(Breba) Picked and eaten on Saturday 2 June. Thanks to Jim C (daygrower) for the tree which is now about 24 months old and 6 feet tall.

Prior to leaving for family trip last week, I noticed that the VdB breba was swelling...uh oh. It was too early to pick it, but it needed protection from birds and ants at the very least. What did I do? The attached photos show it better than I could tell it.

My wife, seven year old daughter, and I shared it. My third - with the thick white skin - was under ripe and somewhat watery due to a couple days of heavy rain while we we gone. It was still sweet and the flavor was not bland as I expected. Thus unlike my first not-very-good tasting of RdB last season, I can say that VdB is promising. I suppose it had better be. It was much bigger than I expected. I presume that is because it is breba coupled with the rain.

I am looking forward to the main crop and I trust that it will be most of what it has been touted as.

Looks good JD.

JD,

lovely pictures as always..

my VdB that i got from Gene H. is about 4 feet tall. it's going into its 3rd season. the last year was very first year it put out the main crop. the figs were amazing. this year, i have about 60 or more main crop on it along with about 10 breba. i can't wait till they ripe.

pete

VDB produces maybe the best brebas, certainly the best I've had. Your gonna love the main crop!

I've already had 2 breba which were fabulous, and now waiting for the main crop to ripen.  VdB is a great fig for sure!
Suzi

Hi Jd,
nice pictures of a Dark type fig !
The main crop least on my tree is excellent and hope yours are as well.

Ronde hopefully will be as good and maybe be better as were all different.
Hope to see more pictures this season.

hey jd. nice pics

#4 looks like tanglefoot

Tanglefoot (for ants) it is. I wrapped some parafilm to act as a host because last year removing tanglefoot from the trunk was a PITA. If you know a better way, do tell.

The VdB is a fig that everybody should have... period.

Fantastic Photos!!!

Yes wonderful pics.
Giving me something ot look forward to, as my VDB has some  main on this year

Grant
z5b

Thanks JD, no VdB for me this year, but hopefully next as my small trees get on with growing. Looking forward to it.
"gene"

There is a product made just for that purpose. It's brownish so you don't see it as much, similar to rolls of crepe paper, but sort of waxy so it lasts. When you wrap it around the trunk, you can sort of form it around the tree so ants can't just go under it. Of course, it's one more thing to buy...

As for VdB, I just looked at my very small tree outside, just purchased this spring, and I think I see a very small fig forming. Too small to take a picture, and many months away. If I were smart, I'd remove it.. But it's going to stay. :) 

Hard to be "smart" with that kind of temptation

Candidates for the 2012 main crop...

Here is another but different VdB. Thanks to Cathy, it arrived this spring. It is immature but quite vigorous. The leaf shape appears to be similar to but different from the larger more mature VdB first pictured in this thread (post #1) and in the previous post (#6). The leaves are more serrated and the fingers more distinctive. Martin's trials assure us that there are likely two strains of VdB (UC Davis and EL). I suspect (and hope) that one of these is the more desirable one which happens to be one from Edible Landscaping when Martin grows it in Illinois. I also noticed the red apical meristems on this youngster that were not apparent on the older one.

Here are some baby figs on my young VdB. These are the first figs on any fig tree I've grown, ever. I purchased the plant from EL this spring.

You can also see red bracts on a shoot. :)

 Watch the VdB figs as they grow  may turn like a brownish type color then back green then later turn pretty dark color near the end stage.
Here in picture you can see what i try to say.

Negretta does similar.

Click to enlarge

Here is one of my VdB.  She is the 3 year old, and moma of many children!  She has over 70 figlets at this time.  Her daughter is loaded now with figlets, and I've taken several greenwood fresh cuttings and am rooting them now for friends, family, and for our next home.

Suzi

Nice JD, but what I wish is that there was no green anywhere.  Am I wrong?  Or should we wait till that stem goes neutral?

Suzi

Suzi,
I wish there wasn't any green anywhere also. I picked five VdB. If had waited any longer, then these two would have soured (like two of the five) or been invaded by ants (like one of the five) because of the size of the eye, or the birds would have feasted upon them like they did five others that we're just the stems of what they once were. Sometimes you can't wait. Practicality supersedes perfection and often times dictates process or informs protocol.

Nice pics JD. VdB is one of my favorites here in Central Florida. The tree grows and produces well. It is one of the varieties that I grow more than one of. I agree with the rest of the members on the forum, it should be in every collection. In fact I would go so far to say if I could have only a few trees, most of them would be VdBs. I am addicted to them. 

Man O Man, JD. I don't know how you could have held out eating this one before the picture. That's perfection.


luke