Double Cropping Figs?!?

[Drahkk]

Lips burning from tasting peppers, I walked over to my fig this morning, hunting something sweet, hoping there were a few left that the birds hadn't found. I wasn't lucky in that regard, but what I did find was that most of the branches are covered with penny sized green figs!

Now I did get some ripe figs from it around the end of September last year, but it was the first fruit I've gotten from this tree, and I chalked it up to a young tree just getting its bearings. This year I got a decent amount of ripe figs from it two weeks ago when all the other ones in the area were coming ripe. I noticed some green ones then, but I guess I didn't pay attention to how many.

This is the tree I got from Home Depot a few years ago. It just makes normal sized figs; this is not the one making huge figs that I have been trying to clone. This is the one I said I was going to cut down if I successfully clone Mr. Prince's tree. But if it consistently double crops like this, it may earn its keep. Has anyone seen this before?

MB

[mayz]

Hi Drahkk

That's a common feature of Ficus carica. Here Fig tree is divided in two classes:

one crop in augustus-september ("unifère")

double crop ("bifère") with the first crop in june and second one in augustus-september. The first figs can be bigger and they are named "figue-fleur"

[Drahkk]

Hmm, guess I just haven't been paying attention. I usually have to pick them from someone else's trees, so I collect a couple of bucketfuls, eat my fill, make some preserves, and don't think about them again until the next year. This is the first time I've had a fruiting tree on my own property where I can actually track its progress.

Guess I should ask Mr. Prince about it. He's been doing this a lot longer than me.

MB

[mayz]

If the winter is too cold the first figs can freeze so some years the first crop is destroyed

[raymondo]

Some figs have both an early and a late crop, others just one. Some that have both may have a poor early crop compared to the late, or vice versa, or they may be equally good, or poor. The early crop usually comes on last year's growth. The later crop usually comes on this years growth. There may well be other configurations. You have to know your fig in order to prune it it to best advantage.

[blueadzuki]

I'm wondering if such two crop figs could also be responsible for the odd figs I have seen for sale in some Middle eastern supermarkets, figs which are very small (maybe the size of a large grape) rock hard (in dried from, I've seen them sold in syrup as well),sort of tan (again dried, the ensyruped ones are green) bone dry and not particualrly sweet. Oringally I though these might be simpy some sort of very tiny fig I was not familiar with, or maybe figs that were dried or candied while nout fully ripe. but while looking at Drahkk's picture, I'm now wondering if these are second crop figs from a two crop type whose second crop is not particualy good (and are sold more for making full use of all edible parts than any particualr merit to the fruit itself.)

[mayz]

Jul 27, 2012 19:01:56 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

I'm wondering if such two crop figs could also be responsible for the odd figs I have seen for sale in some Middle eastern supermarkets, figs which are very small (maybe the size of a large grape) rock hard (in dried from, I've seen them sold in syrup as well),sort of tan (again dried, the ensyruped ones are green) bone dry and not particualrly sweet. Oringally I though these might be simpy some sort of very tiny fig I was not familiar with, or maybe figs that were dried or candied while nout fully ripe. but while looking at Drahkk's picture, I'm now wondering if these are second crop figs from a two crop type whose second crop is not particualy good (and are sold more for making full use of all edible parts than any particualr merit to the fruit itself.)

Is there seeds inside?

The first figs are seedless (that's why we call it flower fig) and usually less sweet but very good
The second figs are seedy and more sweet

There is a third fig. That's the figs growing on "caprifiguier" (i don't know the english word, may be "male fig tree"). These figs are usually (some rare cultivars are edible) dry, not sweet and full of stamens and short pistillate flowers.

[blueadzuki]

Jul 28, 2012 3:15:14 GMT -5 mayz said:

Jul 27, 2012 19:01:56 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

I'm wondering if such two crop figs could also be responsible for the odd figs I have seen for sale in some Middle eastern supermarkets, figs which are very small (maybe the size of a large grape) rock hard (in dried from, I've seen them sold in syrup as well),sort of tan (again dried, the ensyruped ones are green) bone dry and not particualrly sweet. Oringally I though these might be simpy some sort of very tiny fig I was not familiar with, or maybe figs that were dried or candied while nout fully ripe. but while looking at Drahkk's picture, I'm now wondering if these are second crop figs from a two crop type whose second crop is not particualy good (and are sold more for making full use of all edible parts than any particualr merit to the fruit itself.)

Is there seeds inside?

The first figs are seedless (that's why we call it flower fig) and usually less sweet but very good
The second figs are seedy and more sweet

There is a third fig. That's the figs growing on "caprifiguier" (i don't know the english word, may be "male fig tree"). These figs are usually (some rare cultivars are edible) dry, not sweet and full of stamens and short pistillate flowers.

Hard to say, the dried kind were so dry that I couldn't moisten them enough to get them sufficeintly soft to mush them an look for seeds. I did manage to puree the syruped ones. precisely to see if there were any seeds. I really can't definitely say with them either. I though I saw tiny dots at the bottom of the container, but were are talking dust sized particles. All I can say is if they did have seeds, those seeds were way, way smaller than the fig seeds I was familiar wit. So no seeds is quite likely

[steev]

Here in California, it's very common to get two crops. The early being fewer, but larger, and the second being smaller and more numerous. Where it gets too cold, the early-summer crop is lost before developing much, only the Fall crop having any chance of producing.

[ilex]

You usually have one crop on last year wood, then another on new wood. On not too cold, short season areas, you only get the first one. Not all varieties make two crops, only some, usually less, bigger and less flavorful ... there are exceptions. Some rare varieties make 3 crops. There are also some varieties that ripen figs for a long season, even when leafless (I know one that has figs non-stop August until February). There are also those that make figs in pairs, with each member of the pair different.

Kinds of figs:

- Common: only female flower, partenocarpic. No need to fertilize.
- Esmirna: perfect female flowers, they need a male.
- San Pere: first crop of common partenocarpic flowers, second esmirna.
- Cabrahigo (Spanish name): wild fig with male and female flowers.

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2012 23:14:17 GMT -5 steev said:

Here in California, it's very common to get two crops. The early being fewer, but larger, and the second being smaller and more numerous. Where it gets too cold, the early-summer crop is lost before developing much, only the Fall crop having any chance of producing.

Yes, this is what I see in CA.

[bertiefox]

This is variety dependent, as we have two varieties. One is the very common 'Brown Turkey' grown a lot in the UK, which produces mainly one early crop on overwintered embryo figs. The second is a French variety, called 'Blanc de Marseilles' (I think) which faithfully produces two crops a year. The second crop does not always faithfully ripen as the figs only ripen in October.
Brown Turkey is pretty useless here in France though it grew ok in the UK. I think it is always important to have a variety suited to your particular climate. (Though we are a few hundred km north of Marseilles!)

[homesteaderjeff]

The first crop is also referred to as breba. My hardy Chicago puts out 2 crops. The first ones are much larger usually. Very good figs. Last winter I thought it had died. Kept hoping it would do something this spring and it never did. Then around middle of June or so it had a bunch of sprouts coming out. Some are now 2 feet tall and next year she should resume fruiting I hope.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Two years in a row one of my grape plants has been double cropping. It flowers once in the early spring, and it is flowering again now. The end result is that I get an August crop of grapes and a September crop of grapes from the same plant!!!