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Figs. What to do about the fruit

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in Fruit & veg
I will start by saying I don't like figs but I like the tree. 
My brown turkey has produced lot of figs about the size of large conkers. I thought I'd do what is necessary in the way that you let a dog have a litter before you get her done.
The large fruits have little ones beside them. Should I pick them off or are they next year's crop?
Should I feed it with tomato fertiliser or something?
In London. Keen but lazy.

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I want to give the fruit a go. If its any good, I'll give it away.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    In September remove any large ones that havent ripened. Leave any that are the size of a frozen pea or smaller. Hopefully they’ll swell and ripen next year. Then I’ll home round and eat them 😋 
    Dont let the tree go short of water in the spring or it’ll drop the little fruit. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Thanks @Dovefromabove. Would it benefit from a feed?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    I'm definitely not a fig expert and mine is about a hundredth the size of yours (!) , but I leave the figs on mine as late as possible to the end of autumn (before frosts). I find that some of the larger figs do ripen unexpectedly, then as Dovefromabove says, I remove all the fruit larger than a pea, then prune as normal and I top dress in spring.

    I'm feeding weekly at the moment, no idea if that's the exact right thing to do but it works for me and I get plenty of figs (relative to tree size).

    I think it was @BobTheGardener who posted quite incredible photos of a pruning that turned into a productive tree, I'm going to try that next year...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I top dress with JI 3 compost and FB&B in the early spring and feed with tomato feed a few times in the summer. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    FBB. The tree would be all over the garden. - foxes.
    Ill definitely top dress in the spring.
    Will give it the odd feed @strelitzia32. I'm not really aiming for more fruit next year. I like the leaves and the shape.
    OH is partial to fig rolls, so perhaps I can persuade him to hoover up this year's crop.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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