Just as the title says, headed down to Flemington, NJ this morning for my first (and definitely not my last) visit to Bills Fig Farm. First, let me tell you about Bill himself. He's an absolute gentleman, and a class act. Being new to the fig world, I had A LOT of questions, all of which he answered for me in great depth, and he was happy to do so. Bill pretty much took me to fig school today, and boy did I learn a lot. As far as the farm goes, it's absolutely amazing. Endless rows of fig trees, well over a thousand in total, all labeled and in pristine condition. Of course I didn't leave there empty handed. I came home with an Alma and Black Greek cuttings. I told Bill I was really after a Black Greek tree because they come from the island of Chios, where I'm from. He didn't have any mature trees of that variety, but being the great guy he is, he didn't let me leave there without one. Took me into his greenhouse and gave me 2 cuttings of a Black Greek tree. So once again, if you're within a couple hours drive of his farm, I would definitely set aside some time to make the trip down, it'll be well worth it. I attached a few pictures, but they really don't do any justice to the farm's size and how many fig trees there are.

       

Thanks for posting your visit at Bill's figs.  I've been meaning to go for years but it's a bit of a drive and I've never made it.  It looks like an amazing place.

great place and a great person. I was there this past Saturday for the first time, and was very surprised and impressed with his operation. also a very busy place, when I got there, there was already four customers ahead of me and he answered all questions that they had and didn't rush anyone along. I was also surprised by his variety, I noticed a few saying he had just the basics, I went there strictly to get a Stella, and I found myself thinking maybe one or two more will be nice to add to my collection after looking at each name tag and little tree.

Will have to go back for more soon, and will definitely be attending some of his class's he holds. Also finding myself this week contemplating buying his potting system, or trying to figure out if I should attempt doing it myself, I'm just worried about doing something wrong, no getting the soil mix right or not building the pot correctly and affecting my figs. 

He definitely has more than just the basics. I spent quite some time there really looking at all the different varieties. The majority, if not all, of what he carries are varieties he selects based on their ability to survive in the local climate. I purchased one of his smaller pots and planted the Alma in it. I noticed some people saying the pots were expensive, but if you factor in your time and gas to go to the hardware store and to go buy a suitable pot, then your time to asemble it all, his price really is a bargain. Unless of course you have the time for a little project in which case one can very easily build that system. For me, my schedule is very hectic lately so I saved myself the trouble and got one right from him. With the pot, he also gave me over 10 gallons of soil, lime, and fertilizer.

yeah I broke down the costs to make the large pot, which I believe he said was $90. with the costs of the soil and everything it came to about $195 to make 3, not including gas. so to figure it's really only saving about $70ish plus the time to gather and build them. That is for the 25 gallon. I didn't even think to ask, how much is his smaller pots?

Whats a great operation, I love seeing other folks fig yards.

I paid 50 for the smaller pot

Bill has an amazing set up, huge trees all over his property, well worth visiting. You should also come to his fig fest in the fall

Oh I'm looking forward to the fig fest. He gave me the dates of all the events at the farm. I also want to go down for his seminars as well

that's great, you will have a wonderful time

$50 is not bad at all, maybe I'll pick up a few at his seminar in July

I'd have to look at the sheet he gave me when I get home for the Fig Fest date, but the next seminar I happen to remember and its on July 16th

Very nice setup! Next time I'm up that far I'm putting it on my list of things to do.

What does he do with all those potted figs come November in NJ?

I wish i could be there,
Bill answered everything id ask him on SIP and was very helpfull.

the pictures dont do it full justice either. if you see the first pic with his house to the right behind his house is a ton of huge trees in rows. very impressive place.

how does he go about protecting all these trees in the winter?  

He brings each and every one of them into the barn. Look somewhere in this thread where someone posted the link to his over wintering process he posted

The dude is HARDCORE

He told me he moves about 30-40 trees into the barn per day. He made his own cart to move them around which tilts the tree away from you so you don't have branches in your face while you're wheeling it

. I am contemplating of going to his farm next year when I am attending my daughter's graduation at Rutgers. To bring back home a medium to big trees is a complete no no. I am wondering if Bill sells some cuttings.