When I first started, I thought I would be content growing one variety.  Now I've got 14 varieties and my wishlist is so long I hide it in my profile in shame.

It doesn't even make sense.  Surely I'd rather add some other type of fruit I don't have (a mandarin orange or a starfruit tree would be nice), but instead I'm just zeroed in on figs.  Why is this?  Is it because they fruit out of their limbs?  Because they propagate so readily?  Because they grow so fast?  I don't know.  Maybe it's all the amazingly delicious-looking pics :)

It's the forum, my friend! We're enablers. Glad there's no Berries4Fun forum. I'd be ruined :/

When I first found the forum I wanted maybe two, one white and one black variety. Then I found out there are so many different types in those two broad groups. A dozen or so plants later and my wife cut me off. Hopefully well get some fruits this year and change her mind....

I think my progress has been 1->20 , my wife thinks it is more like 1->200 varieties. Go figure :)

The first bug I got bit by was the blueberry bug. It was a post on the Fruits and Orchards Garden Web from a very cool guy named Fruitnut. Im sure most of you know of him. I was floored when I saw his 1 year old growth rate pics. I was ruined at that point. With in 2 years I had 62 plants in my small back yard. Finally got to start tasting them and have since narrowed them down to the best of the best. Im now at 14 plants with about 7 varieties. All are bearing age and the fruit is plentiful and delicious! Started to venture into other fruits after wearing out the blueberries and here I am. Told my self I only want one fig plant and purchased a LSU Purple. WillC convinced me to join the forum and now my mind is numb from all the fig varieites I want. Im just about out of room after rooting the cuttings I just started. Ive managed to get almost all the varieties I want except CDDB and CDDG. I will save a special place in the garden for those 2 when they finally arrive. Ive given up on Ebay for now and will try and trade my way to a complete collection of figs. Im convinced that its not the figs we are addicted too, its the joy of growing fruits and all that it involves. Im pretty sure that everyone on this forum grows other fruits other than figs but there are alot of worse addictions out there!

i wanted 3. now it have about 50 different varieties. very moderate number compare to others.. 

I first wanted 4, I ended up with 10. Plan to have at least half or more in ground. I would want more, but then there would be no room for the mango trees and many other fruits.

I had been growing 2 old country varieties that my father gave me (a nice black and nice green) for a few years.
 
Then I discovered a couple of novel fig varieties travelling through Italy and then was given a unique fig from another old Italian guy. 
I was very happy with these 5 figs and planted them in the ground and for many years have had more than enough figs to eat for my family and friends.

But then in December/13 I discovered this forum and I realized that there are 1,000's of people collecting hundreds of delicious fig varieties from all over the world. 

That is when I caught fig fever and I am now trying to trade or buy promising new cultivars and hope to have a proud collection in a couple of years.

I wanted just one - a black mission. A local nursery was selling one foot rooted sticks for $25, and I thought I could do better rooting a cutting myself...  Now 3 years and $??? later, I don't know how many I have ....and don't really want to know. De-nial is not just a river in Egypt. They grow figs there too. :)

It's really been fun. And many of the figs have been surprisingly good.

I hated figs as a kid. Then I joined a gardeding group, and everyone seemed to have a fig tree or two, so I added some to my varied fruity tree collection, somewhat because everyone else was doing it. So, I had three, and wanted a couple more that were as good as my "Vista". Long story, short, that hunt lead to collecting about 1200 varieties. Now I am always ready to add some more. And the size of the collection came with a stewardship obligation, which has now lead to beginning of the Figs 4 Fun Foundation.

I have three in ground and thought I wanted to add one other dark, then I found F4F... Now I have each potential fig spot imagined for my yard, that means I need 8 more inground trees (unless I buy the empty lot next door ;-). As someone said, F4F is the enabler, but there are worse addictions.

I had two, and was happy. But there was this one variety I had heard of that grew well in pots, in cool summers and had huge figs you could "eat with a spoon". On a whim I searched eBay for it, and there it was. I bid and won the auction, but I also got to choose cuttings of two other types. Googling the options led me here (of course)... Holy crap, some of these grow in NJ without winter protection!?!?! I was hooked. I had to find out if I could grow them here too. I will soon pass the 50 mark. How did that happen?

Great thread!

I wanted 3, maybe 4. I seriously believe that figs trees have some sort of link to our brains, a symbiotic relationship of sorts. It just makes you feel good to be around them..even when they have nothing for you to eat! We cherish them and assist in their nurture and distribution. The only down side is that our wives sometimes get a bit jealous over how much time we spend with our trees; I always say "Well, at least it's not a porn collection". That seems to work.  Somehow, I'm closing the gap on 30 quickly. But I swear, aside from all future arrangements already made, I only want one more...for now :)

I blame it on Panache. :)  I've been a member of F4F for over five years and in 1998 proclaimed that I seriously doubted I would ever have more than a couple of dozen varieties.  I stayed well under that number for several years but in 2012 was delighted with a long season of excellent Panache figs.  I think it helped me realize that figs can produce over a longer season than most other tree crops.  I'm not quite sure how I reasoned that I should expand to over a hundred over the next year.  It was just some obsessive compulsive behavior and an understanding wife, I guess. :)  I'm now making plans that when she retires we might be making the rounds at farmers' markets and selling fruits.

[QUOTE=pitangadiego]I hated figs as a kid. [/QUOTE]

I did not see that coming.  Love that!

I still have no idea of how many varieties I want.
I started figing with a small rooted tree sucker from a friend that got his from an Italian Gardener. Looking at the size of the tree, one could imagine the tree was some 20 years old.And it was producing dark/violet figs.
So the friend gave it a try, and because that one started fruiting, I gave it a try as well year 2002 or 2003.
After some 3-4 years ( I had to move the tree ... ), the tree started fruiting for me but sloooooooowly.
During that time, I was wondering if there could be somewhere better strains (more productive ones).
I started a cutting brought from southern France, but the outcome was that the strains was not adapted to my zone.

And I then discovered the site from Baud. With the list of cold hardy figs, I went to a nursery (2010) , that surprisingly had figtrees to sell and those trees where cheaper than apricots, plums,peaches ... .
I decided to give a try to some other strains (3) - to see which would perform better.
Searching for better cares to the trees, I found this forum ... Finally, my fig-fever is really small :)
I'm still evaluating the strains.
My goal is to have enough figs to eat fresh and make jam out of them ... Something in between 10 to 20 kg of fruits per year should be enough.
I currently have some 10 growing trees - but most are still not producing . Hopefully 2014 will be THE FIRST YEAR for fulfilling my fig addiction .
As for how many strains, if I can extend the fig collecting time-frame , I could go up to 5 . Ho Zut! I already have 6 strains :)

I have blackberries - but they get your clothes tainted,dirty - So I started tayberries . Guys my advice of the day: go buy some tayberries plants - Bought in 2012, I ate and made jams in 2013 !
I'm giving up on raspberries - they are too much unproductive here !

Discovered we could grow figs in ground here and bought 2 from a local nursery. Knew my son and his wife loved figs so I bought a third (MB) and planted it in their yard for their anniversary. When they returned from visiting her family in Turkey they were raving about the yellow figs which grew in her aunt's garden (Sari Zeybek) so I started to search the internet to see if this variety was available here. Discovered Jon and the forum. A year later I have the desired cultivar and am growing 5 varieties in ground and have starts for about 20 other varieties. I come from a family where people bring me empty jars to fill so it will take a lot of trees and bushes to keep everyone happy. Fortunately, I love growing things and being in the kitchen.

I wanted all the varieites from the start.
Its a science project for me, but would love a taste of a fully ripened fig unlike the ones i buy...

When I found F4F I had 1 fig.  Planned then for 20.....think now somewhere over 100 varieties heading toward......I have no idea. 

I started with figs because my husband brought some home to me and I didn't like them. But as I started growing things in my backyard, I thought let me try and if I don't like them, I can always give them to someone. When I joined F4F I think I said around 5 trees. Everyone laughed at me. :) I tasted my first fig 2 years ago and was HOOKED! So now I have about 10 and I'm hoping the little ones survive because they are outside facing the polar vortex! I search eBay relentlessly for more figs and get outbid almost every time. Lol! But I need more figs!!

I used to think I did not like figs, but I just had not tasted fresh ones that had ripened properly or processed into a cookie. I had already been into fruits and nuts for some time, so it was inevitable that I would get hooked. I was first on the forums trying to identify some local heirlooms trees and the first off the tree figs I had eaten, and to be honest thought you all were like crazy crack addicts or some sort of cult.  I thought I grow too many different things to specialize, but after a year or so of visiting the forum on an increasing frequency or so I finally registered.   Still thinking I just wanted to expand my season mostly, but I guess continued sipping of the Kool-Aid altered my judgment. I have actually moved to be able to expand my capacity to grow my own fruits. Figs are not alone to blame, as when I started I was probably on general fruit forms 90% now I am on here much more than the general fruit forums, partially because it probably is 10 times more active than any other I visit. At this point I would probably give any and all cultivar a chance to prove itself.

I just wanted one that would grow in my zone 7. 

Now I want one from every flavor group and I am thinking on how to turn my shed into a winter home for potted figs that won't survive in the ground here!

@Blueboy1977 - I know what you mean.  I started with 3 blueberry bushes, now I have 7.  Then I started with blackberries, 3 of those turned into 10.  Blackberries root so easily I think you can take a fresh green cutting, plant it and forget it.  If any of the growing plant even touches the ground it starts rooting.

Last year I planted flowers on the South side of my house... gonna rip them out and replace with figs!  Much better tasting than flowers!

Too Funny!
I've read my own story echoed by others here already, and it's a common one:

*Started with just wanting a few - Now it seems there can never be enough!*

Obviously I'm still on the 'up-swing' and haven't gotten to where I'm thinning out "the herd" yet :)

None. I already had some free cuttings from a tree. Just needed some advice on how to root them. Now, about a year later, I have 112 varieties and counting. I figure it's a new variety every 3.5 days. It was actually much more but I realized too late that many varieties go by multiple names. That knocked me back a few pegs. I suppose I will stop somewhere around 300 or so. I wouldn't want to have too many. ;-)

I thought I was done last year with about 40 varieties. I am at 80 now. I blame it on Bass. Any time I see his listings (the descriptions and the photos...especially the photos), I get roped in again. Seriously, look at Bass's pictures, you cannot resist.

I only wanted 10.  I didn't want to pour any chemicals in the soil.  I just wanted to plant, feed, water and eat.  Well, that was 10 years ago.  Today I have between 250 and 300 different varieites of figs or maybe more.  I stopped counting at 237 last week.  Two weeks ago I stumbled on 30 acreas of free land.  Well guess what?   I just might reach 500 different varieities now.  The wife is tired of looking for me outdoors tinkering with figs after work.  So, I may have to stop between 250 and 500 different varieties.

Currently looking at plans to build a huge green house.....60 x 70 kit.  At least this way, the wife will know where to find me!

Greg,

My grandfather had a couple trees when I was a kid, and figs were the most disgusting fruit I ever saw. I didn't even want to go near the trees.

This is a great thread, thanks for starting it. When I joined the forum I had one tree and wanted to try to get 5-10 new varieties. So far I am up to about 20 varieties and I am trying to keep it around that.

i picked up a hardy chi because i thought it would make a cute house plant.  ineededto find out the best way to care for it and possibly find a sister to keep it company. then i found f4f

result? i just spent $2500 plus hundreds of hours of labor building a fence to create a micro climate that would sustain figs.

i don't want as many trees as most of you guys, but i'm just as insane.

[QUOTE=snaglpus]I only wanted 10.  I didn't want to pour any chemicals in the soil.  I just wanted to plant, feed, water and eat.  Well, that was 10 years ago.  Today I have between 250 and 300 different varieites of figs or maybe more.  I stopped counting at 237 last week.  Two weeks ago I stumbled on 30 acreas of free land.  Well guess what?   I just might reach 500 different varieities now.  The wife is tired of looking for me outdoors tinkering with figs after work.  So, I may have to stop between 250 and 500 different varieties.

Currently looking at plans to build a huge green house.....60 x 70 kit.  At least this way, the wife will know where to find me![/QUOTE]uhm... lets rewind this a little... lol
did you just say30 acres of FREE, FREE land?
I think I just found a new best friend guys ;)

Like Blueboy, I started by growing blueberries.

Then I read a post Wills started on the Florida Gardenweb forum about figs.  I have always liked dried Mission figs, but up to that point, I had never had a fresh fig. So I went to the grocery store and bought some really overpriced fresh figs (tried Calimyrna, Black Mission and Brown Turkey).  I fell in love. 

I said I wanted to start with 2 - a black and green variety.  Then I wanted a brown, Celeste type fig.  Since this past summer, I have acquired 9 varieties and expect a few more.  This will be my first year growing figs and I can't wait to see how these varieties produce and which I like best. 

I normally hate summer in Florida and this will give me something to look forward to. 

I really don't have the time or space to devote to more than 10 varieties.  I hope to keep some favorites and end up somewhere around 5, or I should say that my wife doesn't want me to keep more than 5. 

I justify this with the wife the same way I justify my expensive grouper fishing trips - that with the high price of figs, when they start producing, this hobby will pay for itself. 

Yes....30 acres of free land.  The wife wants me to relocate all my figs over there.  But I'm not going to do that.  I'm going to start with just 10 of my,  "pain in the butt" trees and place them there first and see how they grow.  First, I've got to design a simple fall pump from the creek to the spot where the figs will go.  The land is clear with plenty of sunlight.    Has a bunch of huge mature Cedars around the creek.  Heck the cedars alone are worth $100k!  The owner just ask that I give him a hand ful of figs when I start to harvest them.  He's a friend of mine.  He's diabetic and can't eat too much sweet stuff.  But he does love fresh figs.  He doesn't want to pick any.  He just wants someone else to work his land.  He will mow around whatever I place on the property.  And his 2 german sheppards will keep the coons away.  You can't beat that deal!

I did find 2 Brown Turkeys and 1 celeste fig tree on the property.  He said Celeste was too sweet for him.  He asked me to remove it when I install my trees.  I'm going to draft a memo of understanding so I don't loose my trees and he not loose his land.  This way we are both are protected in case we fall out of our friendship. 

Dennis,

When you stated "simple fall pump" is that the same as a water RAM?  My son built one for his senior high school project. They are cool. If you have a drop in water level you can use to pump water up a considerable height with no source of power except the water itself. We built it for around $100 out of things found in the hardware plumbing department. I was surprised at what it could do.