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New Fig Grower in SE Oklahoma

Hi Everyone,

I'm really enjoying your nice forum and all the helpful advice!  I'm extremely interested in everything Figs, so I welcome all your help.  I was born near Fresno, CA, and grew up eating wild figs in the foothills.  Last year though, a friend let me try some dried Turkish figs he had soaked- it was the best thing I think I have ever eaten!  Like eating pure jam.

This winter I started my fig journey and got around 100 cuttings from local trees and eBay.  Because of my inadequate knowledge of varieties, etc, I threw most out, but now have seven very nice Celeste trees which got up to about three feet already (then were pruned a little).

We're "homesteading" in the Kiamichi Wilderness of SE Oklahoma (7b) on ten acres which we purchased two years ago.  We would like to have a small orchard of figs, and we already sell tomatoes on a very-small-farm scale.

I'm interested in getting cuttings this winter/spring of Hardy Chicago, Osborne Prolific, and possibly some more varieties so please let me know if anyone is willing to sell some.  Also, I would love to connect with other fig growers/fanatics in my general area of the country.  Thanks, Eric P072915_0757.jpg


Welcome to the forum.  Your young trees look good.

Welcome, Eric!  10 acres can hold a lot of fig trees!  :)

Nice looking trees, they look healthy!

Hi Finleyfigs,
Welcome to the forum.
Start thinking about the winter protection for your trees. You want them to  have as few die-back as possible.
Next Spring, you'll need to start spreading those trees around the property. They'll need more spacing !
Good luck !

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the Forum, glad to have you here! Looks like you have already got a good start.If you don't mind, Please let everyone know your first name....

Welcome!  Think about having a large green house in the future.  You can give your figs 2-3 months extra growing time even without much heat.  I generally send Hardy Chicago cuttings out for postage in November after my in ground tree goes dormant.  I haven't run out yet  :)

What did your friend soak the Turkish figs in?  Some use milk, some their favorite alcoholic beverage.

How easy and expensive is it to get land there?

welcome to the forum   this fall you will find members doing their trading and cutting selling.   So many nice people here and you will also learn a wealth of knowledge on how to correctly root your cuttings and about anything else to do with figs.    Joyce

Wow everyone, thanks so much for the comments!
@jdsfrance- Yes, will definitely space out this spring/winter!  Have holes already dug spaced 20' X 20', but that might be too much room..  Any suggestions on winter protection?  We're 7b, so I was thinking two layers of "row cover" might work..  Maybe additional heat if it gets extra cold..  Looks like your climate is pretty cold, what varieties do you grow?  Very interested..

@rcantor- maybe you can send me a message w/ details for your HC cuttings!  My friend actually just soaked the figs in water..  We found that the right amount of water- not too much- is critical to the sweetness and texture of the soaked figs.  Our land was only $500 /acre, but usually it's more like $2,500 to $3,000.  But I've seen 16 acres with a spring and a gorgeous view sell for only $8,000.  Our climate is very good in my opinion for figs- cool wet winter/spring, and hot dry long summers.

The best to all your growing and eating

Frank, thanks for the reminder!  I had my name in my signature, but it's always good to know a name to associate someone with.  I saw on another post that you have a Adriatic JH tree, and so that solves my question about whether it might work for me (since looks like I'm in a similar climate).  It sounds like one of the tastiest figs.  -Eric

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