4 FIG VARIETIES I Almost Culled That Are Now Blowing My Mind
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- In this video, I feature 4 fig varieties I almost culled their first year that totally transformed as they aged, and now these fig trees are blowing my mind as some of my best fig varieties!
A fruit tree often improves its fruit quality as it matures. Figs trees are similar, so never judge a fig tree based on its first season or two's fruit quality. A fig tree you think is mediocre when young may produce some of the best tasting figs you've ever had as the tree ages and turn into one of the must have fig varieties. These previously mediocre trees are now turning out some of my best figs this season!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Fig Tree Giveaway Challenge!
0:48 Don't Judge Fruit Trees Based On Their First Harvest
1:58 Young Fig Trees Need 2-3 Seasons To Make Good Figs
2:54 Col de Dame Rimada Fig Tree
4:40 Col de Dame Rimada Fig Taste Test
5:58 Dale's Taste Test #1
6:15 Negra d'Agde Fig Tree
7:22 Negra d'Agde Fig Taste Test
9:40 Dale's Taste Test #2
10:05 Blava (Campanera) Fig Tree
11:10 Blava (Campanera) Fig Taste Test
12:36 Dale's Taste Test #3
13:00 Galicia Negra Fig Tree
15:09 Galicia Negra Fig Taste Test
17:05 Dale's Taste Test #4
17:25 Final Thoughts And Summary
If you have any questions about how to grow figs, growing figs in ground or growing figs in containers, are looking for any fig growing tips, or tips growing fruit trees in general, want to know about the things I am growing in my backyard garden, are looking for any gardening tips and tricks, or have questions about gardening and organic gardening in general, please ask in the Comments below!
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If this video gets 1,000 Likes, I'll be giving away the fig tree featured at 0:15 in a future contest! Thanks for watching, everyone!
That's cool!
Like just for you to consider giving it away? Kinda weird
That is awesome. Sounds like fun.
I'm really enjoying your videos, but man, do I really wish you'd connect with some tech savvy person and make a fig identification app!
That is very generous of you . I hope whomever wins it will know how to care for it .
I love the way fig trees look. Their leaves are so beautiful. My great grandfather grew fig trees in his backyard when I was a small child. Still remember those trees. Started growing my own last year. Thanks for all the info
You're welcome! I wish you luck on your new trees!
Thanks for the consistent fig content. You've become one of my go to fig sources. I'm up to 3 different varieties now.
That's great to hear! I appreciate you watching the videos. Congrats on your new figs!
Ooh, fig contest? Yes, please!
I just moved to a new place & want to start a small orchard. Btw, I gave my mother a lemon tree when I worked at a plant nursery & it’s now over 30 years old!
Thanks for all of your work on this channel.
That's awesome! I gave my mother a Meyer lemon in a pot when they moved to a new house with an awesome sunroom a little over a year ago. It's now in a half whiskey barrel, thriving and has over 80 lemons on it! Lemons are so much fun to grow. Thanks for watching!
So awesome!! I already liked and love your video! I have 6 varieties in my garden and several mystery figs. I’m in Las Vegas, NV and started growing figs becuz I love love eating figs! Truly enjoy your videos. Kudos!
You're in a great climate for figs. Surely, the quality you can turn out will *crush* my water balloon figs from all the rain we get here! Don't be afraid to add more varieties 😂
So a fruit tree is like a person, you cannot judge it by the first season. Give it time 😊
I've never actually encountered a Fig tree, and never tasted its fruit either! I've only ever heard and read about them, but i've watched all your fig videos and they have me intrigued, and i've been asking my sister about them (she's eaten some abroad) and she's raved about them as well. Our family is a fruit tree planting one, and we're currently growing a tropical fruit tree grove around the house, so I'm seriously considering persuading my parents to consider allowing me to plant figs around here as well. 😂 I hope I find varieties that grow well in the tropics. Thanks for your videos! They are always a delight and so informative. Well wishes from the Philippines. 🌻
I believe growing figs in the tropics is challenging, because they originate from around 35N latitude, where there is a distinct change of seasons. They need a low-light, cool period to shed their leaves. However, I've heard of people in the Caribbean growing them with some success, so it must be possible. I also have viewers in Southeast Asia that grow them, so people are doing it. You may have to figure out your own way, though. You may need to manually remove the leaves at some point to trick it into defoliating, or maybe they'll lose their own leaves due to rust from the humidity. I'm not sure, but it's definitely worth a try.
@@TheMillennialGardener Yeah, so my suspicions about it being difficult is true. Well, the fruits are very well worth the challenge and wait from what I see in your videos so it doesn't hurt to try. I'll do what I can 😅 Thanks!
@@joseabito-on442 definitely give it a shot. If insects are in issue, you can buy a plant jacket from the website Agfabric, or linked in my Amazon Storefront, and cover the entire tree in an insect net!
Figs have much more differing flavors from variety to variety vs other types of fruits. Makes growing them a lot of fun and keeps things interesting. Thanks for the cool video!
It's really astounding how you can grow 10 different varieties of figs, and none of them taste similar. Blindfolded, people unfamiliar with figs would think they're eating 10 different fruits. It's truly why I love growing them so much. No other fruit has such a wide range of flavors!
@@TheMillennialGardener What amazes me is when I grow different vegetables hydroponically in the same exact nutrient solution and they all turn out to have entirely different flavors. It is like the plants are picking and choosing certain combinations of nutrients as needed to produce their own flavor profile. It is an absolute miracle of nature.
Excellent collection of excellent Figs plants. Delightful to listen to your explanation of quality Figs ❤
Always enjoy seeing how your figs are doing. We are having so much rain here mine aren't very good right now. Thank you for the video
I feel your pain. We've had 12 inches so far in August. We got another downpour last night, and there is about to be another downpour on top of me in moments. It's very hard to grow figs here due to the rain. I appreciate you checking in and watching!
Just found your channel, love it! Thank you!
Millennial, thanks for everything. Yes my figs are lavishly green and very happy special when I treat them with your advice. If you seen my Bamboo, they are 28Ft and doing great as well. I will look to add "Colde Dame Rimada" to my collection! just need to find out where can I get one? unless I can get at your Amazon, store hope, so cheers and say hi to Dale :-).
The Blava fig looks like the ones we had decades ago in Louisiana...the shape, cracking, and color/texture inside it.
Figs are definitely the first thing you should plant in your garden. As any perennial fruit, it can feed you for a lifetime for very low cost.
My personal view is to get your fruit trees in as soon as possible since most take 3-5 years to get going, but once they establish, you'll have food for a lifetime with very minimal maintenance. It's a lot of work to get going, but then you're on cruise control for decades! Aside from basic pruning to keep them a manageable size, they become self-sufficient.
Was already gonna sub because this guy is smart and I can learn a lot. from sweet potatoes to figs but I was certain when I saw da dog I want to see more of him sharing foor with you lol its cute how he eats the fig and "stalks" you
Thanks for this video on age and the change in fruit. Appreciate it!
Dale approved is always cool! Q- has Dale ever not wanted/eaten a variety of fig? Just wondering 😁💖🐕
Dale has never turned down a fig, before. There are some foods he doesn't care for the texture of, like cherry tomatoes. He doesn't like eating them whole, but if I slice them open or bite them in half so he can taste them, he'll love it. It's very funny. He is a very good eater, overall. Too good!
that applies to many fruit trees including peaches and blueberries which i have been growing for many years , good and bad qualities take a while to show , no wonder in Japan they prefer fruits from trees done with the juvenile period . great video thx !
For most fruit trees, they're best after 3-5 years of fruiting or so. But there are some exceptions - like mangoes. My understanding with mangoes is they begin losing production after 10 years. I've never grown a mango tree, but I will likely take the plunge in a container within the next year or two.
I guess the old adage is true, “It pays to be patient…🌱in the garden.” Looks like you had some very pleasant, delicious surprises.
From CA🏖️
Hey Dale's best friend! We have been dealing with a torrent of rust from basically three days of rain and the most rain we've had since Hurricane Matthew a few years back. I checked the weather for next week and guess what... four to five more days of rain. I don't know how you are holding up to all this moisture, but my LSU Purple and LSU Champagne seem to do a lot better than the Chicago Hardy. They are bouncing back. Thanks for sharing the taste tour. I picked up a Makedonia Dark that is incredible and prolific for a cutting started in January 2021. Thanks for the videos and sharing your information.
We are getting killed. We've had 48 inches of rain so far this year, with 28.24 inches falling since June 2nd. We got hammered last night, it's about to pour again in mere moments, and every day for the next 15 days is some level of storms. It's very, very difficult growing anything here aside from ornamental bananas, potted coffee trees, oregano and weeds! What I've found is the best way to prevent rust on your fig trees is to plant them in ground. My container-grown fig trees get rust a solid 4-6 weeks before my in-ground trees. I've found that figs cannot, for even a moment, tolerate a container that gets bone dry. The minute a container dries out, the leaves begin taking damage, and once the leaves weaken - even slightly - they become overwhelmed by rust. The in-ground trees never dry out, so their leaves stay thick, green and healthy, which wards off rust until late in the season. I'm just starting to get some rust on my in-ground trees because the rain has been so incredibly bad this month.
Liquid copper concentrate, or wettable sulfur, can help keep rust away if you're having a problem, but it works better as a preventative spray than once they contract rust. You can try either if you wish - I have them linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description. They're pretty inexpensive.
What a fantastic video! Dude I’m super behind because of it being the busy season but I’m always telling fellow gardeners that it truly is a practice in patients and I love that this is the resounding message of this particular episode. It’s so hard sometimes to keep an open mind to that long term investment. Especially when we have so many other things that we can harvest so quickly.
As always your trees and fruits are looking amazing! I’ve really got to get myself in gear and snag up some of your sweet merch! I hope you guys are having a fabulous summer. Give Dale a scratch behind the ears for me!
Thanks, Heather. The in-ground's are still slow from the April freeze, but I think they'll get there. It's still plenty hot, so hopefully they begin ripening in the next 2 weeks before we start cooling down. Did any of those cuttings root for you?
@@TheMillennialGardener I just wondering when is the best time for pruning fig tree ? Because I’m live at cold zone in Canada and I have fig tree growth in container, pls .
@@TheMillennialGardener I wasn’t successful in getting them to root but I don’t think they rotted either so I’m going to try again using a different method. I’ve created a better set up so what can it hurt right 🤷🏻♀️
We shall see 😉
@@zeppypaige let me know if you need another set this winter.
@@TheMillennialGardener I sure will. Thank you!!
Thanks for your excellent reviews on figs! And vast knowledge on raising the trees. I’m in south coastal Florida and the “soil” here is almost pure sand. Also our yards are so very small. So container raising is key! Your videos are the very best! Dale is a Star..glad you’re not jealous!
My soil is the same. It's sand. The native soil is pretty junky. I plant all my trees on a compost mound to get around this. I build up a 4 inch raised berm of compost, plant the tree so the root ball sits 2 inches above that, then dump another bag of compost and lots of hardwood mulch on top. The key is to promote surface rooting through the 4-8 inch layer of compost and mulch. That is key. I have a little video on that process here: czcams.com/video/6_-aLxCOI8U/video.html
Glad you're enjoying Dale and the channel!
The soil in Portugal has lots of sand. Figs thrive in it!!!
Got a cutting of this one, and looking forward to see how it does in Southwest Texas.
Awesome video! Those are some delicious looking figs!
It's been a tough year because of all our rain...well, that's true every year here because it rains so much during the summer...but when we get dry spells in between, the fig quality can be pretty good thanks to our brutal heat! Thanks for watching!
Hoi Millennial, how thing going you man? from Tucson, Arizona with all the rain and wet weather the three figs tree are going absolutely crazy. With, so much sweet fruits and more to come; strangely they did not got any disease or anything. I just wish they were bigger like the one you shown us some time a go. Thanks you man all great thing coming to you just be patient. Ps, how Dale, is doing? give love from me.
Figs are fairly disease resistant. They eventually get rust, but your summer isn't humid and wet enough to really threaten them, unless you're allowing them to get too dry. Figs become very susceptible to rust if they're allowed to get too dry. If the leaves even start to droop just a little bit, it permanently injures those leaves, so they can become overwhelmed with rust quickly. If you keep your figs well-watered and well-fed, a strong, hydrated, dark green leaf is pretty rust resistant. My figs are going to be larger than yours, because I get crazy amounts of rain. We're almost up to 50 inches of rain already, so my figs swell into water balloons...which isn't good. The flavor suffers, and the figs often spoil. The figs you can grow in Tucson will absolutely destroy what I can grow here! I couldn't dream of figs as nice as what you can produce.
Dale's doing great, and he very much appreciates your concern. He is one happy boy!
I have one fig tree almost 50cm tall and have a fig fruit 😀 I wait to grow and to try. Thank you for your help and tips. 👍
Glad you enjoyed the video! Best of luck with your fig! I recommend checking out my fertilizing routine and to follow it next year, though, because you'll get many dozens! czcams.com/play/PL1gY7BoYBGIFNbJEUdApbh_E57uNBLG2j.html
I will check, thank you
Thank you for the info!
Thanks for watching!
Thank You so much for getting back to me I am going to do everything you instructed me to do I have one last question when I
put away the trees for the winter which is usually in November I wrap them only because it sometimes gets real cold do you
recommend that I do this or just put them in the back corner of the garage not wrapped? By the way I showed my wife your reply
and my fig trees have a reprieve Thanks Again
I love your videos! Very informative! Learned a lot! Im new in Growing Figs. Sending love from the Philippines 🇵🇭! Stay safe
Thank you for watching, and I'm happy to hear you're starting to grow figs! They're the best!
Good things come in time. Definitely a motto for any gardener. I have a couple of unknowns from the fig hunter and friends that see trees and take cuttings for me. Just need to wait it out. But you know what it's like living in the south. If it's raining just wait 10 minutes and it'll stop raining 😂
Are you in CA? A lot of his finds, I think, will naturally be smyrna's, so a lot of them probably won't hold fruit outside of fig wasp country. I've experimented with a lot of seedlings, and they usually don't work out, but as long as you know that going in, it's no big deal. Usually, when we get afternoon storms, it's a 2 hour ordeal. It's not fun, but thankfully, we're in a brief dry period. At least until this hurricane hits the Gulf Coast and disrupts the whole pattern.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm in Florida. He said the one he was giving out was a fig that set fruit in Michigan. It's producing figs now so we shall see
So I've never tasted fresh figs. I always loved fig bars and I love fresh fruit and berries so I can't imagine I wouldn't like them. I bought my first fig tree yesterday. A common variety "Olymipian". Walmart has 3 varieties out for spring. They have a "Violette de Bordeaux" also and I'm thinking of grabbing one of those too. Heck, I might just do all 3. I have an acre of land to experiment with.
I’m making fig preserves from my Celest fig tree. Yum! 😋 Still learning about figs; hoping to get a Turkey fig & find a White fig next year.
I would recommend branching out a little and exploring some of my fig taste test videos, and also other channels like Figaholics, to find some interesting videos. Celeste is a really good and versatile fig, but there are a lot of figs much more delicious than Brown Turkey. You'll want to choose them based on your climate and how long your growing season is, but Harvey has an incredible description of figs on his website figaholics.com
@@TheMillennialGardener Will do. Thanks! 🙂
Love your videos. Earlier this year I propagated my Brown Turkey cuttings following the instructions in your videos and they growing very well. I also have a Black Triana tree that I bought locally in Boston that has had figs for 6 weeks or more but are still hard. It’s also odd that the branches on that tree never grow more than 6-8” long. Is that normal? Last year those figs never really ripened . The Brown Turkey produces delicious figs.
I'm glad to hear you're having success! If you live in the Boston area, your summers are pretty short and not very hot, so mid to later season varieties of figs won't do well. Many varieties of figs require around 90 days of hot temperatures to ripen, so it's important to focus on the earlier varieties of figs that require less. It could be the other variety of fig has a much longer ripening time than your climate can give it, or you need to find ways to get the tree warmer faster (like using black nursery containers, setting it on dark concrete that holds heat, or setting it on black weed barrier to attract warmth). If your tree isn't growing much, it sounds like it's being underfertilized. Potted figs are voracious feeders, and benefit from fertilizing every 7-14 days. I have a whole program of fertilizing here that works very well for me: czcams.com/play/PL1gY7BoYBGIFNbJEUdApbh_E57uNBLG2j.html
I was about to pull out my LSU purple but after seeing this ill keep it and try agian next year.
Very good video 👏👏👏👏 .can’t wait for the contest
Thank you! Hopefully, the video hits the Like goal 😀
Just picked my Ronde de Bordeaux and a couple of Chicago Hardy here in New Jersey
That seems pretty early for NJ. Are you coastal? Inland areas are usually after Labor Day. That's great!
@@TheMillennialGardener zone 7A. Pretty close to water, though ocean to to the south.
It has been a good fig year so far. The Chicago Hardy was early this year. I have a number of Panache on the tree, hoping for them to ripen. The Bourjasotte, Conandria and Kadota have produced one or two.
I've never eaten a fig, so I went and bought like 4 trees haha. They look great. I have chicago hardy, black mission, white madeira, and white Adriatic. I'm excited
Figs are fantastic. White Madeira is going to blow your mind. The issue people have with figs is they pick them too early. A ripe fig should feel like a bag full of jelly. A properly ripened fig, to the untrained eye, looks overripe.
Almost at 900. Good on you!
Thanks!
This video had been very helpful. For me is the second year with figs and I was having problem not finding a good taste on them. I have a bit over 20 varieties of figs. Always impressed with you detail in the videos.
I'm glad to hear it is helpful. First year figs aren't the best. They take 2-3 years to really get going. That can be said for any fruit tree - citrus, avocados, mangoes, etc. They do better after they mature.
Great video, must buy more varieties. BTW, Galicia is a region of Spain, nothing to do with galaxy. It's likely where this fig came from originally. There must also be a Galicia blanca fig variety.
This past August I moved to Port Charlotte Florida (zone 10a) from Colorado and I planted four Chicago Hardy fig trees that I had dug up and potted. In Colorado zone 5b the figs had to grow back from the gound never really got much of a chance to bear fruiit because of late and early freezes year after year. Right now the figs have dropped their leaves. It'll be interesting to see what happens next year whether or not the fruit swells up and rots in the every day rains.
Figs will naturally drop their leaves this time of year since they are deciduous. Growing figs in Florida, especially South Florida, is tricky due to the rain. Providing them some type of cover from the rain, if possible, would help a lot.
The fig info is fantastic, I really enjoy your channel. What breed is your fig loving pooch?
Thank you! Dale is a rescue mutt. He's a mix of American Foxhound, Pit Bull and Saffordshire.
Great video. Just a note your CDD Rimada does not the expected stripped characteristic which the phenotype (observable characteristics) not genetically.
Wow....! What a surprised!
Thanks for watching!
I have brown turkey that I started to grow from the cutting this year.
I really did not expect any fruits at all, but surprisingly it started bearing fruits in Mid August this year.
Now it’s mid October in Raleigh NC area.
I have about 20 pretty green, firm figs on the tree.
My question is that will this fruits ripen enough to harvest before the first frost hits this area?
Is brown turkey late bearer?
Liked, commenting, and now lusting for that new fig in your hand. Yep, i am aiming to win it. I have Chicago Hardy, Brown Turkey, and then i bought an Olympian because you praised it so much. All of which i drag in and out of the house during winter. So, why not four? All that lugging in and out is helping me exercize.
Haha 😂 Four can quickly become 40! Ask me how I know! I think you'll really enjoy the Olympian. It is so different than the other two. It's a big fig, and it tastes like a honey-peach. It may be worth your while to get a garden cart. I drag about 12 trees in and out during the winter, and I have 2 carts since I can jam them all in there. Us plant people are crazy 😀
@@TheMillennialGardener i have a radio flyer. but taking stuff up the stairs and inside the house is the biggie. i think in total i have 4 figs, 1 pomegranate, six pepper plants, hibiscus, aloe, various herbs, sweet potato plants, and two pineapple tomatillo that get dragged inside. Hubby is getting very wary of my plant addiction.
@@CaroleMcDonnell Ahh...stairs is certainly a problem. It's flat as a pancake here on the NC coast, and my house is on a slab, so we don't have those pesky things 😂
Figs were not around when I grew up so I'm not used to eating fresh figs, but I do like dried figs. I have no idea what to look for when eating a fresh fig, but I've tried it a couple of times. The texture is "different" but I've found in the past that sometimes it takes a few times before I begin to appreciate something. The next time I try a fresh fig I at least have an idea what to look for, it was interesting seeing you enjoying eating your figs!
Dried figs and fresh figs really taste nothing alike. The flavor profile changes dramatically. Dried figs are a little "nutty" and taste sort of like toast. Fresh figs are hard to pinpoint, because fresh figs can taste wildly different. You can have 10 different fig varieties where all 10 taste nothing alike, so you may like one fig but not another. White Madeira #1, for example, tastes like strawberry preserves, but Olympian tastes like a honey-peach. Blindfolded, you'd have no clue they were both figs, so you can dislike one and love another. Figs are cool that way. I made a video on my second channel to help people determine when to pick figs: czcams.com/video/c0f8_lqCn98/video.html
Count me in! I'm in 7a and have succeeded with one in the ground for 3 years.
That's great to hear! Figs can do pretty well in Zone 7, especially with a little protection.
People cull there fig trees too soon…this video is one of the best
great reviews!
Thank you!
I wish some one in 9a does figs like you!
because I'm a beginner so I have to keep learning from you 👍🙏🙏🙏
Figs are so much fun to grow! They're a great beginner fruit tree, because they grow very quickly compared to most. Thanks for watching!
I'm used to the delight of a fresh, fully-ripened fig picked just off the tree -- but this was a great reminder to give some of my "new" varieties a couple more years to impress me. So far, I've found my VdB is "meh" compared to Black Missions and the Black Jacks I've experienced previously. But it's a first-year, that gives it at least two more years to "live up to the hype". Violette de Bordeaux just may prove itself yet.
I love the taste of figs & buy them throughout the summer when I see them in stores. I’m in Connecticut so I’m not sure they are hardy enough to survive our bitter winters.
A lot of growers grow figs in New England. If you're in Zone 6b or warmer, you can grow figs in-ground, but you'll need to mulch them heavily in the winter and grow very early varieties to get fruit. Or, you'll want to wrap them to get an early head start. Most growers in New England grow them in containers and store them in a garage over the winter. You can't let the containers freeze, though. You'll want to keep your garage above freezing. Store-bought figs are like store-bought tomatoes compared to garden-grown tomatoes. There is no comparison. Figs in stores aren't picked ripe so they aren't damaged in shipment, and figs don't ripen off the tree, so if you enjoy the figs in stores, home grown figs will blow your mind.
I got stella cuttings and was so excited that I did seven patch budding grafting, onto my another fig tree.
That's awesome! Do you live in a place where it freezes? Make sure you protect your trees if you live in a place where it freezes, because if a fig tree dies to the ground during a cold snap, you'll lose your grafts.
@@TheMillennialGardener I live in a subtropical country. There are usually 9 months in a year for fig trees to grow up.
@@cmt6136 If you're subtropical and not tropical, you'll likely have much better results since you have a good variance from summer to winter. That's good to hear!
Very nice
Thanks for watching!
Awesome
Thanks for watching!
I like to eat my fig frozen. It tastes much better, like ice cream. Thank for sharing your experience.
Another experiment you can run is testing the split resistance, taste, size, production of a variety of fig grown in a container vs grown in ground. I've even seen the shape of a fig completely change once it was planted in ground.
I've found through experience that container figs split worse. I think that's because the containers quickly can go from totally dry to soaked and flooded, whereas the earth keeps the moisture level a little more consistent. However, a heavy rain storm can destroy pretty much everything here. We got some hard storms last night with ridiculous thunder and lightning, and I haven't checked on the damage yet. I'm sure it'll be pretty bad.
@@TheMillennialGardener Could you cover your pots with a plastic liner on top so rain water can't enter the containers? Or does heavy rain cause direct damage to the figs?
My dogs love the fresh figs off my fig tree. It is like giving candy to a baby lol.
Great channel. You make me want to buy more figs!!! Where should I get fig plants or cuttings in NJ/NYC/PA or online? Mostly interested in Southern Italian or more specifically Calabrian and Sicilian varieties. But open to anything good and interesting :)
Thanks. At this point in the year, the best place to find figs is Figbid. It's the easiest place. Cutting season doesn't begin until mid-Fall.
Question: Can you graft various fig varieties onto one another as I do it with my other fruit trees?
You’re the fig master! I gave a Turkey fig tree away, but if I can find a variety that does well out here, I might give it another try.
Brown Turkey is the only fig variety that I don't care for. Its flavor is very unique, and to me, it tastes "grass-like." What does your growing season look like? There are a lot of higher quality figs out there that may be worth the effort.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm in Zone 8A, so I need a fig that can handle the winter freezes and the summer heat. I grew Alma, Celeste, Turkey, and some white varieties, and they would die back after a freeze and take forever to grow back and when the figs would start growing again, the first freeze would set in. The Turkey figs never matured and fell off the tree. I used to think that figs where easy to grow, but they haven't been for me. Mission figs are popular around here. One of these days I'm going to get around to cutting a branch from a huge fig tree in town that is over 20 feet high and is usually loaded with figs during the summer.
@@archstanton9703 Rather than cutting a branch, get permission For air layering (compost in a bag around a branch) easy method with high chance of success for building a decent root system.
@@TheMillennialGardener Can you graft fig trees? I air layered one and the clone is doing fine in ground.
@@jeffreydustin5303 yes, you certainly can. Grafting figs is popular. People make "frankenfigs" where they'll graft 3, 4, 5 or more varieties onto a single rootstock. However, I want to caution you on this practice, because figs have a nasty habit of dying back to the ground with very hard freezes. If you see significant or total dieback on your fig trees, you will lose all your grafts. If you decide to graft, make sure it's in an extremely mild zone, or on container-grown trees that you can protect all year. Here in Zone 8, I will never do such a thing, because dieback can occur on severe winters.
That is great advice about the taste of fruit on a young tree vs on an older tree!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
I want this variety
Which variety? They're all so good. I haven't found a fig I don't like, though, so I'm pretty easy.
Love your content. Based on your fig videos, I’ve planted Chicago Hardy, Improved Celeste and Ronde de Bordeaux in containers for my Zone 5A garden this year and would like to add 1-2 more next year. Between Negra d’Agde and Negronne (Violette de Bourdeaux), which would you consider earlier ripening and more flavorful?
Nega d'Agde. It's earlier and far more rain resistant. I find VdB to be pretty problematic in my climate. It struggles with pests and rain, Negra d'Agde is as rainproof as any fig I've ever grown and doesn't attract pests nearly as badly.
Like always great video. Galicia is a city or state of Spain; I don't know the story of that fig, I guess that it came from over there.
Apparently, Galicia Negra is a Black Mission type, and the Black Mission fig was brought by the Spanish missionaries to the US, so that all makes a lot of sense.
Hahahahahahaha Pudding and a Cake, sweet. Millennial, you know I used to put figs leafs in my children bath tub! try it once.
My skin reacts very poorly to fig leaves, which is ironic. If I brush into my trees too much, my arms itch like crazy and I have to wash them off with dish soap, or take a shower. Figs contain a caustic latex-based sap, and many people react poorly to it, though some seem to be more resistant than others.
Adam, can you explain why? Curious.
@@pennygroves8858 My grand parent on both side were all in to Homeopathic medicinal. Adding fig leafs in to hot bath with other fresh herbs as Singing nettle let it cool a bit and than sit in it with my children :-) Hahahahaha. I used to do that in the old country Namibia, many years a go.
Whooooa Dale wants me to grow Figs
He also wants you to send him some to prove it 😂 My boy LOVES figs...I think...more than I do? I mean, I REALLY love figs, but I've never left a drool puddle.
I’m in south central pa. I didn’t know anything about pruning figs but man I have a mess of figs now. Green mostly. A few ripen every other day. When can I prune the lower branches? Do I need to wait until the leaves drop. They are 5-6’ tall.
You should wait until dormancy to prune. For your climate, that's probably November after you get your first few frosts to defoliate the tree and put it to sleep, but before the hard freezes that can damage the wood come.
Que suerte tiene tu perro.....😋😋😋😋😋😋
What do we put in for fertilizer??? Your the best
I fertilize my figs differently based on the time of year and the growth stage they're in. I have everything detailed in this playlist here: czcams.com/play/PL1gY7BoYBGIFNbJEUdApbh_E57uNBLG2j.html
It should give you everything you need.
I always felt like if the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time was 19 years ago.
I’m jumping the pepper camp and doing fig next season
Definitely get yourself a fig! They're so much fun to grow and so rewarding.
Galicia is the part of Spain that’s directly north of Portugal.
Dale is a handsome and lucky dog!
He is very handsome. I wish I had some of those genes 😂
Yup. I think I'm going to start thinning fruit.
If you know for certain that some figs will never ripen in time, you can definitely remove those.
Good to know, thanks! Can you tell me which size organza bags are appropriate for 40, 60, and 80 gram figs?
For "normal" sized figs, I usually use something around a 4"x5" organza bag. That seems to be the ideal size for most varieties. For monsters like Robert's Golden Rainbow, I had to use my 6"x10" bags. The fig completely filled out and was squished by a 4"x5" bag. If you consult my Amazon Storefront, I give descriptions on the bags for which sizes to use.
@@TheMillennialGardener oh gotcha, need to hover for the comments to show. Good thing I asked you first, I would have bought too small. I do have a small golden rainbow plant. 2 figs growing. Thanks!
Hope you see this! 👋 I was curious why the bags were on the trees, figured out it was to protect them as they are close to ripening. Can you give me details please? Perhaps I missed a video? Thanks!
Love all this info on figs. Omg. I wish I had a fig tree. I had a nice size fig tree. It looks like it was starting to take off. But my stupid boyfriend threw it out. WITHOUT ME KNOWING. 😡I try my hardest to save any plant or tree. I have an Apple 🍎 tree. It keeps coming back. I don’t know where in my area there is a garden center. II would bring my little guy there. But I’m new to this neighborhood. So I’m say some prayers maybe 🤔 they might help. O your making me happy. But I want a bite. Wish I was DALE. YOUR BABY BOY GOOD LUCK. HOPE I CAN FIND A PLACE HERE. I LIVE IN STATEN ISLAND NEW YORK. 10309. Would love to buy a fig tree from you 🤔❤️😊🦋😋
There are a TON Of people growing figs on Staten Island. Every year they have the Staten Island Fig Fest: www.everfest.com/e/staten-island-fig-fest-staten-island-ny
There are a lot of Italians on Staten Island, and figs are very, very popular for us Italian Americans! That event is a GREAT place to pick up some fig trees from local enthusiasts. Also, you can look around websites like Figbid. If you buy a fig tree now and overwinter it, believe it or not, it'll fruit for you next summer if you feed it well and protect it from hard freezes.
I would like to get some input please ! First I live on the northern gulf coast. 12 miles inland. I have a 4 year old Brown turkey fig tree that I trained to grow 4 main trunks that lean north, south , east , and west. They are all the size of your wrist, and the tree is about 10 feet tall. Next spring I am plaining to cut the tree back to 3 ft. with just the 4 main trunks, and grafting better quality figs to replace the Brown Turkey. Should I try 4 different verities , or just one ? Any recommendations and suggestions ? Thanks.
I always get concerned about grafting figs in areas that are susceptible to hard freezes, because in the event that your tree dies down to the roots or dies down below the graft, you lose all your figs. What zone are you in? If you're on the 8b Gulf Coast, it's a risk. If you're in 9a/9b Gulf Coast, your likelihood of dieback really decreases, so keep that in mind.
I do agree with axing the Brown Turkey, though. That's the *only* fig that I don't like. It tastes like lawn clippings, to me. If I were in your position, I'd go with the following varieties: Col de Dame Blanc, White Madeira #1, I-258, Negra d'Agde. Here is why:
1. Negra d'Agde is quickly becoming my favorite early season fig. It is early, syrupy, tastes like cherries and one of my most rain resistant figs.
2. White Madeira #1: Mid-season, slightly rain resistant but still susceptible to heavy rains, my favorite of the Adriatic types.
3. I-258: My most delicious, favorite purple fig. VERY susceptible to rains, though. Splits terribly, but when you get the ripe ones in dry weather, it's worth it.
4. Col de Dame Blanc: My favorite of the Col de Dame's. Interior is like raspberry fig cake. Super thick. Also split resistant.
That's just my personal opinion, though, and your tastes my vary. Check out Harvey's description on his website figaholics.com and watch his videos to fall down a neverending fig rabbit hole!
Hello. I’m planning on adding more fig trees to my garden. I like the figs you recommended in this video and would like more like that. What would you say your top 10 favorite fig trees would be?
Are you doing cuttings this year?
It really depends on your climate. I mostly look for figs that can tolerate my very wet, humid summers. These are not necessarily the best figs, but I don't have the flexibility to grow any fig here because of my terrible summer weather. I also have a much longer, warmer growing season than most of the country, so I can grow late season figs here, whereas much of the country cannot. My personal favorites are I-258, White Madiera #1, Del Sen Jaume Gran, Col de Dame Blanc and some others, but almost all of those are later season figs. I offer cuttings during the dormant season. If you subscribe to the channel, I make an official announcement every winter.
The Millennial Gardener Thanks. That’s good information. I’m in zone 7a and have a dry climate.
Have you looked into setting up self-watering pots for your figs? I found a substantial improvement when compared to a fig planted in just soil. Look up global buckets (the double global buckets might work best) on the web. I fertilize from the top and sometimes water from the top to push the fertilizer down. I pretty much use your system for fertilizing. I fill the reservoir with water every one to 5 days depending on temperature. This system is simply amazing. I also purchase 20 gallon pots and use perforated drain pipe for the reservoir, ideas also available on the web. Only exceeded by my hydroponic fig which is off the charts in production and flavor.
Here in Toscana Italy we eat figs inside a salt focaccia bred ( woden owen) try !
That sounds really good!
@@TheMillennialGardener bit we still have problem whit the black insect eat out tree and the figs die...
Which Fertilizer do you use
Great information on fig varieties. I would like to buy cuttings from you for the figs shown in the video. Do you sell it on Amazon? I understand it will be in January.
I offer cuttings during the dormant season. My trees for the past 3 seasons have gone dormant in January. I always make a formal announcement with ordering information once the time comes, so stay tuned and keep an eye out after Christmas.
those figs looked so juicy
When we *finally* get a few days of dry weather, my hot climate can turn out some killer figs. The problem is...our dry spells are so short. Rain, rain, rain for days, here 😢
Howdy howdy. Do you plant or start Fig trees with cuttings throughout the year? Or certain times? I live in SWTexas( next to Mexico) hot and humid down here. Thanks
I start my cuttings in the winter time. I usually get most of my cuttings in January. I'm in Wilmington, NC, so my humidity is virtually identical to yours, but your growing season is considerably longer. Our summers are about the same.
Thank you
@@TheMillennialGardener where do you get the cuttings?
I'm looking forward to planting some fig trees. I've been pouring through your videos!
Hopefully they've been helpful! Thank you for watching!
How do I put away my figs for winter in r.i.?
How so you eat so many figs and stay so thin? I once ate 10 Chicago hardy and it raised my blood sugar to 224. So now I only eat a couple at a time, and they are smaller figs. How do your other figs compare to the taste of Chicago hardy? I have a couple other varieties but they have never born fruit in 4 years here in MO. Enjoyed the video.
I only eat once or twice a day. 2 meals a day M-F, and I eat once a day on weekends. I find the best way to manage weight is to sit down and eat as few meals as possible. People don't realize how many calories they consume every day by "grazing" - picking at things throughout the day, and drinking high calorie drinks. If you can eliminate grazing and eliminate drinking calories, weight management and blood sugar control becomes much easier. The problem with glucose control is when you graze and eat many meals a day, you spike your blood sugar so often, your body spends almost no time at baseline, which is awful for insulin sensitivity. Because I spike my blood sugar so infrequently, my A1c is 4.2. That's my theory, anyway. Eat like lions eat - gorge yourself, then don't eat for a very long time. I prefer eating one very large meal before bed, then I don't eat until the next evening.
Chicago Hardy, in my opinion, has its place because it's a very early fig and easy to find and obtain. If you aren't a big fig person and just want a fig tree and you live in a place with cold winters and short summers with significant rainfall, Chicago Hardy isn't a bad choice. However, it's probably the blandest fig I own and one of my least favorites in terms of flavor. It's a superstar when it comes to rainfall, and it's so early that it's nice to have in late June/early July when none of the other figs are close to ripening, but almost all my other varieties are more flavorful, larger and richer. I think Marseilles Black VS and Sao Miguel Roxo are two figs very similar to Chicago Hardy, but have superior flavor.
I'd never had a fig before meeting my boyfriend several years ago. Last summer he started one for me from a cutting of his. We repotted it last fall and I stored it in my garage all winter. It's grown this year and has produced 9 figs. The fourth one is almost ready to eat. We're not sure what type of figs these are. Watching your video, they all look pretty much the same to me. How can i determine what type I have?
A boyfriend that turned you onto figs? Sounds like a keeper! 😅 If you don't know exactly the origins of a fig, but isn't really possible to figure out it just by eyeballing it, unless it's a super common variety like Celeste down here in the South where I live, or something very obvious. The only real way is to try and send it away for genetic testing, but the genome of figs sequenced is only, like, 3% of the varieties out there or something really low like that. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you like the variety, but the likelihood of it ever being identified is slim to none.
I bought 2 young fig trees at Lowes marked purple fig . I had no idea there were so many different types . My question is they keep trying to groe from the base and i keep cutting them off , so will it ever stop doung that growing from the base ?
Figs will grow from the base (we call it "suckering") when they feel the tree lacks a dominant leader to focus the tree's energy. The individual trunks will fight to become the dominant trunk. The best way to discourage this is to select a single trunk early in the fig's life, and cut away all the others. Eventually, the tree will identify that chosen trunk as the one to divert all its energy into and stop suckering, but it takes some persistence. A lot of figs sold in big box stores are tissue cultures and not rooted cuttings. Tissue cultures tend to sucker like crazy, so it's extra important to remove them early and often. After about 2 seasons, if you're persistent with the removal, it'll stop.
My figs don't mature they just fall off or rot. Can you give me some advice for pollinators or improvements I could make? I'm in southern Arizona zone 9a. Thank you for this episode.
You're welcome! Do you know what varieties you're growing? Have they ripened for you before, or have they always failed to ripen with 100% fruit drop? How long have you had the varieties?
Hi there - My Chicago Hardy figs in pots don't seem to be supporting ripening their many figs this year. I roughly followed your fertilization schedules and they produced tons of figs without any pinching. But now, when they should be starting to ripen they are shriveling and spongy inside and are still very small. I live in northern Michigan and have had a few yummy figs ripen outdoors on these plants in early fall but this year I have kept them in an open greenhouse similar to the lean-to you have on your house. I don't know whether it is too hot and/or I may not have kept them watered thoroughly or what is going on. Any thoughts? Any hope that they will right themselves and ripen the many small figs still on the plants?
What you're describing sounds like you're growing a smyrna variety, but clearly if you're sure it's a Chicago Hardy and you've harvested fruits off the tree before, that isn't the case. Therefore, you must be allowing the fig trees to dry out too much. Contrary to popular belief, figs have an insane requirement for water...far more than any of my other potted trees. My figs need to be watered 1-2 times a day, at least, during the summer. Their water use is off the charts. If you allow a fig tree to dry out for even a moment, it can permanently disfigure the leaves, and cause the figs to drop their crop as a response to the drought stress. Figs are really difficult to grow in containers because of how sensitive they are to a lack of water. I would try to find ways to really water the tree aggressively. If you aren't home during the day to water them, you may want to consider drip irrigation on a timer. It's better to keep them on the wetter side than the drier side during the heat of the summer.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks, yeah, they are definitely Chicago Hardy and I was under the mistaken impression that I should let them dry out somewhat between watering. I think they were okay until we got some truly hot weather and I didn't realize how much more often they would need water. There are still a ton of small figs on them that haven't shriveled like those that have fallen off. I wonder if I now keep them well watered whether those may still go on to ripen.
Wow, so cool. Giveaway ‼️
I'm in San Francisco and I giveaway at least 8 of my Dessert King and do well here. The only problem is underground rat kept eating the root. So all of mine on in a pot. 😂
I wonder if you can bury chicken wire underground as a barrier around the tree? Rodents are very annoying 😢
@@TheMillennialGardener I did that 10 yrs ago and so last that long. Gopher killing almost everything. My latest is Palm tree for 12 yrs.
Galicia Negra is "black galicia" Galicia is an autonomous region in the extreme north west of Spain they have alot of rain there aswell 😂
Any comments on strawberry Verte figs? Anyone tried this cultivar?
Sorry Millennial, to avalanche you with all kine of questions; what you think? can I in Tucson, Arizona, be able to grow one "Col De Dame Rimada" tree?. If you can and feel like please say something about it thanks.
You can grow any fig variety in Tucson. Your growing season is more than long enough and warm enough to grow any fig you want.
I have been lookin at getting The Brown Turkey and the Black Mission. And I heard one starts with the name Green and its fruit tastes like a strawberry or somethin.
I would recommend checking out Harvey’s website, Figaholics. He has descriptions of hundreds of figs. I would advise against Brown Turkey. In my opinion, it has poor flavor. Black Mission is ok, but figs like Carr, Galicia Negra and others are similar, but with better flavor. Figaholics has a lot of tasting videos, which will provide an excellent guide. I have a fair amount, too.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you I will look into it. Im not concerned about flavor I have never eaten a Fig unless u count the newton which idk the fig they use never liked the fig newton. I am sure my Chickens and ducks will get most of the Figs which is fine by me means I have to give them less supplemental feed 🤣 we already have a Chinese Apricot tree producing fruit but the dang Japanese beetles the shiny metallic green ones keep coming and eating all the fruit before its ready to harvest. So any garden pesticide or whatever u recommend would be lovely. 🙂
@@TheMillennialGardener I am sorry I do have short term memory and had forgotten you had replied to me already. Thank you so much for your time.
Question is when should we cull our fruit & nut trees? Give them around 10 years and then mass cull?
It depends on the type of fruit tree. Trees like citrus and figs produce well for many decades and outlive us, and age can be their friend. I know some fruit trees like mangoes start to slow down after around a decade or so of production, though, so it really depends. If the tree is producing well for you, there is no reason to get rid of it.
If you're growing fruit trees that start to fail after a certain age, you must make sure you have younger trees beginning their production cycle sitting in the ready to replace them with before you cull the older ones.
When is the best time to take cuttings to propagate ...
The best time to take cuttings is during dormancy in winter.
Can someone help me? I live in the Hudson Valley Region of NY state, I believe in Zone 6a, my two year old Chicago Hardy fig tree has been doing great. I fertilize and feed it following the steps of Dale's dad. I was extremely happy to see it producing many figs this year. About a month ago I decided to pinch it so as to hopefully help rippen the figs that were already established on the tree. Recently my figs began to drop off the tree before rippening. Is this normal? Did I do something wrong? Is there anything I should be doing? Thanks for everyone's help. Joel from NY.
It sounds like your fig tree is undergoing drought stress. This is a common problem when fig trees are grown in containers, and the containers get dry. Fig trees need a tremendous amount of water during the growing season, especially when grown in containers. They'll drop their figs as a reaction to preserve the moisture. If figs are allowed to dry out, they'll immediately start taking damage on their leaves and apical buds. Could this be your problem?
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks for responding! I think you might be right. Here i was concerned about over watering. Do you think it's to late to turn things around? How much and how often should I be watering? Is there anyway I could send you a picture of my tree?