In the past couple of weeks I have planted, along with some assistance from the kids, several fruit trees and shrubs. Working for a nursery sure has its benefits. I bought an apple, plum, cherry and a fig along with some blueberries. Of all the fruit we have acquired I am most excited about the fig. I chose the Brown Turkey variety.
Hardy in USDA Zones 8-10, however with winter protection the Brown Turkey fig can be grown successfully in Zone 5. Even if frozen in the winter it will die back to the ground and can re-sprout from the ground and still produce a crop the following summer. For best production plant in part sun to full sun areas with well drained soils. Mulch liberally with organic material. Figs tolerate pruning and are often pruned heavily in the dormant season, controlling size and increasing fruit production.
Most cultivars of fig trees produce two crops, a spring crop on last season’s growth, and a summer or fall crop on new wood. Allow the figs to ripen on the tree before you pick them. Fresh figs have a very short shelf life, extend the benefits of figs by drying or even making some jam.
Nature Hills Nursery have the Brown Turkey Fig for sale here.
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I was talking to a friend from Turkey, her father grows figs. She said the crop is not doing well because the insect needed to polinate it was scarce this year. She did not know the name of the insect in English, can you tell me?
Thank You,
Cheryl
The small orifice visible on the middle fruit is a narrow passage, which allows a very specialised wasp, the fig wasp, to enter the fruit and pollinate the flower, whereafter the fruit grows seeds.