Black Mission Figs
Our black mission fig tree is full of a second crop of figs this month. A first small crop comes in June, but the September crop is always much larger. Fig trees are one of the few fruit trees I know of that produce multiple crops in a single year. Lemons are another example.
Figs trees can get very large. Our neighbor has a big fig tree. However, our fig tree is crammed into a narrow alley between our house and a fence where it barely has enough space to grow. Yet, it still gets decent crops of figs every year. I don’t know why the former owners thought that this was a good spot to plant a tree. I wouldn’t have planted it there. But now that it’s there and somewhat mature, I am going to leave it there, rather than try to transplant it.
I keep our fig tree trimmed to about 8 feet tall and about 6 feet long. That also makes the tree easy to net and maintain. Netting the tree is a must as the fruit begins to ripen, because the squirrels in our area love to eat figs. They often take one bite out of each fig and then discard it. That’s frustrating, because it’s such as waste.
The figs I have seen for sale in grocery stores sometimes look shriveled. Our home grown figs are so tasty and fresh. I can’t imagine buying shriveled ones. I rarely have a craving to eat more than one or two figs at a time. So I have been learning what they can be used for. Apparently, figs can be used in a wide variety of recipes, including fig newtons and fig bars, which are my favorite fig treats.
September 11 2008 10:21 pm | Figs
mary glisson on 20 Mar 2011 at 9:16 am #
RECENTLY MY FRIENDS (3 GIRLS THAT ARE CLOSE FRIENDS) WENT TO EAT AT THIS FANCY RESTURANT IN NEWBERRY, S.C. ONE FRIEND ORDERED AN APPITIZER…BRIE CHEESE THAT WAS OH SO WARM AND FIG PRESERVES ON THE TOP! WELL, NOW I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS DISH! IT WAS SERVED WITH SOME SMALL TOAST ON A PAPER DOLLY ON A WHITE PLATTER OF A SORT. IT WAS SO GOOOOOOD! I COULD HAVE EATEN IT ALL (SHORTING MY FRIENDS FROM HAVING ANOTHER BITE AFTER THE FIRST TASTE)…SO YOU KNOW I AM GOING TO BUY ME A FIG TREE..I WILL POT IT BECAUSE I POT EVERYTHING AS A REQUIREMENT WHERE I LIVE…GIVE ME TIPS IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNING FIG GROWING…PLEASE. THANKS,,,MARYG
John on 27 May 2011 at 3:57 pm #
Mary Glisson
I think your caps lock key is stuck.
Pushpa Naresh on 02 Jun 2011 at 2:19 pm #
I have the same variety. Last year did not get any fruits but this year plenty. Love your pics.