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Homegrown Figs

October 3rd, 2016

Many years ago I purchased a ‘Hardy Chicago’ fig, since then I’ve been enjoying homegrown figs every fall. These figs live in pots in the basement during the winter and spend their summers outside. This year I planted a few in the ground to see if they’d survive the winter in our zone. I plan on mulching them heavily. Just in case they don’t survive, I have one that I will be overwintering in the basement.  Last year, I added a new fig plant to my collection, a Fig ‘Petite Negra’ (Ficus carica). I was amazed when it produced around 10 figs this year, it stands only 20 inches tall or so.
homegrown-figs
This plant lives in my basement during the winter and on the back porch in the summer. The back porch gets the afternoon sun and gets pretty hot, the average temperature out there on a summer day is 95. This seems to be the perfect place for this little fig. The fruit is sweet and delicious, just like a fig should be. Now that I have found the perfect place for figs, I think I’ll be getting some ‘Black Mission’ figs to add to my collection. There’s nothing better than homegrown figs.

Do you like fresh figs?

10 Comments to “Homegrown Figs”
  1. Nebraska Dave on October 3, 2016 at 7:19 am

    Susy, I’m not a fan of figs. I will be interested in knowing about the fig survival. I didn’t think they tolerated cold weather, especially Maine cold weather.

    Fall is definitely in the air here. The leaves are starting to turn and temperatures are finally where they should be. With the first killing frost only two weeks away, the tomatoes are starting to curl up and die. I only have four plants left but they will come out this week and will end the outside garden year.

    Have a great day with your fig trees.

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  2. Bettina on October 3, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    Honey Cinnamon Ice Cream, Figs in red wine and waffles… the best dessert anyone can think of!

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  3. Joan on October 3, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    I’ve never had truly fresh figs, though I’ve always wanted to try them. I’ve had the ones they sell in the supermarket in plastic packaging – I’m sure they are nothing like homegrown ones. I’m intrigued by your idea of storing them in the basement in the winter – I’ll have to talk to you about it sometime!

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  4. sarah on October 4, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    I’m impressed. Here in Austin figs grow like crazy, I just had to cut one down because it was taking over my garden. But the squirrels seem to get all the figs before anyone else has a chance!

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  5. Betty Jo on October 6, 2016 at 7:21 am

    What a wonderful blog you have here. I’m a new gardener, at the ripe old age of 70, and I can see you have a wealth of helpful information. I love, love, love fresh figs. I haven’t pulled one off a tree, it grew taller than my friend’s garage, since living in GA. If I had a basement to overwinter a fig tree, I’d certainly be giving that a try. I live in the mountains of Western NC, so will be very interested in knowing how your experiment with planting fig trees outside works out.

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  6. Jodiana on October 6, 2016 at 10:41 am

    I was wondering when you bring in your figs to the basement? Do you water them at all when they are down there?

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  7. Charlie@Seattle Trekker on October 6, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Figs are on the “bucket list” for my garden, this is something I have wanted to try for some time.

    Reply to Charlie@Seattle Trekker's comment

  8. Cassie on October 11, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    Hi Susy, I am curious about your figs in the basement too. Does your basement let in a lot of light and do you water them or do they go dormant? Also how tall are they? I am in western New York and would love to grow figs here and would be thrilled with any tips you have. Thanks in advance!

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    • Susy on October 12, 2016 at 10:44 am

      There’s a window down there, but figs lose all their leaves in winter and pretty much go dormant. I don’t really water them until late Jan or early Feb. I’ll move them to the front of the window or close to the light that I have down there for citrus when they start to leaf out in the spring.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. David King on October 17, 2016 at 2:32 pm

    You can propagate figs quite easily from cuttings. I use semi-ripe wood and no hormones (which actually can slow down rooting or stop it altogether if over-applied and in our homes, we cannot measure it well enough to make sure we don’t over-apply) and put them in a one gallon with cactus mix. Water thoroughly to settle the soil and mist daily until they root (occasionally you might have to water in addition to misting).
    david

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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