Figs, all the way down

It has been a very figgy season for us at VGG. Check out these figs-

We were cutting this tree right back. Riiight back- once every few years the client gets us in to pollard it, which means that we cut it back to a tiny little set of stumpy branches. Figs grow so quickly, so aggressively, that this is the client’s preferred way of dealing with it- and look- it works well for them.

Except they asked us to cut them all back… with the figs still on.

“They’re no good,” she said.

“Wait till the fruit has dropped,” I said.

“Please….”

So we waited until all of their other trees had dropped their fruit, and these figs were standing proud. I picked one to eat on the way to the door, and announce my arrival.

I finished eating the fig I had picked, but it did take some solid intent. They taste like ripe figs, but with almost no sugar.

Why?

I want to tell you that these figs need another month of hot weather, but they were falling off of the tree as we pruned- the tree has decided that they are ready. For the interested, I have done all of my best ripening tricks to the ripest figs I could rescue, and they still taste pretty ‘meh.’

As it stands, our ute is full of green figs, my driveway still has some branches, and people who saw us cut down the tree (as well as looked down my driveway) have confronted us, almost angrily, and we have offered them armfuls of nearly inedible figs in response.

The best, ripest fig I have managed thus far- they sat on a sunny windowsill in a bread bag for 4 days.

How to get yummier figs

The classic plan is to make sure that fruiting branches sit horizontally to the ground, and don’t point upwards, as it forces the sugars in the tree sap to rest in the fruit (I have no doubt that explanation could be finessed by someone with more scientific knowledge). But some of these branches were pointing straight down!

Kiwifruit vines are damaged around the trunk, which promotes sweeter fruit- I supposed we could have tried ringbarking the tree! (Please try this and let me know, but don’t blame me for killing your tree)

We could have knocked off half of the fruit before it developed too far- that would have resulted in bigger, sweeter fruit- that would definitely have been beneficial, but there is so little sugar in these fruit that I don’t think that was the whole problem, or the whole solution.

And these figs are fertilised. The whole family’s food scraps go via the worm bin, which leaks directly into the soil beside the tree.

I do think that the hot-cold of the weather will have contributed to some degree- figs often don’t ripen at all in Wellington.

I am going to sit on this and ask a large number of people, but I am a bit stumped.

One tip that I learned from the loveliest, tiniest Greek woman- she puts plastic bags around her figs- 5 or so small branches at a time- and this creates a little green house for those specific figs while they develop on the tree. As they start to ripen, she moves the bags around, and in this way controls the speed of ripening, getting a more consistent dripfeeding of fully ripe figs for a solid few months, as opposed to the half-developed, not quite sweet enough figs that many of us get. So give it a try!

Some tasks for Easter

This is your last call to repot your houseplants, do it before Spring and they will sulk all Winter.

Absolutely soak your gardens with water, if you are in one of the lucky places that missed the huge storm! Plants are particularly thirsty in Autumn, and we always forget to feed ‘em.

I won’t be putting out a paid blog tomorrow, as we are trying desperately to insulate my daughter’s room over the long weekend, and I haven’t managed a big edit of some photos I took for it- it will come out sometime over the next few weeks as a catch up :)

Have a fantastic week, everyone.

And have a fantastic Easter!