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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > A "little" Brown Turkey
 
 


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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 

I'm cutting out my Monrovia Brown Turkey  this year, so I've just been letting it go.  As many times as I've trimmed it down to 24" tall or so to get the trunk beefed up, it keeps getting top-heavy.  I noticed the other day it fell over, and my buddy next door finally complained about it, so I popped out to check it out today.

 

Let's see if you can figure out why it fell down.

 

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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Perfect size for throwing at someone you don't like.

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 

And just so you have an actual reference on how freaking big these figs are, I picked one of them.  It was inedible, a breba, and it tasted like crap (yes, I tried it), but ... damnit if this thing isn't the biggest damn fig I've ever seen in my life.

 

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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #4 

@James, these figs were almost larger than a baseball.  I wouldn't want to get hit with one.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #5 

They sure are big! Too bad they taste like crap.
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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Was it because the figs were to heavy lol.Nice looking figs thanks for sharing.
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Posted Reply with quote  #7 

Jason,

Why would not you graft 2-3 decent varieties on its trunks in the spring? It seems to have some vigor in it, and that vigor should be transferred to the grafted scion.
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Posted Reply with quote  #8 

Boris, this tree has a penchant for suckering.  I'd prefer not to keep up with it.  The hassle outweighs the benefit.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #9 

More.

 

Don't you hate when things actually look tasty, but taste like complete ass?

 

Yeah.

 

The one ripped open looks awesome but was sour.  The ultra-ripe one was too far gone.  The other one was usual BT - watery, bland.  Someone may as well have taken some watermelon rind and soaked it in sugarwater - would have tasted about the same (awful).

 

I don't know why I keep trying to taste figs off this tree after 5 years of owning it.  Nothing has ever tasted worth a damn.

 

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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
That tree would make excellent compost.  It would if it were in my yard, anyway.

Nice pics though.  It's a very pretty tree.
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Dave
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Posted Reply with quote  #11 

Grows nice produces lots of big figs, but no one wants to eat them. Yeah it has to go
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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Jason...

Just a suggestion...why not try growing it in a container?   Trim it back to some manageable size, move it into full sun, and control the water at the roots when figs start ripening.  Maybe only ripen a main-crop, and forget the breba.  Pinch back new growth after main crop is set...and see what happens with a more carefully controlled, growing routine.  You got nothing to lose.  Maybe the fruit will improve.

Frank
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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Sounds like a plan Frank, how about it Jason. You might be the first person to make a BT taste good.
"gene"
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Posted Reply with quote  #14 

jason,

 

beautiful figs.. sorry they don't have good taste. they look good enough to taste awesome..

 

pete
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***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
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Posted Reply with quote  #15 

Holy-freakin'-cow! Those are large figs. Too bad they taste so horrible.

 

Quote:
I don't know why I keep trying to taste figs off this tree after 5 years of
owning it.  Nothing has ever tasted worth a damn.

 

If it were mine, I'd give it the ax... there are so many good figs to give quality time, space, and resources to.


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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Gina...

I'm inclined to agree...but....only if I tried some cultural modifications, and I was then convinced that genetically, the tree is just a dog.  Then I'd burn it and use the ashes as plant food.  At least then, it would serve a final, useful, purpose.

Frank
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 

If it were another lesser known variety I'd probably agree... but Brown Turkey has an extensive track record of 'blah'.  It was aptly named... it's brown, and it's a turkey.

 

I like the burning idea.  I can picture a row of urns on the mantle containing the ashes of figs that didn't work out.  ;)

 

 
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Posted Reply with quote  #18 


Here's a variety of Brown Turkey that is real tasty (trespassing in front of our N. Carolina cabin.).

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Frank
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Posted Reply with quote  #19 

that's a wild turkey.. i like ones in the bottle better.

 

pete
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"don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill
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***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Quote:
Originally Posted by FMD

Here's a variety of Brown Turkey that is real tasty (trespassing in front of our N. Carolina cabin.).

 

Lol, that's one Brown Turkey I'd be willing to pot up and take very good care of... in the oven at about 325*.


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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
WAIT!  What if you sliced them in half, drowned them in butter, put them on the BBQ for a minute, and drizzled with 18 year old Balsamic?  Surely there is a rescue here!
Suzi
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
That is far too much effort, Suzi.  Why spend all that effort when you have over 50 other trees that produce fruit that tastes 100 times better without any special preparation at all?

Frank, I know at least two dozen Brown Turkey trees near my house.  On a scale of 1-10, the best of the absolute best is lucky to rate at a 2/10.  Meanwhile, I have (I think, last count) 68 other varieties that put out figs that are easily a 6/10, some which are a 9/10 or 10/10.

There is a reason several members here have thrown away Brown Turkey:  The real ones are a complete waste of pot space.  I'd rather fill that space with something that produces way better fruit every time.

I tend to find myself in Jon's camp - If you think Brown Turkey tastes good, it's probably because you're not actually eating a Brown Turkey.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Jason English brown turkey is a very good tasting fig unlike the Monrovia bt , I too gave my Monrovia BT away just not worth eating let alone wasting space and time growing it. To me it's like eating Brussels sprouts first one is ok but after that they taste worse and worse. 

I say plant something in that spot worth eating.
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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
The overwhelming consensus: 

Brown Turkey isn't worth the time and effort, no matter what.  It's just plain, old crap, and will always be a crap variety.

Jason's reasoning -(post #22 )- makes perfect sense...why waste the time trying to make a silk purse....you know the rest.

Maybe they should be stuck in some forgotten corner, stuck in a greenhouse, or stuck in a compost pile.... how 'bout it JON....where would you stick a 'Brown Turkey'?  : )

Frank
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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
You win!  BT tastes like crap and nobody wants to eat crap.  It's kind of sad though.  But, it has never been on my wish list because I heard rumors.........  So, you won me over... sorta.

I love gourmet cooking, and I'm pretty sure I could make a BT fig bring you to your knees!

Suzi
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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
Still, they would have been better (edit: not so disgusting) if they developed in sunlight. If it were an ideal spot for figs then I doubt those hydrangeas would still be there. That being said, I think those figs are grotesque looking and would not like any, they look like crapapples to me.

Suzi, UC Davis BT is a good fig DFIC17. Not very cold hardy, but certainly more than edible with lots of sun and heat.


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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
Brent, this tree and its fruit gets 6+ hours afternoon and evening sun per day.

those oak leaf hydrangeas are extremely well established.  I have some on the southwest corner of my office against a block wall - that also gets full sun.  Leaves are a little smaller leaved, but.... They do well.  The tired bit about hydrangeas not thriving in sun is kinda BS if you ask me ;)

If you look closely you'll also see nine bark, grancy graybeard and paperbush, all of which need lots of sun to really thrive.  All are doing wonderfully....
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
Wow, those figs look so good.  I guess you can't trust the pictures.  I keep on cutting down my brown turkey fig, but it comes back stronger than ever.   It 20 years, I don't think we've gotten one good fig from it.  That grafting idea might be a good one. 
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hoosierbanana

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
It is a fact of life that more sun makes figs taste better. I doubt you would enjoy a tomato grown in that amount of sun either. I would just put it down and let the flowers keep on doing great.
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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
I have a purple unknown which resembles, and in fact, might be a brown turkey.   It produced excellent figs at our last home  in Lake Havasu in rocky soil, where temps would exceed 100 and often 110 day after day after day.

The little one I brought with me in a pot is now in ground and has allready put on a foot of new growth this spring.   Different cultivars thrive under different conditions.   What may be bland and tasteless in one climate/soil may produce great figs in another.

I have two brebas on it now.  When they are ripe I will try to post pics.
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Dave
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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
I got a BT from JF&E and a TX Everbearing from a local man.  They turned out to be the exact same varieties down to the different shapes of the leaves and the way the trees grew and they produced the exact same figs.  They were like poor Celestes, smaller and weaker in flavor than a good Celeste.  Maybe they would have tasted better when a little older, but I was looking for BTs like the grandparents' trees and these were not anything like those.

So many people hate BTs that I'm now wondering if the gps' BTs were something else like a Marsailles VS Black, which I'm told can be a reddish brown with a more red interior and the MVSB was found in MD back in the 40s, was it?  Newport News is on the DelMarVa Peninsula, so it's not that far away from where they lived.  I've been looking for a MVSB.

My gps' trees didn't really look like any of the BTs I've seen on the forums, so I'm thinking those trees from my childhood were not BTs.  No way of knowing now.  Those figs were very good, but I was a child and children can have a more keen sense of taste, but the adults all liked them, as well.  They were reddish inside, kind of a browner red if that makes any sense, not bright red.  They were sticky inside.  They were so good that I can still taste them in my mind.

Jason--If your BTs don't taste good, why waste the spot with them that a good-tasting fig could occupy?  That's a rhetorical question.

noss
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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
    Whatever variety of fig that Jason has grown which was labeled as a " Monrovia Brown Turkey" looks bloated,green,large eyed, pithy,and unappetizing.

I agree that his fig tree looks like "crap" ;). Maybe it would perform better in a dry climate with full sun.
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
I doubt anything could make this fig even compete with a number of more common varieties.

And Brent - I grew and fruited JH Adriatic and a number of other figs with less than an hour of sunlight against the north side of my neighbors house (posted pics all over here of it) and they tasted awesome.  Like, 8/10 or 9/10 awesome.  So, I don't buy for a minute that 6 hours sun - which is by definition "full sun" (6-8 hours direct) - would have made this fruit taste better.

I think it is best to accept that "real" Brown Turkey figs (i.e. plain old BT, not EBT or others which may not be genetically related) taste like crap and are generally worthless.

I am sharing cuttings with someone I trust to grow it well in a hotter sunnier and potentially dryer climate.  I'm sure the same results will be had but we will see.  I've sent cuttings of this tree to others.  The only feedback I've gotten suggests it tastes watery and bland there as well.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #34 
Maybe its real value is to give perspective on how much better the others are!
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Ken
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
I'll go with that, Ken!
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #36 

More worthless drivel today... I tasted both.  I use the term "taste" subjectively... as there was nothing to taste but sweet wateryness.

 

(posting more pics just to archive the output of the tree, in case ppl need pics of BT figs in the future)

 

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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #37 
Brown turkey not the best fig around and your tasting the breba's in the above picture .
Jason Jason Jason .
Edit but thanks for sharing the pictures.  ; )
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Posted Reply with quote  #38 
I request assistance. Resembles the sort of photos to Brown Turkey? 
I've read that many complain about bad taste BT. but in this class and good taste, breba and essential harvest is very good taste.
Thank you.

#1 - breba 24.07.2006
#2 - essential harvest 10.10.2006
#3 - breba 18.06.2006 - very-very early, but there is a bit in taste the Milky juice (White juice)
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Posted Reply with quote  #39 
I ate one of these tonight that looked practically rotten today and was covered in ants.  Ate the pulp only. It actually ranked a 3/10.  I was shocked.  First out of about a hundred figs I've tried off this tree.

Still not promising - 3/10 sucks totally.  But ....
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #40 

It's afraid, Jason ;-)
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Posted Reply with quote  #41 

Covered in ants, well at least they like it. Covered in ants kinda makes it a no taste fig, feed that one to the tortoises.
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Posted Reply with quote  #42 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omarmuta
I request assistance. Resembles the sort of photos to Brown Turkey? 
I've read that many complain about bad taste BT. but in this class and good taste, breba and essential harvest is very good taste.
Thank you.
 

 

Hi Omarmuta,

 

I can't help you, but I would suggest that you start a new thread asking for help identifying your good tasting fig. The fig we know as 'brown turkey' is so unpopular, many people may not even be looking at this thread, and won't see your request or photos.  

 

Good luck.


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noss

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Posted Reply with quote  #43 
Jason posted:  "I don't know why I keep trying to taste figs off this tree after 5 years of owning it.  Nothing has ever tasted worth a damn."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps it's just that you cannot believe a fig could really taste THAT bad all the time, so you go back to taste them, just to be certain?

noss
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Posted Reply with quote  #44 
Viv, it's either that or I'm just plain crazy.  In truth, it could be either.  ;)
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Posted Reply with quote  #45 
Jason, you know what they say the definition of crazy (insane) is.  Doing the same thing over and over like a hundred times (LOL) and hoping for a different result! lol

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Posted Reply with quote  #46 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoAnn749
Jason, you know what they say the definition of crazy (insane) is.  Doing the same thing over and over like a hundred times (LOL) and hoping for a different result! lol


I say the same thing to my interning students. Sometimes it gets through to them, sometimes it doesn't ;)
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Posted Reply with quote  #47 
Jason i forget to add if not too late -send some scion to Jon i think he is collecting as many Bt's as possible to do a comparison of them all in future.  ; )
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Posted Reply with quote  #48 

Martin, I sense a boat load of sarcasm there, but believe me, this thing will be in pieces starting tomorrow, so ... if he is really interested, I need to know, I'm happy to give him some.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #49 
Jason theres enough to sink a battleship.
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Posted Reply with quote  #50 
Well, as I search for that special fig that eludes me, I guess I can cross that one off my list.  I bought mine from EL.  I know the hesitation in getting rid of yours because,  I have almost nothing invested in mine and I don't think I can bring myself to pitch it!
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