Getting the Best out of your Fig Tree - Part 2

Food Garden Group member Richard Kent is an experienced fresh fig and fig tree grower who has grown figs for over a decade. In this blog post he shares what he has learnt over the last few years.

The Common Fig (Ficus carica), depending on the variety, can produce three crops a year.

The Breba crop grows first. It grows below the leaf stem and at or near the junction of new growth where the branch was pruned last year (see photo below).  There is a common fallacy that Breba figs are the small left over figs from last autumn that never ripened. In the last four years I have removed from my trees all the withered, mouldy and discoloured figs that by June haven't ripened and every year Breba fruit starts growing in September (Brown Turkey) or later (Black Genoa).

Black Genoa Breba fig growing near the pruning point

These figs tend to be large, juicy and often have a mild flavour (reference: NSW Dept. of Ag - Fig Growing in NSW).  

As the Breba crop mature (usually in December/January/February - depending on the spring/summer weather and fig variety) you can see the Summer crop appearing.  In Tasmania these will ripen, depending on variety and the season, from January or February.

This year my Summer Black Genoa figs won't ripen until April.  The tree will continue to produce ripe figs for several weeks. The Summer Figs grow just above the leaf stem or more accurately in the axils of leaves on the current season's wood (see photo below), have a high sugar content and have the full flavour of the particular variety. Most varieties of the Summer figs are the best eating crop. 

Breba fig on the left, two Summer figs on the right

The Autumn crop appears as the Summer figs are ripening. These figs are often smaller than the Summer figs and have a strong fig flavour. Black Genoa trees produce edible figs in all three crops. The flesh color changes with the crop, Breba, pale pink, Summer, bright pink, and Autumn, claret.

Tray with this season's Breba Black Genoa figs

I generally pick Black Genoa Autumn figs in May and the last ripe ones in the first week of June. 

The Brown Turkey fig variety often has in-edible Breba and Autumn figs but makes up for this by its large and flavoursome Summer figs. 

Tray with this season's Breba Brown Turkey figs - they were not good eating

To give you an idea of the variation of when figs are ripe, one year I had no Summer figs till the first week of May. The Autumn figs started to ripen in the middle of May and finished by the end of May. 

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In March 2014 I wrote for this blog a post with the title Fig Tree Summer Maintenance (this post has now been removed as it was replaced by this one). That summer had been cool following a cold and wet spring. A reader asked 'what can be done to ensure my figs ripen?' 

I suggested to remove extra figs or very small figs from branches in the hope that the trees will put more energy towards ripening of the larger figs.

I also suggested to remove some leaves and smaller branches to ensure sunlight and air can circulate throughout the interior of the tree.

That advice was based on observing an old Italian lady and how she managed her trees, but since then I have changed my mind on both these issues and I like to share this knowledge.

What I found, after removing lots of very small figs was that they, especially those on the tips of the new growth branches, simply regrew!

A stone fruit tree grows fruit from a blossom and once that fruit is removed it does not regrow, but a fig tree does not fruit in the same way. 

Fig fruit is a capsule that contains tiny flowers and seeds. In the Black Genoa, Brown Turkey, White Adriatic and White Genoa varieties the syconia (fig capsule) holds both male and female tissue allowing the fig to be self fertile. I have found new figs will regrow on or near the spot where a fig was removed, so there is no point in removing the smaller figs!

I have no idea why a fig tree can replace a removed fig. It is something I need to research. I would love to hear from any readers who would like to comment. Will some of the Autumn figs grow in the same place where the Summer figs grew? I expect so but I will monitor several branches and photograph the results. 

Will Autumn figs grow in the same spot as where these Summer figs are?

Some varieties of fig trees ( St Dominique Violette, White Adriatic and especially Black Genoa) have quite dense foliage. In the past I tended to prune away some of these leaves, and remove smaller branches that had no fruit in summer to allow more sunlight in and improve air circulation. I have changed my opinion on this issue as well.

I have come to the conclusion that, with extreme weather events on the increase, it may be wise to leave the tree to its own defenses because the leaves protect the fruit from the sun and wind that can burn the skin of the fruit. 

This ‘shield’ also offers some protection against birds. Sunlight and air circulating throughout the interior of a fig tree may be beneficial (less chance of rust forming, access for birds to eat insects), but it is not sunshine that ripens fruit, but warm air.

Last year (summer of 2015/2016 and autumn 2016) gave me the biggest quantity of ripe figs I have had in over 10 years of growing figs. Usually at the end of the season in June I remove hundreds of small figs that didn’t ripen, but there were only a couple of buckets of unripe figs. Phenomenal! Not because of anything special I did, but because of the milder spring and warm summer. 

Some ripe Black Genoa figs

There are several other factors apart from the weather that can impinge on figs ripening or forming. Over-watering, excess of nitrogen in added fertiliser or manure, and the position of the tree facing south or exposed to westerlies, are all factors that will have a negative impact on figs forming and ripening. 

The Common Fig is drought tolerant. Fig trees do not like wet feet. In fact continuous wet feet can kill a fig tree. Fig trees need to have good drainage. If you want juicy and not mealy fruit, water regularly, but allow soil to dry out between watering.

Excess of nitrogen will cause excess limb growth and leaf growth. This can become stressful for to the tree and it will not form fruit or allow fruit to ripen (this can happen when a fig tree finds a sewage line or is planted in a position where it is continuously fed by a fertilized outflow). 

Addition of phosphorus can balance excess of nitrogen. Check the NPK levels in your fertilizer and change if necessary. ‘Power feed’ ratio is N 12, P 1.4, K 7 which is quite high in Nitrogen but works well on my trees with the proviso that you follow the instructions and don’t over feed. That’s the bind: fig trees need fertilizer to promote fruit growth but too much will lead to less fruit but you certainly will see growth in your tree.

Planting a fig tree where it is exposed to high winds or doesn’t have all day sun is a recipe for no ripe figs. Under these conditions the tree may grow and produce some figs, but usually they don’t ripen here in cool temperate Tasmania.

Hope your figs ripen this season,

Richard

For more info about fig trees click here: Getting the Best out of your Fig Tree - Part 1