Improved Celeste, Florea, and Ronde de Bordeaux. These 3 sweet and flavorful fig varieties can begin ripening half a month before most or all other fig varieties. Their main crops begin to ripen in the last week of July or the first week of August, in WV zone 6b. In short growing seasons, this ripening period can… Continue reading 3 Early Figs
Though an important food crop for people historically, in lands such as ancient Egypt, the sycamore fig has long since been replaced by “common” fig crops. The sycamore fig tree is not as cold tolerant as common fig trees. And unlike common fig trees, it is wholly dependent upon a tiny fig wasp to pollinate… Continue reading Sycamore Figs
Tim Hensley claims in “A Curious Tale: The Apple in North America” that about 14,000 varieties of apples were grown in the US in the 1800s under 17,000 different names. More recently NPR has claimed that nearly 8,000 varieties of apples were grown in the US and that well over 6,000 of those have since… Continue reading Apples & Figs
Louisiana State University under the direction of Dr. Ed O’Rourke from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s propagated new fig varieties. After a hiatus, in the 1990s, selected varieties were officially released to the public by LSU. In the meantime, over decades, other LSU fig cultivars had been unofficially shared privately and spread by… Continue reading LSU Figs
Though fig trees and bushes with big tropical looking leaves are native to a very warm Mediterranean climate and long growing season, here in much cooler West Virginia, with a shorter growing season (USDA zone 6b), it’s possible to ripen a lot of very sweet and flavorful figs from June to November. A light first crop… Continue reading The Span of Figs
Three of the best figs for growing in short seasons have close ties with the foothills of high mountains in Europe: green/red Nordland from the Alps in Switzerland, yellow/red Brooklyn White from Mt Vesuvius in Italy, and the purple/red Mt Etnas from Mt Etna in Sicily. The Alps and Nordland: This green/red citric berry fig variety, known as Nordland in Switzerland… Continue reading Figs & High Mountains
An unexpected bounty picked on a fall day, this Saturday, November 5th: 31 figs, all from bushes in ground, all Mt Etna figs except for 2 Brooklyn Whites. Real good flavor. Recent modest heat and rain brought them on. Crazy long fall here. May pay for it later – even climate change aside. Last year,… Continue reading 31 Figs
Conadria. Atreano. Lyndhurst White / Latarolla. These figs are tempting to make a focal part of a dooryard orchard, because they are relatively big and bright, very juicy and prolific, and relatively early ripening. Excellent big, bright, early fruit can be grown with these precocious varieties. Unreliable flavor can be a problem however, as these varieties… Continue reading Tricky Figs
The Lemon fig. Aptly named. Also known as Blanche. Once a somewhat common yard fig in the US South. Honey-like flavor. Sweet lemon.
Is an apple a fruit? A strawberry? A pear? A mulberry? Formerly known as false fruits, botanists now refer to these species as accessory fruits, in which part of the fruit consists of tissue not from the ovaries. A fig is a kind of flower that blooms wholly inside a swollen, shapely portion of stalk.… Continue reading Is a Fig a Fruit?
Mountain Figs 