Figs!

If even half the figs on my Desert King tree mature, I will be a happy camper. It is absolutely studded with them! Right now, they're about the size of large peas, and it seems like every time I check, a few more have popped out. I had a good crop last year...just enough to keep me slightly over-figged if you take my meaning...and the friend who gave me the sapling years ago said that once they get going, they produce like mad. Hers is fifteen feet tall and at least as wide, and she gives away figs by the bushel. Two years ago, the crop was three or four. One year later, the harvest was a whopping 32 which came to full ripeness. This year looks to top that. In my book, figs are like raspberries: there's no such thing as "too many."

Figger On A Good Crop

Day 214: I figger I'm going to have more figs than I can eat even if only half of the ones currently on the tree come to full maturity! Almost every branch has three or four. The tree is only about five feet tall, and I plan to keep it under eight feet for ease of picking. Since figs fruit on new wood, it's best to keep them pruned back to a manageable size. It's taken about seven years to reach this point. If memory serves, last year's yield was six, but the friend who gave me this start told me that once it started producing, I'd have figs coming out my ears. Boy, if these all ripen, it'll sure prove her right!

Six Figgers

Day 284: It'll be the only time in my life I've seen six "figgers" on anything, but I'm more than happy to have them on my tree. All six are close to the same size, and I've had to mark them with blue tape so I can find them amongst the leaves. I check them almost every day to be sure no varmint has plucked one and to assure myself that this year, it's really going to happen. The friend who gave me my tree as an 18-inch tall start told me that it took several years for the parent tree to begin producing. When it made its first fruits, it only made a few, doubling that amount the following year and then going fig-mad in its third year. Now hers stands fifteen feet both tall and wide, and makes so many figs that she begs people to come and pick them. I'll be pleased to have enough for snacks fresh off the branch, or maybe a good batch of fig butter a few years down the road.

Fig Progress

Day 243: Several of the figs have increased in size by double or more since a week ago today. Yes, I do think I will have fresh figs to enjoy later on this year, unless a squirrel or raccoon finds them (and I haven't seen either varmint in some time). Desert King is a green fig, and at full size, a single fruit would fit snugly in a standard coffee mug. Juicy and sweet when picked sun-warm from the tree, they are absolutely delicious. The tree can be kept pruned back to a height which makes it easy to harvest. Mine is currently about 5' high, and I plan to let it grow another foot or so.

Occasion For Hope

Day 236: Even a small thing can bring hope if you allow it. My fig tree has previously failed to bring its fruit to maturity, but this year's figs are already larger than ever before, and there are more of them, quite a few more. Several are the size of the end of my thumb, surprising because our weather has been fairly cold (especially at night) and wetter than usual, and figs are warmth-lovers as a general rule. Desert King (my variety) is one of the better producers for the Pacific Northwest climate, and the friend who gave me my start has a tree twenty feet tall which fills most of her front yard and bears a heavy crop every year, so many that she begs friends to take them off her hands. I will be content if I get even a few to enjoy fresh off the tree, and it looks like this year, that might actually happen.