Harvesting FIGS in cold climate

[Cassie K]

A month or so back I made a video of the tropical fruit trees I am growing in a colder climate (here). Of course the avocado, papaya, and tangerine seedlings will have to stay inside over the winter, but the fig trees remain outside. The fig tree variety is Chicago Hardy, and it will withstand Zone 6 winters. It is highly recommended that you overwinter the figs, as I had done last year (and you can see here). Many fig trees will grow well in containers, as well.

It took three years of growing these fig trees, for me to get a harvest before the fall frost, so I recommend taking the precautions outlined in the post on overwintering figs, and also I recommend cutting (pruning) the fig trees back about a 1/3 of the way so that the figs will grow on the new branches which will grow throughout early spring. The figs will come on in late summer in colder climates, and in hotter climates, figs will grow twice in one year for two harvests.







Finally, I ate my first fresh Fig today--straight from my backyard. It was so delicious--like an assortment of sweet juicy fruits, or jelly. In the following days I will be harvesting more figs that are swelling. Watch the video provided below to see an update on the figs growth:

Original post @ Harvesting FIGS in cold climate


-Cassie Kinney

 

[Trellum]

Awesome!!! I don't know if I will ever dare to grow something like figs in the Netherlands, but your post offered me some hope that my tomatillos and Mexican peppers will do well in my new greenhouse. I guess the old saying: ''where there is will there is a way'' is very true.

 

[claudine]

My mom planted a fig tree, but it doesn't bear fruits yet. It's a pity, I love, love, love fresh figs. They're quite expensive here. In season, 3 figs cost around $1.

 

[IcyBC]

Fantastic! I have only eaten the dried figs and not fresh ones as it seems they rarely sell them here in our local fruits and vegetables market.

 

[claudine]

IcyBC, fresh and dried figs taste totally different. I prefer the fresh ones, because they're very soft and sweet. They're unbelievably yummy!

 

[Cassie K]

My mom planted a fig tree, but it doesn't bear fruits yet. It's a pity, I love, love, love fresh figs. They're quite expensive here. In season, 3 figs cost around $1.

They usually fruit the first year, but not impressively. I have had the fig trees for 3 years, and they didn't fruit like this until this summer. And they did so very late. I actually put lots of mulch and compost around them later in the year in the hopes that would help them grow--and it did. I also made sure to water them a couple times a week as they were in their fruiting stage. They are the chicago hardy variety. I am still harvesting about a fig a day, and may do so for another couple weeks until the first frost at the beginning of October.

 

[Cassie K]

Fantastic! I have only eaten the dried figs and not fresh ones as it seems they rarely sell them here in our local fruits and vegetables market.

This was my first time eating fresh figs, I had only eaten dry ones as well.

 

[Cassie K]

Awesome!!! I don't know if I will ever dare to grow something like figs in the Netherlands, but your post offered me some hope that my tomatillos and Mexican peppers will do well in my new greenhouse. I guess the old saying: ''where there is will there is a way'' is very true.

Yeah like I said, and I have a link to the video within the post, you need to overwinter the figs to protect them during the winters. HOWEVER, I am not familiar with Netherlands weather--I would assume it may get too cold for fig trees. But I have some good news for those who live in colder climates, i have a post of a compiled list of cold hardy fruit trees: List of Uncommon cold hardy fruits.

 

[Trellum]

Thanks a lot, Cassie! I had no idea about quince, I might give quince a try (specially that), because over here we also grow it and we use it to make several things I will check all the details later, but your list looks very good and informative, I've already bookmarked it!

 

[claudine]

They usually fruit the first year, but not impressively. I have had the fig trees for 3 years, and they didn't fruit like this until this summer. And they did so very late. I actually put lots of mulch and compost around them later in the year in the hopes that would help them grow--and it did. I also made sure to water them a couple times a week as they were in their fruiting stage. They are the chicago hardy variety. I am still harvesting about a fig a day, and may do so for another couple weeks until the first frost at the beginning of October.

Thank you for the advice! How big is your fig tree? Our is very, very small, it has only five or six branches. We grow it in a pot.