I am definately an eater Suzi !!!

Same here!!

I am an eater and looking for a good black fig.

An eater with a very picky palate.
Martin

I picked 5 large Brown Turkey brebas this morning and placed them in the
refrigerator. Just had them for an afternoon snack, and they were outstanding. Who needs dinner!!.

Just started so I'm a collector until I can finally get to try one of my own figs at which point I hope to become an eater :D

Don, when you find out how many varieties of figs exist, and see photos depicting the juicy, honey richness in a variety of colors, it's hard not to be a collector. I started out collecting varieties, but I've scaled it way back, keeping only the best varieties for ripening and flavor in my area. I really don't "love" all figs. I love juicy, sweet, rich crunchy figs with that honey drop the best. It takes a few years for a tree to produce the best possible fruit. Jury is out on many for me, but I do have my favorites so far. Those favorites may change in time as my trees mature. Something about the gold ones with that honey drop float my boat at the moment.

I do think a fig lover should have a variety of ripening times. Some Early, some Mid, and some Late season. Within that parameter, a mix of colors inside and out is ideal.

I am so mad at critters! My first ripening Verte was ripped apart yesterday, so I didn't get a bite! I just buried the fruit hoping for a viable seedling from what is left. And then I got really stupid and picked some obviously NOT yet ripe swollen fruit just to get back at that critter! Not such a bad deal though because the tree has over 200 fruits to be on it, and the Verte Breba are not near as good as the main crop.

Are the figs on Strawberry Verte that seem to be getting smaller rather than larger ripe breba? They aren't drooping at all, just seem to be getting smaller with more prominent ridges. I was doing searches yesterday trying to find out when various figs ripen, especially SV.

I want to be an eater rather than a collector but so far the collector part is winning. I wish nurseries would offer a fig tasting event like they have with heirloom tomatoes or apples so people could try different types of figs to see which ones are personal favorites. People on line are helpful with suggestions. Dave Wilson nursery offers a taste test event/comparison listing Panache as a top fig, but none of the other figs in the competition are among what most fig collectors would list as their favorites. Research studies focus on commercial factors like productivity, size, color and thick skins for shipping. On line discussions focus on gorgeous pictures. Taste is ignored.

Figs offer a special challenge in that they ripen at different times, have to be picked dead ripe and are so good every critter for miles around can smell their ripe goodness and plot 24/7 to pounce.

I've tried to collect all the figs people say are their favorite, exquisite tasting, or 9-14 out of 10. So until I get to try a few ripe figs from my little fig forest, I guess I'm a collector.

My Verte breba ripen about now and they are pretty large and swollen. I should say "were." Last night some critter got them all! A few breba are not yet ripe. The main crop swells and ripens in Sept - Nov.

Thanks Suzi for the info. My Verte fruit don't look large and swollen yet. Usually the mockingbird or blue jay will start pecking at fruit when it's beginning to ripen, so I consult them before picking anything.

Suzi, you wrote: “I
do think a fig lover should have a variety of ripening times. Some Early, some
Mid, and some Late season. Within that parameter, a mix of colors inside and
out is ideal.”

That sounds wonderful! What are your favorites for Early,
Middle, and Late season, with a mix of colors?

I can tell you what ripened early this year. Breba crops. Dark outside, Berry inside: VDB. Violet/Gold outside, rich inside, Bourjasotte Gris. Green/yellow outside, red berry inside: Verte. Some of the early Breba ripeners will ripen main crop late. Stay tuned for mid ripeners. This only applies to my growing zone. It's different depending on conditions.

Thanks. My VdBs aren't ripe yet, are still small. I rooted two Bourjasotte Gris which are in one gallon pots now and thriving, had to pick baby figs off them so they would grow more. The Strawberry Verte don't seem to be ripe yet, are still firm. Do they ever get soft?

I tend to like fruits of low sugar and low acid with flavors I can't give names to. Arkansas Backing apple. Sweet lime, Peppers, Giant Turnbull pears, North star cherries, Meiwa kumquats. Trovita orange? haven't found one yet Hardy Chicago figs.

If I am going to grow anything It had better be very productive and not available due to price or no availability. The food needs to contain high nutritional value or it is not worth eating much less growing.

My hardy Chicago figs appear to be the best choice. It produces from June to November here in Cincinnati and the only fig I am going to grow. As of other fruits of interests and not at stores. Kumquats will come in late fall and store live on the tree till may. Meyer lemon will also tree store for 3 months. Goose berries. for drying for long storage, Peaches bushels of fruit to be caned and made in to sugar free filler free jams, Summer Rambo apples come in late June to make bushels of apple chips. Anything else I can buy at the grocer for $1 a pound and I'll go out exploring with all my free time. I guess that makes me an eater.

Steve

PS More than one forum person has accused me of having too much free time on my hands and I agree

Yes Mara, Verte do get soft, but if you have a critter population like we do, you may never get one! We got a soft fig 2 nights ago. DH was down under our big deck messing with his tools, and he saw a big yellow fig lying on top of the railroad tie retaining wall. The fig tree is above there, and that ripe fig must have fallen and rolled down to that ledge. We split it for dinner. Delicious juicy berry flavor and very soft and ripe. I'm anxious to see the difference between Verte, Paradiso and Adriatic. I think there is a difference between plain Verte and Strawberry Verte. Not sure about that. I don't know which variety of Paradiso or Adriatic I have, but both are loaded with figs. I just hope I beat the critters to them.

Another early fig is Excel. It's yellow with amber pulp. I just ate my first two. Very ripe and excellent.

Suzi, were your Violette de Bordeaux better tasting this year? You had posted in the past that you were disappointed in them for your area, thought they might be better in a cooler area. I think you said you found them dry and rubbery? So many people recommended VdB I bought two trees and both are in the ground already before I read your post. My growing conditions here aren't that different from yours. They have small fruit on them but are not ripe yet.

I would like to be an eater but it's my first year so for now I'm just a collector. I have Kadota, Panache, Black Mission, Hollier and have ordered Flanders, Verte and Tena. The Kadota and Panache have fruit on them though not ripe. Hopefully I get to eat at least one this year:)

"If I'm giving them love and water, they better have the tastiest fruit!"

Haha, yes yes ! Me too, I plant them so I can see the fruits !

altadenamara, yes the VDB Breba this year were better, BUT this has been an extremely cool spring weather wise. The main crop figs are still small and not yet ripe. I do not expect the main crop to be anything good as we travel through the dry hot summer. My trees are not babies. They are mature and should put out good fruit. I ordered an Italian Honey from Gurneys in 2008 or 9 and received VDB instead. I was happy but I'd probably be happier with Italian Honey.

Ultimately I'm a collector as well because I have yet to eat a home grown fig. I just started acquiring some figs this spring. I have a Hardy Chicago along with a healthy HC cutting I started. I also have young Green Ischia, Petite Negrone, LSU purple, and Desert King trees. i purchased the Desert King for it's reputation for having good tasting Brebas that I can eat earlier in the season. No fig wasp around here. I was also given a half dozen Brunwick cuttings that are all growing well. So all told I have 12 fig plants. Only my Hardy Chicago has active figs growing on it. 6 to be exact. I hope they ripen this year in order to sample them.

Don't tell anyone speedster1....the only fig I've ever tasted was a Newton. I really think the trees are pretty

EATER

Hi Suzie, in one of your posts you said,

"My Verte breba ripen about now and they are pretty large and swollen... The main crop swells and ripens in Sept - Nov."

That makes me wonder if the fruit on my Verte right now are breba? A couple ripened, but they were pretty bland. I kept it in a heated shed last year, and it hasn't grown much this year, so I guess they are on last year's growth. I just never thought about it since this is my first year to keep figs in pots (my others are in ground).

With that in mind, should I remove all the figs on it right now so it will start putting on main crop?

I wouldn't remove anything. My main crop starts forming while the Breba are still on the tree. We have many figs on that tree. Yesterday noticed a couple swelling and getting softer. Decided to wait a couple days. DH blew junk off the deck early afternoon. As he was basting the chicken on the rotisserie, he noticed a half eaten fig on the deck he had just blown clean. We got critters!