A record breba crop this season for this San Pedro cultivar - Lampeira Preta

 
 
 
 
 

LP main crop just pollinated showing 'twins' on this particular branch
 
 


Francisco
Portugal

Really nice pictures, Francisco!
Brebas will only start to ripen here in one month.
If things go well, I will be able to taste this variety too in a couple of years.
Maybe you could air layer that ‘twins’ branch?

Nice. For my zone the breba crop is the way to go. Hope my Lamperia will deliver next season.

Beautiful, Francisco. My brebas are still a couple of weeks from ripening, here in zone 9. Our weather is turning warmer, so I am very hopeful. Perhaps the Caprifig I got from Harvey will release some friends to help with the main crop!

Thanks for sharing the information on this variety with us. The pictures are great! I had a few cuttings of this variety root this year so hopefully will have some pictures of my own to post in the next year or two.

Thank you All for your kind comments.

Francisco
Portugal

Very nice figs, they look delicious. I see that even portuguese birds are fond of figs,
i could not taste a breba this year due to the fly larvae, ants, crows and jays.

I hope i can enjoy my first Lampeiras of my plant next year.

Nice ones Francisco. They look more fruity than the Nazrati. Those main crop are packed and pollinated ready for the heat of the summer . I am not going out of the closet here but portuguese male fig tree sure provide the stuff-hope to house them soon with some baby wasps.

Thanks Francisco!   Nice looking fig!
Can you tell how the breba tastes?

If anyone has an extra of one of these in the states, I'd love to trade. Been after this one for a while now for it's fantastic brebas.

[QUOTE=Fico]Very nice figs, they look delicious. I see that even portuguese birds are fond of figs,
i could not taste a breba this year due to the fly larvae, ants, crows and jays.

I hope i can enjoy my first Lampeiras of my plant next year.[/QUOTE]

I do hope so.
You have an ideal climate for this San Pedro, even to ripen its delicious and prolific main crop
Francisco

[QUOTE=pino]Thanks Francisco!   Nice looking fig!
Can you tell how the breba tastes?[/QUOTE]

Hi Pino

LP brebas are very meaty, sweet and juicy
Like most of the heavy weight brebas it's more a refreshing fruit. Ripening through spring, Nature made it light, sort of aperitif for what is coming next.

Main crop is a different story. Behaving like a Smyrna it gets a nice mix of great flavors,  sweet and for those with the right  'tools' and climate, makes a fantastic crunchy fig packed with tasty seeds.  Once dried it is excellent , as good as the very best.

Francisco

[QUOTE=elin]Nice ones Francisco. They look more fruity than the Nazrati. Those main crop are packed and pollinated ready for the heat of the summer . I am not going out of the closet here but portuguese male fig tree sure provide the stuff-hope to house them soon with some baby wasps.[/QUOTE]

Hi Elin
Nice pictures thank you for sharing
May be next year I  have a chance to taste the Nazrati and see how they grow here.
Good luck with those Capri's

Francisco

Francisco thanks,

Did the main crop in your pictures accepted polination( i see some white dots on the skin) ?

Thanks.

The two pis are from main crop of Maya and Lampeira.
Both are San Pedro's I believe.

The one with 4 figs is Lampeira and it has some white dots.

Would it be a sign of captification?

[QUOTE=elin]The two pis are from main crop of Maya and Lampeira. Both are San Pedro's I believe. The one with 4 figs is Lampeira and it has some white dots. Would it be a sign of captification?[/QUOTE]

Hello Eli
In your climate (I think)  those LP main crop figs should have been well ripen by now !
Remember the date this picture was taken ?

In fact on a LP tree, by the time you pick your ripe brebas (June/early July in my area), local wasps should be active pollinating the young main crop fruit.

Here, LP main crop has already ripen, dried, treated and stored under refrigeration for roasting and to be kept for the coming colder months.

Depending on climate and wasp availability, once the insect pollinates the main crop figs you count 30 to 45 days to have them ripen and ready.

Francisco
Portugal

Dear Francisco, you mention in your post above, that you dry,  and refrigerate the dried figs ? Do you mean freeze or refrigerate ? I had one of my big jars of dried figs go moldy this year, starting from one fig - thats why I ask. Also: Do you have a household-method to judge/measure if a fig is dry enough for storage ?

Have nice first year plants of Lampeira Preta and Lampeira Parda, so within the next couple of years, I expect to taste the breba crop of these fine Portugese figs.

[QUOTE=fighugger]Dear Francisco, you mention in your post above, that you dry,  and refrigerate the dried figs ? Do you mean freeze or refrigerate ? I had one of my big jars of dried figs go moldy this year, starting from one fig - thats why I ask. Also: Do you have a household-method to judge/measure if a fig is dry enough for storage ?

Have nice first year plants of Lampeira Preta and Lampeira Parda, so within the next couple of years, I expect to taste the breba crop of these fine Portugese figs.[/QUOTE]

Hi Michael,   after being dried naturally on full exposure to the Sun, figs are washed, rinsed and back to Sun for a few hours.When dry they are put in the fridge (-15C) for 24/48hr for critter control (*)

after this  and once at ambient temp they are roasted in the rural type clay oven immediately after bread is baked and oven still hot.
At some point and depending on the varieties, particularly when fruit cools down,  one may see more or less light colored patches but this is sugar exuding from the fruit not mold.
As for measuring humidity left on the fig, have no guidelines to give.. it's the feeling of the farmer and it's quite easy to evaluate when ambient temps play around 40C and RH in the low 20s
(*) this to replace fumigating
 
Once you are my friend,  I shall send you some of these blacks and whites ..next time with the ilex stuff...so you may taste and tell me if you like them.

 

 
 

Francisco
Portugal

Deliscious looking dried figs, Francisco. Okay so this is an expensive hobby. Every day I discover ONE more thing I (cross out "need") WANT. I must break the news to my husband...we need a clay oven (besides the LP cuttings!). Your method for drying sounds great, Francisco.

What an interesting method of drying !

[QUOTE=Smyfigs]Deliscious looking dried figs, Francisco. Okay so this is an expensive hobby. Every day I discover ONE more thing I (cross out "need") WANT. I must break the news to my husband...we need a clay oven (besides the LP cuttings!). Your method for drying sounds great, Francisco.[/QUOTE]


Meg
I do not think you should incur on any additional expense to buy a new clay oven.
you may do it with your std electrical   or gas oven.
As I buy my bread on a nearby village,  the owner does me the favor of roasting my figs on her clay oven.

Francisco

These dried/ roasted figs look so much better than the one I eat from a commercial product. Francisco, you will make a killing if you package and sell them.

Hi Francisco, thanks for the clarification, -15C, that means the freezer will kill the bugs if any are present. If I just store the figs the Whole time in the freezer, I can also prevent mold. I guess now i have to clean out my clay oven and make pizza again, so we can have roasted dried figs for dessert ! Looking forward to tasting those dried figs of Yours with the famous crunchy seeds that only are present in the "real" lands of smyrna figs.

My oven is not an original portugese clay oven either, but a home made dry-stacked construction of fire-bricks, but It will have to do.

More semi off topic : Can you belive it Francisco, this summer here in Scandinavia, was so warm, long and sunny, that figs are still ripening at the end of September (Main crop starting now), and the Atlantic sardines and the Tunas that follow them, decided to swim all the way up here. One Norwegian fisherman caught 190 tunas in one go, and anglers are reporting tunas and sardines all over the place,  right now in Danish Waters for the first time in my 50-years lifetime. Umm the smell of Sardinhas asados, just like when you walk the sidestreets of any town in Algarve on a summer night  !  Now I am only waiting for the fig wasp  to arrive and work its magic ! (ok, thats very unlikely, I know, but I keep dreaming...).

[QUOTE=DevIsgro]What an interesting method of drying ![/QUOTE]

Devin,

Thank you for commenting.
The drying part  is done by sun exposure only.

Francisco
Portugal

[QUOTE=Figinfever]These dried/ roasted figs look so much better than the one I eat from a commercial product. Francisco, you will make a killing if you package and sell them.[/QUOTE]

Dan,
Thank you.. I agree,  that's a good idea!  Thought about that already,  but I am too old now for such an enterprise!

Francisco
Portugal

[QUOTE=fighugger]Hi Francisco, thanks for the clarification, -15C, that means the freezer will kill the bugs if any are present. If I just store the figs the Whole time in the freezer, I can also prevent mold. I guess now i have to clean out my clay oven and make pizza again, so we can have roasted dried figs for dessert ! Looking forward to tasting those dried figs of Yours with the famous crunchy seeds that only are present in the "real" lands of smyrna figs.

My oven is not an original portugese clay oven either, but a home made dry-stacked construction of fire-bricks, but It will have to do.

More semi off topic : Can you belive it Francisco, this summer here in Scandinavia, was so warm, long and sunny, that figs are still ripening at the end of September (Main crop starting now), and the Atlantic sardines and the Tunas that follow them, decided to swim all the way up here. One Norwegian fisherman caught 190 tunas in one go, and anglers are reporting tunas and sardines all over the place,  right now in Danish Waters for the first time in my 50-years lifetime. Umm the smell of Sardinhas asados, just like when you walk the sidestreets of any town in Algarve on a summer night  !  Now I am only waiting for the fig wasp  to arrive and work its magic ! (ok, thats very unlikely, I know, but I keep dreaming...).

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Hi Michael
Correct! The freezing portion of the process is effectively to kill any eventual bug
Your oven is great! and looks immaculate..and ideal to bake bread ,pizzas, and roast figs
I share your news and views on climate change particularly the unusual ripening of your figs and the hopes for the introduction of new varieties demanding additional heat to ripen.
on the OT side...

Being a Nature and Sea/sail  lover I have been following with much interest the appearance on our shores of several  species typical of the Southern seas as well as the continual presence of other, which in the not so distant past, were migrating during specific seasons of the year and now keep showing all year round..

One of these is a 'tuna like' predator <sarda-sarda>, BTW an excellent fish also referred as white meat tuna
The other, the heavy weight meager, <Argyrosomus Regius> for centuries showing up in April/May, entering our rivers to spawn on the sandy shallows.. now is seen all year round.

Another popular migrator this time a bird, the white stork, no longer returns to their winter grounds deep in Africa.. and remain here being a permanent resident.
Big changes!
Francisco




[/QUOTE]

Nice oven Fighugger, those pizza's are nice.

Francisco, yes, I enjoy the summer, the new fishlife, and the maturing figs, but I also have a worry, as to what is going on, that the climate is changing that much and soo fast !  But lets not get into that, lets just enjoy the figs !

Elin, thanks for the comment on my oven. I actually just stacked it dry without mortar as a test. It Works fine ! The big goal is to build a bigger, domed one - with dining area under a shady fig tree ! Elin, I see you are from Israel. I have a new plant of the breba-variety Nazareth (St Pedro type)  from Israel. Do you know anything about this variety and its breba-crop ? I can't find any information about it, except the Israeli marketing stuff for the figs.   (If you have some varietal-info, maybe we should move it to another thread)

Michael Hi,

Its the main Breba crop fig in Israel and according to a study it is a synonim to "white bosnian" which is otosalso a "san pedro".

The taste is very good and refreshing- fig are big almost 100gr each.

I belive Francisco Lampeira taste even better and hope you get to grow it too.

Eli

 

 
 
 
 

Yes, thats true, Francisco. Its just that all of your fig photos look so wonderful I feel like buying a clay oven. And what a treat it is to have your fresh bread and figs baked in a baker's clay oven? when I was growing up we did go for fresh bread and fresh milk daily. No figs unfortunately. What you post always brings up such warm feelings of "home."

[QUOTE=lampo]


Meg
I do not think you should incur on any additional expense to buy a new clay oven.
you may do it with your std electrical   or gas oven.
As I buy my bread on a nearby village,  the owner does me the favor of roasting my figs on her clay oven.

Francisco[/QUOTE]

Hi Elin, Thanks for the Photos and info on Nazareth brebas. White Bosnian ? -ohh those fig names ! Hopefully I will get a chance to compare Nazareth and Lampeira in a year or two, since I am growing both. I try to make a Collection of all the good breba-croppers, but sorting out the aliases seems to be a big part of the job ! If you can find the time, then please make a series of Photos of fruit, leaves and tree, of Nazareth Next breba season and post them in it's own thread ! I think that woulld be appreciated by many breba growers.

Michael hi, I found some old pics of the Nazrati tree.

the leafs have finger like appearance. the tree is somehow not full o brebas probably because the land is not irrigated at all during the summer and in that location mainly it "chooses" to develop the main crop.

Also in an article there are many subvarieties of the nazrati but the one in the pics is the most vigorous one.



 
 

on the other hand check this variety called Dil Naor which i belive is the same as Dauphine, the ophoto is taken 4 days after that with the Nazrati.
Notice the very short internodal spaces between the brebas indicating the land is not irrigated and tree growth is restricted.
The owner o the orchard tells me he almost never prunes his trees cause the growth is minimal due to the non-irrigated nature.

I believe growing on non irrigated land is an art by itself and it involves alot of geological data- I think that the trees are in a mountanious land the mountain conserves the water during winter for later summer use (acts as a wick).