Tree health and the birds.
Well, this year has been one learning experenice for me about figs.  I have been so busy designing and building my orchard that I overlooked at the growth of my figs in containers.  I had so many figs ripening this year that I did not cover many of my trees and it has been a total fight between me and the birds!  I finally gave up last week and let them have their share for a few weeks.  I tried covering up some ripening figs on trees but the Robins and the coons learned to seek out the paper for the best figs.  So, for now, I'm focusing on winter protection and a better way to keep birds out of my orchard.  I found a way and will share my idea later. 

Watering trees
I had so many figs this year that I just stopped taking pictures.  It's just too much work.  My goal this year was to make sure my trees did not suffer in pots or in the ground due to a lack of water and I succeeded in that this year.  All my trees are growing nicely and the extra bit of water has helped.  However, my container trees grew fast this year and I was forced to repot some in early July.  I know.  I know.  I should have waited till Fall but I managed to kill my 2 Black Madeira tree last year because of this.  This year a few trees suffered except for one tree Joe Morle's 5 gallon Drop of Honey.  This tree went into shock.  I repotted it late lost part of the rootball and it died.  But I got a few other small ones in pots so, no worries.

Fig jam
Plus, I've got friend with fig trees and they have shared their fruit with me and to date, I've canned 5 cases of 1/2 pint fig jam!  I have 3 recipes that I like.  One is just plain of figs and lemon juice.  Another is called Strawberry Fig and the other is called Heavenly Fig.  All 3 are just awesome tasting jam!  When I make jam, I mix all the figs together.  In a few years, I'll have a large enough quantity of figs from one tree.  Then I can specialize the name of my jam. 

A welcome surprise -- Smith
There are some figs that flat out out shine others in my orchard.  They are Smith, Negronne, Black Celeste, Petite Negri, White Triana, Lamperia, White Marseilles, RdB, VdB, O'Rourke, Imiproved Celeste (Not), Celeste.  The sweetest white fig I ever tasted is White Triana.  I have never tasted anything sweeter that this fig.  I am truly amazed at the sweetness of this fig!  Smith out shines WT in flavor and taste but isi also very sweet.  For those who never tasted a Smith fig, I feel sorry for you because the flavor is out of this world!  I plan on replacing several of my trees in my orchard with Smith. 

Food Dehydrator
I have so many figs, that I dried 5lbs in my dehydrator.  For those who hate to can this is a great option.  I don't totally dry mine and some can not get totally dry due to their size but dry figs are a great snack.

Irrigation System...
is by far the best thing I could have done for my trees.  I monitor and check on my trees daily.  I use to water them by hand twice a day.  Today, my irigation system does this for me twice a day.  I have over 100 trees connected to my irrigation system and my volume of water was weak.  My friends Mark and Debbie came to visit my wife and I a few weeks ago.  I showed Mark my irrigation system and he showed me a flaw in my design causing my weak flow of water.  So, today I will correct my design.

The taste of figs
My friends Mark and Debbie are from Indiana.  I sent them a Hardy Chicago fig tree 3 months ago.  They have a small fruit orchard in IN and I've been trying to get them to jump into the world of figs.  They never tasted a fresh fig until 2 weeks ago at my house.  On their way down to the beach, they stayed with us.  I walked them through my orchard and we picked a couple of pounds of figs.  They tasted the following varieties, Marseilles white, Hardy Chicago, Sal's, VdB, RdB, O'Rourke, Atreano, and Smith.  We went inside and did a taste test.  Now, I learned that everybody's taste buds are different.  Mark thought Smith and RdB were the best.  Debbie thought Smith and O'Rourke were the best.  The next morning as we sat at the breakfast table and had coffee, Debbie said, "Dennis last night when we went to bed, I could not get the flavor and taste of that O'Rourke fig out of my mind".  "Can I have a few more?"
I laughed and asked her to describe the taste of the O'rourke fig.  She said it taste like a very sweet nectarine.  Now Mark has to make room in their orchard for an O'Rourke fig!

How Big can fig trees get?
Lastly, I am attaching a picture of my friend's 40 year old fig tree.  Her name is Marie.  She is from Greece and love's figs!  I've been taking her and her husband some figs.  I gave them one of my Black Mission fig trees.  This tree is over 40 years old.  They have a huge piece of land a few miles from my house.  Her tree is 20 feet tall and full of Brown Turkey figs.  The figs are so good!  This tree is gigantic!  I took my wife by to meet them.  We sat, talked about figs and other veggies.  Her husband Vern said he fertilizes the tree every year with plain organic MG fertilizer.  Vern said he never pruned the tree and sells his figs to those that pass by.  He said he wish he pruned the tree back them because today, he can only get to 1/3 of the figs using his 8 foot tall ladder!  He said he is afraid to prune it.  I told him what to do.  But they showed me a few other fig trees they have in containers they got from a few of  their Greek friends.  Marie wanted a black fig so I gave her one of my black mission figs.  So, for those who wonder how big a fig can get, just look at this picture. 

cheers,

Dennis,

Thank you for that lengthy report. I gave up on the birds and other critters this year too!!! They can have all the figs for now.......
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I am so happy to FINALLY see people reporting on the great taste of a Smith fig. For too long this fig was only known in certain parts of Louisiana and it definitely deserves a much wider distribution. For years now, I have been saying on the fig forums "one day you will hear raving reports on the great taste of the Smith fig". Like Dennis, I feel sorry for those of you who have not yet tasted a Smith fig. You do not know what you are missing.

Have Martin eat a Smith fig when he is blind folded and I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that he will believe that he is eating a black fig!! It is very rich and complex tasting for it being a white fig......and sweet too.

Get yourself a Smith fig tree if you have the room......its taste is rather unique.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Great post Dennis--I look forward to learning about the bird protection method you hinted at, and would also like to know what the irrigation system flaw was that you mentioned, and how you corrected it.

Dennis

 Dennis..
 Thanks for the great info and story of your figs.
  For us newbie-types , this is inspiration !!  Thanks  Fred

Thanks for the information.  Do you have to refrigerate your dried figs after dehydrating them?  I did some but was afraid they would mold if I left them at room temperature.  Also, do you think it is best to let a fig tree get as big as that one on it's own, or keep it pruned back every year to keep it easier to pick from?

Great post Dennis.  I really enjoyed reading it.  The only problem now is that I am lusting after a Smith fig now - between you and Dan ya'll make it sound like heaven! 

Thanks Dennis for your post!  Great info! 

Dennis,

Dan, i had my Smith about 3 hrs now. I bought mine in the Fall. The next year I potted mine in a larger pot. It out grew that pot and the figs small and had no taste. This year I planted it in the ground and the rest is history. I won't get upset if my forum friends don't get this fig. Just leave them all to me! He he he.

Chapman, I placed mine in refer because the large green ones were still soft.

Ken, my friend Mark told me to break up my system into 3 links which means I need to add 3 more timers and using the timers only water certain links at different times. He was right!

Ken, here is my tip on bird protection. Lowes has these 4 foot tall wire tomato cages. When closed, it forms a triangle. When 2 are put together I can easily cover my trees with bird netting. I'll post pics later.

Thanks for sharing your lessons in your report Dennis.  I look forward to hearing from growers with multiple varieties because it is helpful to hear what you have learned.  Please keep taking pictures of your fruit and bushes and post them when you can later.  They are great.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm very impressed! Do you sell your jam? My mouth is watering...

Goldie, send me an email and I will send you a jar of my Heavenly Fig Jam, no cost.  I want your opinion of this jam.  There is a secret ingredient in it and I want to see if you can guess what it is.  thanks,

Thanks Dennis for such Fig Detail.

Dennis-do you happen to have recipes for making the jams?  They sound awesome and I think my grandmother would love it!  She's too old to make them herself (95 yo) but was thinking of trying to make some for her if there is a good recipe:). 

Thx!
Eun

Smith fig trees are sometimes available from James Robin's KT Nursery. Or from Dalton Durio's Nursery, Or from Edible Landscaping Nursery. The original source of the Smith tree which is Becnel's Nursery in Bell Chase, Louisiana.....no longer sells this variety. No one was buying this fig from them as the local people only wanted the Celeste fig which they love and which local people are more familiar with. My tree came from the original source.

One taste of this great (but sometimes ugly) fig would have changed their minds......if only they knew. IMO, anyone who has not yet tasted a Smith fig, simply does not know what they are missing. It is not the best tasting fig in the world; but, it sure ranks way up there. You can expect to see more raving reports from other forum members as more and more people get to taste this fig. I have been trying to spread this word for years. Get you one if you have the room for it. 

Dennis!

Wonderful post. Thanks for sharing this one.

I want to follow up on your answers to Ken's questions:

I have resorted to planting even more figs trees to counter my bird problem. It seems like I grow most of them for the birds and they will leave one or two for me!! Now I have some other critter(s) eating even my unripe figs (opossum or raccoon)....that the birds leave for me. These guys go under the net. Its all good. But often extremely frustrating, whenever I lose the race to the ripe figs of a new cultivar.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Rufus, I got my Smith fig tree from Durion Nursery 2 years ago.  The honey drop from the eye is a definiate sign the fig is ready to be picked.  As for my fig jam recipes, here it is! 

Heavenly Fig Jam
2 pounds fresh figs or 18oz of dried black mission figs
2 cups water
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pakcage powdered pectin
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange flavored liqueur
1. Prepare canner, jar and lids. Add cleaned and stemmed figs with water to a large pan. Boil until soft, about 30 minutes.
2. Cool slightly and place in food processor. Puree until fine. You should have about 3 cups.
3. Return fig puree to pan with juice and pectin. Bring to a boil on high.
4. Add sugar, all at once, continue stirring and return to a full rolling boil for one minute.
5. Add orange liqueur.
6. Ladle jam into hot, prepared jars and hot water process for 10 minutes.
Makes 6 1/2 pints.

I sold a jar to a lady about 3 months ago and she keeps calling me wanting more.  So, I need to hang on to the recipe for awhile.  cheers,

The Fruit Ranch on 420 Park Avenue in Abbeville La has the Smith fig. I was at his nursery last week and he sells 16 different fig varieties.

Thanks for sharing the recipe Dennis!  :)

Looks like you need to set up a fig jam stand :)

Thanks Dennis and Dan for the nursery info.  It's good to know which ones have the real fig when you are looking for a good one.  Durio has sold out of the Smith now, but they had 2 others that I've wanted, too, so I am very glad to find them now.