so.. i saw the fig list on the forum. i know the nursery has gone out of business sometime ago. what is so special about this nursery that some of the members are still looking for their figs?

It was the largest exchange of international figs for its time.  Some of their figs are still considered rare and some of the better ones. This was in a time before forums and exchanges among members.

so its safe to assume that f4f is better. :)

I think it's safe to say they are different.

Dominic is correct. Now there are many excellent figs out there in both USA and Canada. Many of these
figs are closely similar in taste, But may be different in growing traits for differing zones.

[QUOTE=paully22]Dominic is correct. Now there are many excellent figs out there in both USA, Europe and Canada. Many of these figs are closely similar in taste, But may be different in growing traits for differing zones.

[/QUOTE]  This is the dilemma!  Climates!  They produce differently!  Jon, the Grandaddy of this site, lives in the perfect climate for figs!  Many of you don't. 

Silly me, wine lover, had to plant wine grapes where nobody ever had.  There was a reason for this.  So, I researched, and found the grapes from Greece, Argentina, Italy, and Spain that would produce fine wine in our climate.  Figs, no problem!  They love heat!

We have heat and nothing ever freezes, ever!

Suzi

weather here is ok. hot long summer. short mild winter. only it gets humid here once in awhile. and rain sort of dampens things now and then. but still i call this place my fig heaven.

BC was one of the first true fig nurseries with many figs from Europe. Some members of this forum started collecting many of BC's fig trees. I am so glad these members are sharing cuttings and airlayers from their BC fig trees. I'm trying to obtain as many of them I can find. Most nurseries are just out to make a profit, some are sincere about figs but those are hard to find. I wish BC was still around but they are not. We are the new BC and those with true BC figs should treasure them.

Pete...

Within a few weeks after being bit by the Fig "Bug", I learned about the Belleclare Fig Nursery.  I drove out to see what all the fuss was.  Unfortunately, I got to see only the final days of what must have been a a very extensive collection of exotic fig varieties.  They closed for good within the next weeks after my visit. 

The owners were very nice to me, an obvious novice, but Chris told me everything I needed to know about growing a fig tree in a container, and how to keep it alive over the winter.  I wish I had known about the nursery sooner.  After only one visit, I knew by instinct, that I would've been a frequent visitor.

The one tree that I can still picture in my mind is the 4-in-one, pleached/braided fig tree, growing four different varieties on one tree.

I hope the owners are enjoying their retirement.  They are missed.


Frank



EDIT:   Due to my age, and probably some pre-senility, the 4-in-one braided tree was actually a 3-in-one braided tree.
A good forum member contacted me to provide more accurate information, and informed me that many Belleclare trees are still alive and kickin'. 

Thanks, HJ for the help.


F

Speaking of which...Just recently came across this vintage interview with the Belleclare from the late 90's

http://www.marthastewart.com/907952/fabulous-figs

How about that Martha!  She asks all the right questions!  Thanks for posting that video!  Wish I knew what was on her list!  Too bad the nursery is closed.  I need some of that crushed limestone!

Suzi

I'll have to try putting lime on the top of the pots this spring. Don't know if I heard that correctly, an inch of lime? Sounds like an awful lot. I guess it'll be experimenting time this year.

That was a great video.  Thanks for posting.   I love her comment "This one probably could have used a few more days"  I laughed out loud.   I see that posted as a general disclaimer at least a dozen times a week in September here on the forum.   I loved it.   Also some great grower insight from Belleclare.  A real treasure.

Nice video!  I grew up about 5 miles from where they had the nursery and never knew about it.   When I lived there, I only knew about purple and green figs. 

Would be interesting to know how the DiPaola brothers are doing. Anyone here on this forum have connections with them?

Just watched the Martha Stewart video interview.  Now I wish more than ever that this fantasy land for figs was still up and runnin'.  Thank God for the history lesson preserved on tape, and thank you for the link to this archival interview. 

Frank

Thanks for sharing that video, Leon.

Most potting soils already have lime mixed in but not nearly at the quantity they're talking about in that interview.

Leon,

A very big thanks for sharing this video.  Time and time again, this website has shown me what a great resource it is, especially when someone comes up with an exceptional video like this one.  Is there someway this video can be saved, I'm sure one day this will become a broken link and this video will be lost forever.  It is sad to think that Bellecare is gone, but I'm happy to know some of the members here are continuing its heritage.

I really enjoyed watching that video. I guess I can't overdo it on the lime then. Wow, an inch and a half!

Leon, Great video! Thank you for posting it.

Frank: The Video started to make me question my plans of burying my pots half way down in my garden. Did you catch that part?

I just watched the video once again.  Martha was just in her absolute prime, and so was Chris and his brother.  A breezy romp through a virtual orchard of different trees and delicious looking varieties.  Did you get a load of the size of those Black Mission trees!   They used so much granular limestone in their pots that it felt like a cement lid on top of the soil.  Limestone is key to healthy growth and for developing exceptional flavor.  Figs hate acidic soil.

I cannot wait for the next fig season.


The Belleclare Legacy lives on.  Thank you Martha for yet another video gift, and for Leon who provided us the link.  Bravo!

Frank
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EDIT:

Dan...

Just saw your question.  Yes!  They wanted the figs to cook a little as the fruit ripens.  When I first watched the video, this struck me as strange, that, and the fact that they purposely grew their trees on hard, hot cement, yet, look at the results that Belleclare got with crop sizes.  A few of the featured trees were just dripping with figs!

I wish I had the room to try both methods of containerized culture, i.e... some with pots half buried, and some with hot root-zone, and full, blazing sun, on a cement slab.

F

Nice video Leon. Thanks for sharing.

[QUOTE=omotm]Leon,

A very big thanks for sharing this video.  Time and time again, this website has shown me what a great resource it is, especially when someone comes up with an exceptional video like this one.  Is there someway this video can be saved, I'm sure one day this will become a broken link and this video will be lost forever.  It is sad to think that Bellecare is gone, but I'm happy to know some of the members here are continuing its heritage.[/QUOTE]

My Firefox add-on DownloadHelper couldn't work with the site but I searched and downloaded a trial version of http://www.videograbber.net/ "Video Grabber Pro" and it downloaded it fine.  It's a bit garbled on the very bottom but it's acceptable.  It is downloaded as a FLV format file.  The trial version will only convert 30% of the file (to AVI, etc.).  I tried to covert it using the VLC Player software I already had but it failed for some reason.  I don't do this often and only know enough to be dangerous! ;)  Then I tried some other software I have, HandBrake, and I was able to convert it to a MP4 file without any problem (it increased file size from 50MB to 62MB).  It plays from my hard drive fine and I should also be able to put a copy on my Android phone and play it there.

my timing if always little off. i would have loved to get to know the folks at Belleclare and Paradise nursery. i'm collecting Paradise nursery figs. i think i'll have to start looking into Belleclare figs. 

[QUOTE=BronxFigs]I just watched the video once again.  Martha was just in her absolute prime, and so was Chris and his brother.  A breezy romp through a virtual orchard of different trees and delicious looking varieties.  Did you get a load of the size of those Black Mission trees!   They used so much granular limestone in their pots that it felt like a cement lid on top of the soil.  Limestone is key to healthy growth and for developing exceptional flavor.  Figs hate acidic soil.

I cannot wait for the next fig season.


The Belleclare Legacy lives on.  Thank you Martha for yet another video gift, and for Leon who provided us the link.  Bravo!

Frank
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EDIT:

Dan...

Just saw your question.  Yes!  They wanted the figs to cook a little as the fruit ripens.  When I first watched the video, this struck me as strange, that, and the fact that they purposely grew their trees on hard, hot cement, yet, look at the results that Belleclare got with crop sizes.  A few of the featured trees were just dripping with figs!

I wish I had the room to try both methods of containerized culture, i.e... some with pots half buried, and some with hot root-zone, and full, blazing sun, on a cement slab.

F[/QUOTE]
Been growing them on 20x30 cement patio in full sun for long time and have the rest on landscaping rocks as patio was crowded.
Yes they enjoy the heat, lime , fert and lots of water in the summer.
In early spring they go to blacktop driveway to wake up doing for the fig shuffle.

Martha was in her prime at the time of the video.  The whole thing was in NY where they get snow, ice, and all things bad.  So, does not apply to So California at all, but loved it!  She asked the questions we all wanted to know, and she explained the taste of the figs!  Martha, you are my hero!

Suzi

Just remember.....use limestone, not lime stone powder!!! Lime stone is rock so if you guys are going to try this, think lime stone. Three years ago, I almost killed 6 of my largest fig trees using limestone powder and it wasn't an inch thick. I just added 3 tablespoons on top of the soil. I asked the lime stone questioned about 4 months ago and folks sailed they don't use lime. Well, I do. However, I only use the brown pellet slow release kind. I use it to get the right pH, around 6.5. The lime stone powder is fast acting stuff and maybe it will work for you but I would just test it on one plant. Years ago, I was experimenting with soil. Today I make my own and use UPM for cuttings. If you use the limestone, let us know how things turn out.

This is another video from Martha in CA
http://www.marthastewart.com/907952/fabulous-figs#917403

Figfinatic...


Beautifully photographed video, and a perfect commercial full of useful information...especially about fig wood used to enfume  roasting foods.  I wonder if fig leaves can be stuffed with a rice mixture like grape leaves?

After watching this video, I'm happy that I am growing a special, heirloom strain, of "Brown Turkey" that was given to me by a forum member.  I've had exceptional figs, but, I never tasted a bad fig.  I love them all. 

Thanks for the video.  Nice to watch on a freezing cold, snowy morning in NYC.


Frank

I live about 25 miles away from Knoll Organic Farms and someone who is very familiar with their farm was sharing information about them with me about 10 days ago.  They sell their figs for $7/pound and reportedly do very well.  They supposedly use egg cartons to pack some of their figs, though I didn't see evidence of that in Martha's video.  The video shows them drying some figs but I didn't see any mention of dried fig products on their web site - http://www.knollorganics.com/

I loved that video too!  Loved all the different uses for the leaves and wood of the fig tree.  Looking forward to having enough figs to dry!  These videos really teach amazing things in a wonderful way!  I didn't realize figs ripen in order of where they are on the branch!  I'm very happy to say that I have a first year Adriatic, and I can't wait to smear it on a bagel instead of strawberry jam!

Can we get limestone at Lowes or HD, or do we need to go to a concrete supply place?

Suzi

LMAO!!!

Two great video's - thanks for posting them ! Nice web site also. Makes me long for those ripe sweet jewels right now !!! Also makes me realize sadly I missed the Belleclare years , living so close , I'd have been there weekly .

I wonder if the limestone layer was most useful in helping to keep the roots cool.

In my experience, you are better off making 5 to 7 holes around the edge and fill with limestone after the first year. I put a lot of lime powder in my pots when I pot up at beginning of 1st season.. Granular is better.  The powder gets caked up and tends not to leach in if applied on top.

"Today I make my own and use UPM for cuttings"

Snaglpus, Please forgive my ignorance.
But, what does UPM mean?

I believe he's refering to Ultimate Potting Mix  http://fertilomesoils.com/ultimate_potting.html

Suzi...

Any Granular Limestone will work.  HD carries 40 lb. bags and are really heavy to lift, and also very cheap. 

Agricultural Granular Limestone/Powdered Limestone is not the same lime that's used for cement and plaster work.  Quicklime is NOT Granular Limestone.

A very well known fig grower says that Powdered Limestone will work quickly to correct overly acidic mixes, and the Granular Limestone will work over a longer period of time.  Acidic soils are to be avoided, and most fertilizers will cause soils to become acidic.  I didn't know this about fertilizers, and I noticed that my trees look a lot better after regular treatments of Limestone.  Not only are the leaves healthier, but the texture of the leaves feels much sturdier, and more robust.

A 5-gallon HD bucket holds a lot of Limestone, and I use a 1-lb. coffee can to dump the limestone into my pots, and around the roots of my trees.

As Martha Stewart might say..."Limestone is a very good thing".


Frank

Note attached PDF of Belleclaire instructions re: Limestone.

http://figs4fun.com/Links/FigLink012f.pdf

I'm just curious on those instructions. Why is it bad to add new limstone over old limestone?

I was just reading some of Jon's copies of Belleclare's pages and saw at http://figs4fun.com/Links/FigLink012a.pdf that the video linked above was primarily recorded in 1997 but the portion with the cake was done in 1999 and added onto the original video.

WHAT IS THE NAME OF POPS WEEPING TREE, AND HOW CAN I GET CUTTINGS?

Spill!

Suzi

Suzi, I think it's covered in the link I gave in the reply to the other thread you started, see http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/A-quotSportquot-on-a-Fig-Tree-6141011

One of the many nice things about Belleclare was the fig-sampler trays that they sold in the harvest season.  You could taste many different figs when you bought one of the samplers.  They also sold fertilizers, and Granular Limestone in small containers.  Loved the Old-World "feel" that their nursery exuded, and the down-to-earth advice that the brothers gave so freely.  They LOVED figs, and it showed.  They loved to hook newbies into the world of figs.  My by chance visit in 2007 sparked  the desire to try to grow containerized fig trees.  I never looked back.

Thanks Belleclare.


Frank

Thanks for that video leon
When Mr Di Paola said his family was from Formia, near Gaeta, a shiver went trough my spine. I was born about 20 miles from there
And then a thought came to me: they must have had the varieties of figs I was eating as a child! Now I want to find out about their 100 fig varieties and try to collect them
Does anyone have a list of what they carried? Would it be possible to post it
Thank
Sal 

Sal, go to http://figs4fun.com/Fig_Links.html and click on the "PDF4" to the right of Belleclare. I'm on my phone right now and can't copy the entire link.

How many types of BC trees are out therenow,and is there a list ? I think when they were open,there was about 85,how many have been lost.

About 95 on their main list,
another 20 or so on a updated list.
and another 20-25 varieties that were not listed due to various reasons,
such as limited stock or they didn't get around to updating the list.

I have 45+ different original trees/varities

Other collectors have original trees as well.

I have the original Belleclare lists,
I will try to take some photos and post them at a later point.

Here is the list .
Number 93 i cannot find a solid source that it actually came from Belleclare .