Well, I guess it's official.  I have a fig problem.

I thought I was bad about the number of tomato varieties I grow each summer (saaaay...like 12-15).  Figs might turn into a whole other monster though.  Every time I go to Lowes or Home depot, I check out what they have in stock (why do I even bother?  It's brown turkey, celeste, or chicago hardy every time).  I finally gave in, and decided to be done with it.  After researching a bunch of varieties that should do well in my region (8a), I placed an order for UCD, knowing full well that I won't be getting cuttings from them for 9-11 months.  But hey, at least I can quit researching until next year, right?

Here's the list I requested.  I decided no more than 10 varieties (seeing as how it's a free service, and realistically, what on earth would I do with more than 10 fig trees?)

Adriatic
Black Madeira
Barnisotte
Celeste
Verte
Panachee
Black Ischia
Green Ischia
Violette de Bordeoux
Alma

It was my dang LSU Purple that started this.  They were too tasty to NOT look into getting more varieties.  Hoping I covered my bases well on flavors, colors, and styles of figs.  Now I just have to wait a year for cuttings, get them to root, grow them, and wait until they're 3-5 years old to taste their fruit....yeah...  I'll be back in 5 years...

You won't have to wait that long for fruit.  You'll be back a lot sooner than you think.  I do the same with tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

I wish I had a picture of it but last year my mother had well over a 100 tomatos most of them rotted and she didn't get too many. I had one tomato plant and she ended up asking me for fresh tomatos. As far as figs, you can never have too many

This is an affliction shared by all of us on the forum, in a good way though. It's not a problem, it's a blessing. Don't fight it. ;) welcome and best of luck!

If you have the self control to wait until you get your UC Davis order to get more figs I'll eat my mouse!
You would also be the ONLY person on this forum with that kind of self control.

We're all a little mental but we're lovable.

problem is not so much as how many varieties you have.. it's all those duplicates and one that doesn't taste so good, but hard to just dump 'em. there was time when i had 3 trees.. just wanted 3 more.. then.. then.. they are like rabbits. they breed themselves. i don't know what happened, but now i have over 100 trees. all in containers. 

There are a lot of worse things out there :>)

Yeah, fig addiction is a pretty mild problem, that is as long as you have enough land to keep planting more, or a garage to store them in over the winter. I have carefully thought through my yard issues and I can still plant 5-6 more if I keep them small. My problem is the West side of my back yard is a bit soggy and shaded by a huge tree across the fence. That leaves the best spots all on the high side. But I already have 4 figs + raspberries, blackberries, and the garden on the high side in the back.

Hummm, maybe its time for raised bed fig plantings?

Sorry to tell you that it seldom gets better. I started with just two trees. I think to myself, "They're trees. I can't have more than a couple, even in pots."

Soon thereafter, I hit the 100 tree mark, and swore I would cut back. Sure, I got rid of a few extras; that was progress, right?

I just started around 25 new varieties, thanks to my enablers (you know who you are). It's like in "The Godfather III": "Just when I think I'm out, they PULL me back in."

You are in good afflicted company. Besides, you can't eat most other vices.

Yeah, I doubled the size of my garden this year to about 650 sq ft, plus added 2 new blueberry bushes (in addition to my other 2).  Also added 4 blackberry and 4 raspberry plants.  Now I'm going to be having 10 fig cuttings that may or may not come in triplicate.  My love of growing things is...well I'll just listen to you guys...we'll call it a healthy addiction. 

yupe.. fig is just a start. after awhile, it down on me that i can grow other stuff.. so i got 6 blueberry plants, and few more i'm thinking of, some blackberry, raspberry, mulberry.. i'm planning on persimmon, pomegranate, and few others. not that i have land, but i found out most everything can be grown in containers :) 

haha, this is funny. Growing does just spiral. My entire front lawn is a veg garden, plus an apiary, plus a potted fig orchard. my backyard is mostly for my kids, but there is a container herb garden as well - yes, I did need to grow 5 different kinds of basil this year. (I'm thinking it should also have chickens, but I'm just not sure...) But to mirror the sentiments of those in this thread, my mother-in-law always tells my wife, "at least he's not spending his time in a bar or just staying out all night." My wife doesn't mind, but my house has plants in every corner of it for germination, etc.

Happy growing to all.

Arne

Arne,

Ahhh bees, my other potential project was to start a colony.  My new property has the space, but I found out that between collecting honey, maintaining the hive, etc, plus startup, that it would cost me about 75 bucks a year over 5 years or something like that.  I couldn't justify it vs. other hobbies.

In terms of finances, you're right. I read an article years ago by a beekeeper who said the average beekeeper, if diligent, won't reap a profit until year 5. That's the average beek. I know some who immediately turn a profit - the key, to me, is time. You need to get in there an make it work. I commute 4 1/2 - 5 hours per day, so my time is limited during the week.

As for me, a definite loss :) But I'm having fun. Who knows? Maybe this year I'll make something.

Brettjm,
  "and realistically, what on earth would I do with more than 10 fig trees?"
Haaa, haa, haa, haa, haa. 
That was a rhetorical question, right?!?!
That's a really funny quote...for reasons you will soon begin to understand as your "affliction" progresses.
Jim