That's a somewhat facetious title for this topic, but in some areas you can get an amazing amount of figs, just for the asking. These are all "freebies" from a morning spent picking other people's figs:

 


Fellow F4F member and Tucsonan, Manny (Manel), had invited me to go with him to visit some local trees, and yesterday I got the grand tour. Having been a realtor here for many years, he really knows the area, as well as fig tree locations, and their owners. We did a few drive-bys without stopping, and then visited a beautifully maintained front yard tree at a small house next to an auto repair shop:

 

He had gotten permission for us to pick as many figs as we wanted, so we loaded up; he even climbed up inside to reach a few high ones:

 


We stopped before the bag became so heavy that the bottom figs would be crushed by the weight of those on top:

 


The owner believes this is some type of Brown Turkey, but since it has a closed eye and is elongated, we thought it more likely to be a Black Mission. However, when I later compared the figs to those of my Black Mission at home, the ones Manny & I picked are smoother and shiny, and some have an internal cavity similar to a BT, and which I've never seen in a BM. Also, when not quite ripe, or well-shaded, some showed a lighter area around the stem, more like my old BT than my BM (although it does happen in BM too), so now I'm not sure what kind of tree it is. At any rate, the figs are delicious! The ones below are both from the same tree:

 
 


We then visited a small cafe with several fig trees planted at the entrance:

 


Some appear to be Kadotas, very sweet, with tougher skin and the occasional drop of honey in the eye:

 


There were also some large, Bronze-colored figs we didn't recognize, which were also very good:

 
 

All in all, it was a lot of fun, and more fruit for a morning's work than I'll get from my own trees for quite some time. Thanks very much, Manny!

That is a GREAT morning Ken and Manny. I rarely find trees driving around my area. In the older areas of Atlanta there are quite a number, but that is a couple hours from me.

I decided to grow figs because its something my father did long ago and we can do now and talk about together. 
I also enjoy the challenge of rooting and growing them.
I've met some very nice people because of this.
Not one variety I grow will be found growing locally or in a market near our house.

I recently started growing figs because it is fun to acquire new varieties and watch them grow. The rewards are bountiful and delicious. When i was growing up, we had a 10 acre plot of land full of walnut, pecan, cherry, peach, and fig trees. I hated that place because my mom would come home with garbage bags full of walnuts and i would have to sit there and crack them everyday. I ate the other fruits all the time but didn't really appreciate them because I was just a kid.

20+ years later, i started a vegtable garden in my backyard. Spent a rediculous amount of time building it and growing a huge variety of vegtables every season. It has become an obsession but a good one because i am outdoors and my family gets to eat homegrown produce without pesticides.

Growing a tree from a stick (cutting) is almost magical. Its amazing how much fun im having with this.

Tucson Ken....Many thanks for posting the photos of the older, established fig trees that are growing in your area.  Nice to read that you were able to harvest so many figs.

Questions: 
I am curious.  You stated that the dark figs could either be "Brown Turkey", or, "Black Mission" because the figs share a similar size and other characteristics common to both varieties.

So, my questions....Brown Turkey is said to be bland and insipid, in fact, tasting just the opposite of a good Black Mission fig.  How could the two be similar?  Also, would the leaves be so alike to make identification questionable?  I guess what I am really asking is how could these two varieties be so similar?  Is there a definitive way of identifying Black Mission and Brown Turkey? 

My conclusion....if the dark figs that you picked are in fact Brown Turkey and you couldn't tell them from a Black Mission...then Brown Turkey figs can't be as bad as the reputation it has earned.  But then again, you are in Arizona with a perfect climate for growing great figs.  Maybe your climate is the "equalizer".  Location might be everything when it comes to figs.  Maybe on the East-Coast, Brown Turkey will never be ripened properly in a short-season area.

I have never tasted a good, properly ripened Brown Turkey or Black Mission off my trees, not yet, anyway.  They're too young.  So I couldn't make a comparison.  I have to rely on the taste-buds and opinions of others.

The gent in the tree provides a good, scale reference.  Those trees look really big.

Happy hunting...happy eating, too.


Frank

Frank, the first fig tree I ever planted was an "Improved Brown Turkey" from a local nursery, and the figs were delicious--very sweet. I don't know if that was due to my hot, dry climate, or if the tree I bought was a different variety than the BT reviled by so many fig growers, but it would still rank high on my list of favorites if it hadn't been so susceptible to souring caused by tiny beetles entering through the open eye. For the first several years there was no problem, and then the bugs discovered it and I eventually had to take it out. In other ways, though, I thought it was excellent: highly productive, big figs, long season, and quite heat tolerant. The figs pictured in my avatar are from that tree.

Before destroying it, I sent a big airlayer to a F4F member who was interested in it, and now I'm wondering what he thought of it. Of course, his climate is different from mine, so it might be comparing apple to oranges (so to speak). Anyway, I just emailed him to ask if he had eaten any of its figs, so hopefully he'll let me know whether he liked them too.

Hi Ken-

Thanks for the quick answers.  In your neck of the woods, you must be in fig heaven.  You're right to ask the title question  ..."why bother....."  With trees like that growing in your area, I guess you don't need to grow your own.....except, it's fun.  Try not to fall out of the trees....it hurts.

Too bad that the bugs spoiled your favorite Improved Brown Turkey.  I guess the open eyes can be a problem.

Enjoy the bounty of local figs.


Frank

The Purple with Grn/yellow neck looks like a LSU Purple.  The large flat bottom brown figs look like the English Brown Turkey (great fig)  great report, great pictures!

Sounds like a great adventure, great story, and great bounty!

That looked like a fun and fruitful trip. The large tree reminded me of my childhood climbing in by grandparents fig tree. Thanks a lot for posting.

Wow, that is a great time spent! Thanks for sharing!

BT was the first fresh fig I ever had, just last year. It was delicious! So I don't know where it gets its bad rep. Then again, I've never had a 'premium ' variety, so maybe some day I too will talk bad on BT.

If I had free fresh figs like that around here, I would not grow them. Some people around here have never seen a fresh fig! And there is some satisfaction turning a twig into a delicious fruit providing tree!