Francisco, are those figs in post #21 eatable figs? they look so juicy and delish. I'm talking the one in your hand open.

Hi Aaron4USA,
The figs are "edible" as they are not toxic .
But, we are sweeties and we don't like them corcky .
I once tasted a ripe "wild fig"/ - caprifig? or not no idea -  and had to spit everything - what an awful taste and inside was dry although the skin was soft and nicely colored.
So, I guess it depends on your own taste buds ... The question might be: Do you like cork ?

Aaron,

The figs on post #21,  I believe may be a slow mutation from Capri to edible.
Its skin and white flesh is figgy and  sweet . most or all of the ripe 'flowers'/pulp  on some figs can also be eaten and are sweet..
Figs of this variety once ripe, were kept for over a week in the fridge and then used for caprification of San Pedro main crop with good results. Some had wasps, others none.

They come from a small tree which distinctly and effectively shows the 3 crops - Large Profichi, small Mammoni and  average size Mamme. Once ripe, the Profichi stay attached to its stalk for quite some time.

Francisco

hahaha, funny, jdsfrance...

Francisco, i understand now... slowly but surely, so much to learn about the world of Caprifig.
I still don't know how they hand pollinate figs with caprifigs that don't have wasps...

Copied from Condit's The Fig,

Methods Used in Fig Breeding: Few if any common fruits are so easily hybridized or so productive of fertile seeds as the fig. Various methods of pollination are used. Both Hunt in Georgia and Tanikawa in Japan split open the apex of the fig and introduced pollen on the point of a knife blade. Mature profichi of the selected male parent are either split lengthwise or a circular disk with the stamens attached is removed from the apex. From such pieces, left to dry overnight, the pollen can readily be collected. Figs pollinated in June mature in August, at which time the fertile seeds can be secured.

Aaron: I attuned to the energy fields of your fig tree on post #11 and I found out that fig tree is the Caprifig. Thank you for posting very nice photos.

Best,
Tam

Aaron,

I understand your surprise after all what has been said about Caprifigs,pollen and wasps.
I would recommend you try and get the old book 'The Smyrna fig' written by George Roeding well over a century ago...

Here a small extract , when he talks about manual pollination.

.../ Quote:

In the year 1890, a few of the Smyrna Figs as well as the Capri Figs having produced fruit, I determined to try an experiment of artificial fertilization, although I was extremely doubtful of success.

On June 15, quite a number of the Capri Figs were opened; the stamens or male blossoms at that time were matured and covered with pollen, which when shaken into the palm of the hand, and then transferred by means of a wooden tooth-pick into the orifice of the fig. fertilized the female flowers.

Of the half dozen figs thus treated, every one matured, while all the others on the tree, when one-third grown, shriveled up and dropped to the ground. WTien the fertilized fruits were dried, they were carefully examined and to my surprise, were found to contain a large number of fertile seeds, with a flavor very similar to the imported fig, but not equal to it, as only a portion of the female flowers had developed seeds, due to the crude manner of fertilization.
To my mind this experiment proved conclusively that although other varieties.... /unQuote.

Gustav Eisen has also experimented with a similar process and hints that this rough but effective method may have been refined and thousands of figs were manually pollinated in full.

Francisco

Francisco,
wow, manually... would it be worth?  hm... I guess this is where the true Capri come handy... with their own worker pollinator wasps. I'm definitely am going to look for the copy of that wonderful book.

Tam, thanks for the input.

Aaron,

Here, you find the book..not expensive and very good,  interesting and educational reading . Those fellows did love figs! ,  had the nerve and never gave up. ''CHAPEAU'' !
Their names should be on plazas, boulevards, streets, etc

http://www.forgottenbooks.org/search?q=the+smyrna+fig&t=books

As for being worth or not, you have to think that you are in fig Paradise but many others are not.

I would be very happy if living in a zone 6, 7, 8...(brrrr!!!) had a simple pair of tools to fertilize some female flowers of a half a dozen of Smyrna or San Pedro varieties .

- This should be, IMO , the first step to have the pleasure of tasting the best, 'made in house' simple!

- The following development, getting a small box or two with ripe/full Profichis to make the introduction to all other figs in your orchard or just a selection of them ..and this by June/July

- Third, trying to root/establish the Caprifig in the orchard on the most promising zones.

Francisco

True, I have started to grow about 5 types of Capri, hoping , eventually, to get several blooming season Capries so they can constantly pollinate different varieties, since, the different varieties have different pollination times.
thanks for the recommendations on the eBooks.

Bump