My first main crop figs of the year, also my first taste of RdB.

I shouldn't say this, but my expectations were too high. I was surprised when I cut it open, I was expecting to see the nice berry pinkish red w/hint of purple interior which goes all the way to the skin. Instead it looks like many other figs, and I hate to say it, but I probably could have waited a couple more days and maybe that transformation may have occurred. The cracking skin threw me, I almost never get cracking in the skin of my figs..so far.  So now this means I'm going to have to put footy baggies over the remaining RdBs, or the damn SWD will find those cracks and lay eggs on them in no time flat.

Don't get me wrong, for the first figs from this tree they were still very good; I think it's just that I was expecting them to be the best fig I have had to date. The skin is tender, very sweet, and flavor full. The flesh was just sort of nondescript good with a mid upper sweetness. The flesh was also not consistent throughout, a slight airy texture to some portions..which was a tiny bit of a bummer as well. The good thing is that I'm sure all these issues will improve with age. Heck, my Petit Negra which I now love, made figs that were  only kind-of good in it's first year bearing.

I should also add that this tree was purchased as an air-layer in the fall of 2012 and had just recently gone dormant before I got it.


 

 

 

 



 

Great pics, Calvin.  I have higher expectations from mine too.  They were GREAT but I think they will be better as they age.

Thanks Frank.

Had a couple more yesterday, one was left a couple days more and the other was about the same as the above. Both tasted about the same as above and one had a decent amount of seed crunch. Solid 8 for this 1st production.

I had one that had seriously cracked, nearly exploding.  It was the best tasting one.  Since it grows in a SWC, I'm thinking the roots stay too wet for a proper ripening process, as if they're rushed.  We'll see next year.  I'll keep one in the SWC and grow the other one in a buried pot.

Your plant looks prefect. Perfect vigor, great looking leaves, and not overloaded with figs. So no excuses in that regard. Maybe it will still improve with age. But if any of mine look like that and flop they'll be in trouble.

Do you plan to keep this tree in a pot or will it eventually go in-ground?  Ive heard that the tree grows quite large -- Im going to try to grow most of mine in containers since my yard can get a bit water-logged. Pity, as I hear it is a pretty tasty fig...

James,
This tree will stay in a pot. The airlayer I took from it last fall will go in the ground. I don't want to risk losing a producing tree. Next year it should have a pretty big year.

Steve,
I don't consider it a flop, I just expected better. I actually just ate the last ripe fig because a bird had found it and gave it a couple test pecks. I wasn't going to let it come back and have lunch.
I'm actually more PO'd at my Petit Negra which made almost worthless figs in it's first year of production and delicious figs the next. Early this spring I up potted it before it broke dormancy from a ~10 gallon pot to ~28 gallon pot. I was expecting a lot but this season it only grew some and put on like 7 figs. Last year it made more figs than that. Usually, I have found that trees make up for periods of low growth so PN better seriously put out figs and growth next year.

Good looking plant and good looking fig

[QUOTE=cis4elk]the damn SWD will find those cracks and lay eggs on them in no time flat.


[/QUOTE]

Calvin,

I have been worried about this pest and actually started a topic on SWD some time back, but I don't see many folks complaining about them on figs. Do you have a big issue with them? I was worried as unlike most fruit flies that bothers fruit after prime, as I understand these get to the fruit even before ripe.

I mainly have a problem with them on blackberries and raspberries, last year I got them on gooseberries too but not this year; I'm removing all my gooseberries anyway because I don't like them enough to justify and I don't want to give SWD anything to harbor on . Blueberries and figs seem to be fine here unless the fruits skin is damaged. I read somewhere (the topic was blueberries and SWD) that in drier weather the skin is tougher and the female SWD cannot cut through the skin to lay the egg, but in a wetter climate SWD can be an issue, again this is for blueberries.

The one year that I had a Califorina Brown Turkey that was bearing fruit, almost all of them were soured by fruit flies entering the open eye. I didn't know anything about SWD yet at that time so I'm not sure if it was them or native fruit flies. Last year I got fruit fly maggots on 2 Hardy Chigago figs that the skin cracked on after much rain. From that point on, anytime I see a fig with cracks in the skin a put an apple maggot bag over the fig and just wrap the neck around the stem and tuck it under itself and it keeps them out.

Thanks,

I know they love berries, luckily I have not had them yet, or I have just been eating them.  Others in my area have reported them, but mostly as you on berries.

My next door neighbor has a big purple leafed chokecherry tree. For some reason the birds leave them alone and they just hang on the tree forever, I think this is the source of my SWD problem. I go the organic route so I don't spray for them, but I do have all sorts of variations cider vinegar traps to help thin them and I contiunually pick the ripe berries, keep the ground clean and put all dead ripe and overipe berries down the garbage disposal. But sometimes their numbers are just insane in the blackberry patch, which just happens to be about 15 feet from that chokecherry tree.

SWD destroyed my fall raspberries last year, and were bothering some of my late peaches as well ( I think just where the fruit was already damaged), first I had ever seen them.  They are a real menace.