Bass those trees are huge. how does he protect them in winter?

Beautiful country Bass and beautiful pictures.

I haven't seen how they are protected, but after the leaves drop sometime in November, he bends them down somehow and place a large cover, then he bury them with mulch.
That Dark variety seems to be very vigorous, he showed me some that died to the ground and sprouted back and set lots of figs and is really big tree already.

I'll be going back there and will be getting cuttings to start for next spring to have them available. It seems like a hardy and suitable variety for the North east cold climate.

Bass

Again, nice photos Bass and great find!
Leon

Those are great pictures, Bass. Those trees are huge and look very vigorous. Is that size tree typical of something left in the ground in your area? Does the fact that he lives in a valley help protect his trees?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested in babies from these trees next year.
Am I not the only one who is already thinking 'next year?'

-Ann

In my area on an average a fig tree can be up to 6'. What's nice about these figs they're right in the middle of the valley and not against any structure which I find amazing.
The valley usually gets late and early frost when the cold air settles in there.
He had figs growing in many spots. It's mostly the Dark variety.
His sheep are eating the reachable figs. As well as the peacocks. I told him these will make delicious lamb chops flavored with figs.
Here's one against his barn walls.

Bass

Bass,sign me up for babies! I am interested in ANYTHING that will bear early and take cold. NOAA is predicting snow here Thursday night. That is a record in the 25 years that I have lived here.

Seriously, those are beautiful...and encouraging...photos and narrative.

C.J.

A lot of the old Italians in CT grew figs in their backyard and protected them the same way. Here's an excerpt from a 10-year old newspaper column:

"And so, as George watched, they measured the height of the tree, which was about 6 feet. They tied the tree in a bundle. They dug a hole 6 feet long by 3 feet deep, to below the frost line. They dug under the root of the tree George had advised this has to be done carefully, at just the right depth. Still, it is a very flexible tree, not rigid at all part of its charm, no doubt. Once they dug to the proper depth, the Carney boys rocked the fig tree back and forth until it loosened itself in its hole. They bent the tree into the burial plot, and then began to arrange the coverings.

First came the small strips of wood that covered the hole, then the corrugated metal, then the sand on the edges of this arrangement, so that no water could get into the hole. Then came the leaves no shortage of them at that time of year. And, on top of the leaves, six old quilts some warmth for the tree quilts that over the years George had bought for a dollar or two each at tag sales. Then more sand on the edges so nothing gets in. Then a big blue tarpaulin over the hole, so the quilts wouldn't get wet, and sand, again, on the edges of that."

I've never seen it done, but others have described it to me (everyone does it slightly differently) and I've seen the good-sized trees in backyards in the summer. Unfortunately, a lot of the original fig growers have passed on or moved on and I doubt many of trees get the same care. I grow figs in pots and store them in my garage. It isn't as picturesque, but it works.

Jenia, Remind me in spring I should have some available.

Bruce thanks for that. This is very extreme.
I can tell you this, if you ask a 100 different northern fig grower how do you protect your tree in the winter, you will get 100 different answer.

Bass

Bass, those are beautiful pictures. Your really doing a great job in locating possibly new cold hardy figs. What's the name of the town that your cousin's farm is in? I would like to check the weather data, to see what is the coldest it has been there. Also, can you take pictures of how he is burying his figs, and what type of equipment he is using to bury them. It looks to me like he would need a tractor with a bucket loader to handle the amount of compost he would need Thanks. Bob

Those trees been in the ground for about 8 years or so. It is in a small township north of Northampton, pa.

Bass