For those of you waiting to hear from me about this fig grower I have a first report.
First - for others - TF's is a 300 acre farm near Chantilly Va. that claims to have a 400 tree fig grove producing a number of varieties of figs (Golden Delicious, Turkish Delight, Mission, Champagne and Cali).
I asked if it was possible to see the grove but they want me to prove I'm worthy of the privilege. I'm not kidding. They asked for a kind of fig resume, an audition of sorts.
I have not sent them one and here's why;
yesterday I called and was told they had 20 pounds of freshly picked figs. I was told they had been picked that morning and was even put on hold as the employee double checked that both Turkish Delight and Golden Delicious were fresh and available. I drove the hour from my house and bought 2+ pounds of figs. I arrived just before closing so I just bought the figs and decided to look more closely at them at home. Unfortunately when I arrived I was told the Golden Delicious were moldy and unavailable and that, in fact, the figs had been picked over the weekend. I bought 3 pounds of what were supposed to be Turkish Delight and Mission. The figs were old and some were even rotting already. The Missions were not like any Mission fig I've ever seen. I did get a discount as I complained that the figs were obviously not fresh. But I still paid $9.35. TF claims they pick their figs every morning. This is obviously not true.
When I got home, after a two hour round trip of 60 miles (traffic and country roads) I was very disappointed as the figs were even worse then I had first thought. First it was obvious that a good 30% had been picked too early and then allowed to sit too long. The rest were discolored and way past the point I'd eat them if they came off one of my trees. The simple fact is they lied to me.
Last night I wrote a long email to the woman in charge of the figs but she has not answered me. I did try and talk with her while I was there but was told she was tied up and wouldn't see me even though she was in an office just a few yards away. I did have a nice conversation on the phone with her a week or so ago (although it took 5 calls to get her as she would not call me back) and she did send me a few fig pictures along with a message about proving I was a fig lover suitable of being allowed to see the orchard. I have lived on 3 farms in my 57 year life and have never been asked to jump through hoops like this before, but I was considering doing whatever was needed to make contact with the farm owners and learn about their experiences. I have (up until now) no desire to have a commercial fig grove, but I do tell people about this farm so I wanted to see it for myself. I have recommended that people who buy young plants from me buy fresh figs from TF as there are few choices locally. I now wish I had not done this as I could very easily be embarrassed by the folks at TF who I've (foolishly) recommended.
At least two people I know bought figs from TF this weekend and thought they were "OK" - nothing super - but they were fresh figs and that's special around here.
So, unfortunately my report is this: 1 star out of 5. I was blatantly lied to and sold terrible figs. I may try again on a weekend but I will stop telling people to try their figs. The farm has not done well in online reviews although the reviews were not fig related. TF seems to be an operation with a ton of money behind it and operates more like an amusement park then a farm. Their online site makes them look pretty good, but the reality seems far different. Perhaps I'm being too harsh but I just think lying is unacceptable behavior especially in the food industry. There is no excuse to sell old moldy rotting figs to someone who you've convinced to drive for 2 hours to buy figs you claim were picked that day. And the real problem is I do not believe this was a rare occurrence as the complaints online talk of deceit, broken promises and high prices.
I hope TF can solve the issues they seem to currently suffer under as I'm very interested in a Virginia fig industry and they claim to have kept the orchard alive since 1988 and that's impressive, if true.
So, those of you who were thinking a drive down here might be worth your time should seriously reconsider this plan as you won't get to see the trees unless you take part in some expensive planned event in September as the farm is not your typical farming operation. But look online if you're interested, just be warned not to expect too much, and please do not think I am recommending them in any way shape or form. I will try and get another sample of their figs and write about them again as I do believe in change and second chances. But I also believe in accountability and as it stands now TF is a huge disappointment.