It is a beautyfull site indeed.I think you are going to have a lots of figs indeed.Better learn how to make fig Jam.
People that ate Fig Jam Once will come to your House looking to buy more.
I had 60 ,8 ounce Jars and they were all eaten by 15th of April.I also had plum and quince jam but fig is best of them all.Best regards

Hi, Herman! We made almost as many fig preserves last year (3 gallons, which equals about 48 half-pint containers. I think I could eat all of them myself, but to forestall getting diabetes, we gave many of them away! Fig preserves made from high quality, sweet figs picked at the perfect time is hard to beat. Fig preserves are my favorite too, although there are many others that are good. I grew up in the country eating homemade apple jelly, apple butter, plum jelly, blackberry jelly, peach preserves, pear preserves, blueberry jam, and strawberry jam. My late mother once told me that my first three words were "pie, cake, and jelly"!

Looks beautiful, but there is way, way too much grass. You could get another 200 trees in the same space!!!

I do envy your nice flat ground, however.

Well Mountainman,I did not use the receipe as it was on Ray Givan site exactly the way it is.
I reduced the sugar to Half,of what the receipe asked for ,and it was still very sweet and good.
So in order to avoid diabet problems use,as little sugar as possible.Hope this will help

Jon, I planted the figs about 13 ft. apart, rather than 20 or 25 as is standard in some orchards. I know that I could have planted them somewhat closer, but I wanted to avoid excessive pruning if possible. If the trees grow to be anywhere close to the size of my Adriatic tree or Mission tree (both 15+ ft. in diameter - the Adriatic tree is about 13 years old and the Mission tree is about 6 or 7 years old), then the current spacing will be inadequate. I planted them at this spacing to enjoy all of the different varieties for about 10 years or so. We live in north Austin, Texas and the rural look of the land is deceptive as it is surrounded by heavily developed property. Austin Independent School District is considering taking our property and several other adjacent properties by eminent domain (we will vigorously contest the taking should it occur), so all of the figs, apples, peaches and other fruits may give way to urban sprawl within a few years.

Herman, I sometimes use less sugar in preserves than is called for in some recipes. I have used as little as 2 cups of sugar per 12 cups of sliced figs and as much as 6 cups of sugar per 12 cups of sliced figs. Both were good, depending on your taste. If you do use less sugar, I think that it is even more important that the figs are very sweet and at the proper stage of maturity.

Mountainman - Wonderful fig garden. Time for me to migrate down south. How's the job market for plumbers & gas fitters? Was thinking of a 2nd home in the states, primarily to enjoy fig growing. Actually lots of canadians(Snow Birds) go south during the winter months. Man, I could picture myself enjoying the serenity of fig heaven in an orchard like yours. Figs smell better than plumb---. Even now, I am savouring the thought of my delicious negronne figs( only 1 breba but main crop showing promise of about 20 fruits)and other 6 young trees with probably 2 dozen or so fruits. Hope U get to keep yr property.

Regards - Paul

Paul-The market for plumbers and gas-fitters is good here in Austin. The weather, as you would expect, is in marked contrast to that of your area. Although this spring has been wet, the weather is on the dry side more often than not, with cool, mild winters and long hot summers. It seems to agree with figs!

Bummer about the School Dist. I guess you better keep a duplicate collection in pots for when your eviction notce comes.

Apple butter, Fig preserves, boy are you guys bringing back memories. Unfortunately for me, its been quite a long time since I've had the pleasure.

Beeeautiful site mountainman. I envy you the space to actually have a fig orchard. I notice some are more bush-like while others are more tree-type. All very happy, healthy-looking trees.

The figs that are bushes are mainly those that were frozen to the ground the first year or two. When the suckers emerge from the roots, I train them to a bush form. The figs in a tree form are those that stayed in pots longer. When suckers emerge from the base of the trees, I allow properly positioned suckers to grow. I think that fig bushes are the most productive form for my situation. Yes, the the thought of those homemade jellies really brings back memories, doesn't it? I grew up in the mountains of northeast Alabama, and often think back to those days.

Wonderful Mountainman,
Very good, keep grass short-cutted.
Ciao Sergio

Hope all is well in Austin.

Thanks for asking, Keith! Although we are a little soggy here in Austin, we were not hit nearly as hard as the folks in Marble Falls (about 40 mi. from Austin)or some other nearby areas. They received 19 inches night before last from a storm system that stalled over the area and rained itself out! Please keep those folks in your thoughts and prayers. We are fine here in Austin, but I haven't had to water my potted figs very much the last several days!

Wow! That's awesome, MM! That's what I'm dreaming about in the north end of my south pasture. I'll be fencing that area off hopefully by next year and plan to have an orchard in there with plenty of figs. Currently I've only one type of fig tree ~ an unidentified one my grandma planted down by the creek (atleast I HOPE it's still there ~ Marble Falls is about eight miles upstream from me ~ Ack!).

How long has your orchard been planted? How old were the trees when you planted them out? Did you start all of them from cuttings? What varieties do you have?

Just fabulous, man.

Looks great. What is the spacing distance between your trees?

I started the orchard that you see in the picture (50 fig trees) in 2003. I planted most of the trees early in the summer of 2006 from cuttings grown in pots for 1-2 years. My Adriatic tree, pictured in another thread, is about 13 years old (produces about 25 kg. of figs per year) and my Mission tree, planted in 2002, is about 7 years old. All but a few of my fig trees I raised from cuttings. A few were acquired from nurseries, local and on-line. As I stated earlier in the thread, the trees in the orchard are about 13 ft. apart, so eventually I may have a fig hedge!

Thanks for the info, Mountainman. That's hardly any time at all ~ really quick. Nice results in that short of time. Impressive!

I'm incredibly envious of all that space. I wish I'd bought larger property 11 years ago when houses were 1/3 the price they are now.

Is there a commercial brand of fig jam that I could buy that approaches what you guys are talking about? I've never had fig jam. I've had excellent fresh figs when I lived near San Jose, CA as a child, and I've had fig newtons and such.

As an adult I don't think I've had a really good fig. The ones I've gotten from the grocery store, and the few from the farmer's market last year were dry and bland.

On the fig jams, is there any concern that reducing the sugar content will allow them to spoil? I thought the sugar was part of the preservation along with a degree of acidity to prevent botulism.

I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to fig preserves. Although you can flavor the preserves with lemon juice, mastic, or strawberry jello, I much prefer preserves made only with figs and sugar. The quality of the figs is the key factor. If ripe, flavorful figs are used and careful preparation procedures are followed, fig preserves are hard to beat, on a par with gourmet chocolate! Some key factors in the quality of the figs is the variety (sweeter and tastier fresh figs make better preserves), the stage of ripeness (the figs should be picked at the perfect stage of ripeness - ripe enough to be sweet and rich, but not overripe, so that the cooked figs have some body and no figs are soured.) The other important factor in the taste of fig preserves is not to cook them too fast. If you overheat the preserves and allow them to "scorch" while cooking, it adversely affects the taste, giving a "burned" flavor to the preserves. In any canning, whether of figs or other vegetables, attention to cleanliness and preparation is important in preventing loss due to spoilage. We haven't ever had much problem with fig preserves, probably due to the high sugar content and our procedures. We wash the jars, drain them and preheat them in the oven at 212 degrees F. We preheat the lids and rings in water brought almost to a boil. Rings can be reused, but never reuse the lids. When filling the jars with preserves, be careful not to get preserves on the mouth of the jar, as it can prevent a proper seal. If we do get a tiny bit on the rim of the mouth, we simply wipe it off with a clean paper towel. Don't completely fill up the jar. Do not leave much space, only about 1/4 in (.6 cm.) between the preserves and the lid. Although it's not absolutely necessary, after filling the jars with the hot preserves and placing the lid on the jar and tightening the ring, we usually place the sealed jars in a boiling water bath for about 10-15 minutes. In my opinion, this procedure helps to to further sterilize the contents of the jar. Although high acidity is useful in the preservation of food, as in the case of tomatoes, we have never found it necessary to add acidic agents such as lemon juice to our preserves. Your senses are very important in determining whether canned items are spoiled. When you open a jar of canned preserves or vegetables, look for mold on the surface of the contents, smell of the contents, and taste a small amount of the contents if the contents appear well-preserved. Although not foolproof, your senses can often warn you if there is a problem.

Hi Murky:Sugar is not the preserver. Lemon juice is very recomanded by most experts.
Yet ,a lot of people make fig Jam without Lemon Juice.
I do use it.I use no other ingredient,but sugar as needed and lemon juice,as required.

Acidity inhibits bacterial growth and is useful in preservation. However, either sugar or salt are bacteriostatic (inhibit bacterial growth) at high concentrations because of their high osmolality. Their presence in a solution causes microorganisms to shrivel because they lose fluid to the solution. Therefore, sugar or salt, in conjunction with heat sterilization, are very useful in preservation. Fig preserves with or without lemon juice - it's all good!

Looks great! My wife and I are currently looking for some property between Seguin and Waelder to do the same thing. Sad to hear about the ISD situation. I work for the City of Austin,...but just a bean counter.

I suggest digging a hole in your yard and filling it with water and call it a spring, then train a lizard from the pet store to eat one of your figs and call it the CenTex fig eating blind salamandar and your land should be safe ...for those that don't get that, its an Austin thing.

As of now, it appears as if we might be able to keep the property. In conjunction with one of the neighboring churches which also received a letter and our neighborhood hood association, we have laid the foundation for a vigorous defense. We also did an interview with the local newspaper who also took pictures, although the article has not come out yet. I believe that the real estate group and the school district may have decided to do the right thing, since taking our property would have been a lengthy and contentious process. So, we may not be digging up 50+ fig trees and packing them into an 18-wheeler!

Great news, may have to pick your brain later on when we get our little grove going....of course that will require it to stop raining long enough for us to do some land shopping and work.
What area in N. Austin do you live in? Before I deployed overseas years ago I lived for a while off Research and later at Wells Branch @ 35. Almost bought a house in Pflugerville before that place exploded but the builder went belly up (charged too little/sf).

Does anyone know a source for fig trees in the Austin area? I have several cuttings from my Celeste that have leafed out but I am looking for about 20, one gallon Celeste or Brown Turkey to plant about town this fall. These trees are intended to provide fresh figs for poor and homeless folks. I am willing to pay for good trees.

Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Be Fruitful and Multiply

Freshfig,

Contact me via email (mine is listed in the email section of my member's page). I don't have 20 Celeste trees now, but I might be able to have them ready for you by Feb/Mar... depending on how the winter goes.

~james

I just saw your discussion. i live in Austin, too, and would like to buy a few figs trees. I lived in italy and spent way too much time in Greece. Can you tell me a good place to buy some trees here in Austin, or should I buy on line and have them shipped? Thanks!

MountainMan:

Lovely!!!!
I spent five years in Austin, left in l959. I'd be there yet had there been a way to make a good living there then. Sister lives in Leander now and I am planning to send her some plants ASAP.

Mom made the fig preserves and I can taste them yet. She used a bit of sliced lemon in the recipe. She used a similar recipe to make tomato preserves--not everyone has tasted tomato preserves.
Ox

Oxankle: Austin is a great place to live. Leander is quite different now than it was in the early '90's and radically different than it was in the 1950's, as is Austin. Yes it's hard to beat fig preserves made with the sun-ripened figs of Central Texas. I have potatoes, tomatoes and pepper coming along in my garden, too!

Ceresella: If you want to go the cheapest route, and want a Celeste, Brown Turkey or Kadota, you can probably find them at one of the local nurseries or large chain stores like Home Depot or Lowe's in Austin. Of course, there is a considerable possibility that the cultivar will be mislabeled. If you want a more uncommon variety, are willing to pay more for a smaller tree, and are willing to wait a year or two longer for fruit, then order on line from one of the reputable fig suppliers. Search the threads on this forum in order to find a good on-line vendor.

Oxankle: Austin is a great place to live. Leander is quite different now than it was in the early '90's and radically different than it was in the 1950's, as is Austin. Yes it's hard to beat fig preserves made with the sun-ripened figs of Central Texas. I have potatoes, tomatoes and pepper coming along in my garden, too!

Ceresella: If you want to go the cheapest route, and want a Celeste, Brown Turkey or Kadota, you can probably find them at one of the local nurseries or large chain stores like Home Depot or Lowe's in Austin. Of course, there is a considerable possibility that the cultivar will be mislabeled. If you want a more uncommon variety, are willing to pay more for a smaller tree, and are willing to wait a year or two longer for fruit, then order on line from one of the reputable fig suppliers. Search the threads on this forum in order to find a good on-line vendor.

I actually posted a separate question about where I can purchase a high quality and somewhat large (5-6 feet) brown turkey fig tree and have it shipped. Any suggestions other than Willis Orchards in GA?

Do you have fig fruit for sale or picking?

No, I'm sorry-we do not.

Vam Nao-you asked a question 11 years ago which I just saw. The fig sounds like Mission, although mine aren't quite so large. I don't know where any are available for sale in Austin.

Vam Nao, You might checkout Petit Negra. I have those and love them.