2006
The year 2007 was the best year I ever experienced as a fig grower. There were no devastating late freezes. Nearly all of my varieties produced good quantities of fruit. I am very pleased with the drip irrigation system. It saved a tremendous amount of work with all the containers I have.
2007
Another good year with no bad freezes. I got the pots out early and had a very light frost which did not do a lot of damage. It was fairly wet this year and I did not have to rely completely on the drip system. The plants set out in 2004--Brown Turkey, Nero and Atreano--are still alive, but not particularly vigorous.
This year I kept careful track of many varieties with the aim of providing better descriptions for them They are:
| Bensonhurst | Fruit is pyriform with undifferentiated neck. Ribs prominent. Fruit is small to medium, dark violet with small yellow flecks, fading to yellow on shaded side of fruit; ostiole also and closed. Yellow flesh and strawberry pulp, sweet and rich. |
| Dr. O'Bar's Strawberry | 5 lobes, latate, cordate, glossy green. Fruit is medium, pyriform. greenish yellow with brown blotches; closed ostiole; yellow flesh with amber pulp tinged with strawberry. Sweet and exceptionally rich, almost a strawberry flavor. |
| Fitzsimmons | Leaves: 5-7 lobes, latate weakly auricled, crenate, calcarate, glossy green. Fruit: medium, violet fading to yellow on shaded side. Stalk is green darkening to violet at base base of fruit; ribs not elevated, but darker than fruit body; ostiole is dark violet and closed to semi-open; thin white flesh with pale strawberry pulp, hollow; sweet and slightly rich. |
| Florentine | 3-5 lobes, latate, calcarate, dull green. Fruit is large, oblate without neck, violet, shading to yellow on shaded side; ribs not prominent, but shaded a darker violet; numerous yellow flecks. Ostiole is violet and open; thin yellow flesh and light strawberry pulp. Flavor is sweet, somewhat rich. |
| Hollier | 5 lobes, latate, cordate, dull green. Fruit is greenish-yellow, oblate-spheroid; 1 1/2 - 2" diamete;, amber pulp tinged with strawberry; many soft psenocarps; hollow, sweet and rich. Strong tendency to split open. |
| Lind | Leaf: base subcordate; 3-5 lobes; margins crenate. Fruit is spherical with neck. Dark violet with numerous yellow flecks; ostiole is violet and partially open, numerous tears in the skin when fully ripe.; yellow flesh with dark strawberry pulp, sweet and very rich. |
| O'Rourke | Three lobes, latate, calcarate, glossy green. Fruit is medium, oblate-spheroid without neck; ribs noticeable, but not shaded darker than body of the fruit. Overall color is violet shading to yellow on shaded side of fruit. Ostiole is red and open; yellow flesh; amber pulp tinged with strawberry; sweet and rich. |
| Osborn | Leaf: five lobes, latate, subcordate, dull green. Medium fruit is pyriform with short neck, yellow-green with slight violet tinge; ribs noticeable, but no darker than body of fruit; yellow flesh with amber pulp, tinged with strawberry; longitudinal tears in skin of ripe fruit; sweet and rich. |
| Sal's Fig | Leaf: three to five lobes, latate, calcarate, dull green. Fruit is oblate-spheroid with a short or no neck; violet fading to yellow-green on shaded side with many yellow flecks; thin, green stalk; thin yellow flesh; strawbery pulp with some psenocarps; sweet and rich. |
| Smith | According to E. O'Rourke, (retired professor from LSU, who headed the fig-breeding program at LSU in the 1950's), in a conversation I had with him in Feb. 2004, the Smith fig was bred in Belle Chasse, Louisiana years ago by a nurseryman Thomas Becknell Smith. Following is the description of the Smith Fig from "Just Fruits and Exotics" Nursery: Figs for Florida: Superb older variety, large flat yellow fig with a deep red center. Tight eye resists splitting and souring. Very sweet. Ripe August. Zones 8B-10 Killed in Spring freezes, 2001. |
| Yvonne | No leaf description. Oblate-spheroid, medium-sized fruit without neck; ribs prominent but no darker than body of fruit. Fruit is violet streaked with yellow and many small white flecks; red ostiole, partially open; yellow flesh with amber to light strawberry pulp; sweet, somewhat rich. |
2008
Due to marital and other problems, I neglected my fig plantings this year. Didn't set them out until early April. Only fair fruiting. Not a good test year for freeze damage or productivity.
Please e-mail your comments, questions and suggestions to me at givan2009@comcast.net.
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