Turkey! :)
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Originally Posted by nullzero
Figaro,

The in ground nematodes are bad? I noticed you say everything looks great because its grown in containers.


I don't think it's nematodes, per se, the soil here is just horrible.

I'm in a gated community (like everyone in South Florida!) and when they make these places, the first thing the developers do is haul off all the good top soil and sell it.  Then, they replace it with a bunch of sand, crushed seashells, and leftover construction materials, then throw a bunch of mutated grass over it that's really more like a crabgrass but grows like a weed and can tolerate the crappy soil and heat down here.

I do, however, spray beneficial nematodes in the yard just to help minimize some of the pests.
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Hi Figaro
nice figs man.
BTW how do you like the fabric pots. do they last for few seasons?
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Originally Posted by Eukofios
That's just amazing!  Maybe Brown Turkey has a different flavor in the Southeast compared to Northwest and Southwest.  Also, i read there are various strains of Brown Turkey, some more appealing than others.  So your Brown Turkey might be a whole different bird from someone else's Brown Turkey.

Regardless, like others said, any fig this time of year is a blessing.  Savor it!


Thanks, Eukofios.  I've also read that there are different strains of Brown Turkey and read that not all "Brown Turkey" figs are really BT's. 

To add to the confusion, the BT was my very first fig and I purchased it at one of the Home Centers.  It was labelled as a "Brown Turkey Fig - Texas Everbearing".

When I search, I can't tell for sure if Texas Everbearing is really  a type of Brown Turkey or a different fig all-together.  Although I do see some references to it, for all I know it's all people that purchased mislabelled plants at the same Home Center! :D

That being said, I've read several reports of people comparing Southern grown BT's to Northern grown, noting the better quality of the Southern grown. 

I personally have never done a comparison, but as I mentioned, while I'm still hoping for better tasting figs from my other varieties, the BT was quite delicious!
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Originally Posted by elin
Hi Figaro
nice figs man.
BTW how do you like the fabric pots. do they last for few seasons?


Thanks, Elin ("todah rabah", if my memory is correct!)!

I'm only in my second season with the "SmartPots" now and so far, I'm very happy with them.  I do expect they'll last at least another season, or two.

The fabric pots are one type of "aeration container".  It essentially allows the roots to grow into the container (instead of spiraling in circles in a plastic container, for example), then when they hit the air, the roots get air pruned, which causes more roots to shoot out from the base.  So, the plant tends to create a very strong, healthy rootball and I'm a big believer in strong roots making a strong plant.

One of the benefits of the "aeration containers" is that they do allow for a larger plant to be grown in the same sized (or smaller) container.

They're also priced about the same as a plastic container and I've never gotten more than a couple/few seasons from the plastic stuff, since it tends to get brittle in the sun & salty air down here, and easily cracks, even just trying to move a plant.

Another benefit is that it's very difficult to overwater with the fabric pots.

The only possible negatives are that they do need more frequent watering, since they dry out quicker than the plasic containers, and, because the roots grow into the sides of the containers, if you plan on transplanting, you can expect some root damage in the process.  Because of this, I tend to not use the SmartPots on the smaller plants.  In fact, I have several one gallon SmartPots I've never even used!

When my fig cuttings are fully rooted, I put them into a 1 gallon plastic nursery container, then when ready to transplant, they'll go into a 15 gallon SmartPot which will basically be their final container size.
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your memeory serves you right...
BTW what is the largest tree possible to get growin in these pots?
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Hey just noticed we registered the same date
nice to know you.
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Originally Posted by elin
your memeory serves you right...
BTW what is the largest tree possible to get growin in these pots?


I'm not sure if you're asking about the biggest tree that can be grown in SmartPots or the biggest tree that can be grown specifically in 15 gallon SmartPots.

I know the SmartPots come in sizes up to 400 gallons (see http://www.smartpots.com/black-smart-pots ) so you can grow HUGE trees in them.

Generally speaking, you can go one or maybe two sizes down from a plastic (or other good non-aeration container) to grow the same size plant/tree.  So, if the recommended container size for a plant is 15 gallon, you should easily be able to get the same size plant in a 10 gallon SmartPot, or other good aeration container.  "AirPots" are another very good aeration container and are made of plastic (the website appears to be down right now, but it's at http://www.superoots.com/air_intro.htm).
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Thanks for the link .
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