St Martin

[Tinyfish]

Here is another delicious fig from a young tree. Has many great qualities but earlyness may not be one of them. At 107 day to ripen from a bump that may be too long to keep a spot at my place. We'll see what happens next year with a better greenhouse head start and the tree matures some more.

 

[ktrain]

I let mine go but not because it was bad...very good fig.
Just needed to purge a bit, and it was selected.

That one looks great Tony!

 

[Tinyfish]

I let mine go but not because it was bad...very good fig.
Just needed to purge a bit, and it was selected.

That one looks great Tony!

We can't keep them all unfortunately.

 

[bushdoctor82]

Are these the size of a Celeste? It’s tough to gauge from pictures.

 

[Tinyfish]

Are these the size of a Celeste? It’s tough to gauge from pictures.

I would say a larger sized Celeste.

 

[grasshopper]

How young is this tree?

 

[Tinyfish]

How young is this tree?

Its in its 2nd year

 

[TorontoJoe]

It's a really good looking fig. Do you know if 107 days is typical for this or do you think it should be earlier as it matures a bit more?

 

[Figgin' A]

How true is that? I haven't found any convincing and reliable evidence that fig trees do, indeed, ripen figs sooner as they mature. I went through a bunch of grow records on the other forum some time ago, and, while everyone seems to be convinced that more mature trees ripen figs sooner, the grow logs didn't seem to support that. It would be very hard to do so too, as the weather may differ a lot from year to year and have an impact on the ripening times. If they do, it could be relatively insignificant. A late fig won't magically become a mid fig, or a mid fig won't become an early fig.


Sometimes it can go the other way. My I-258 took 103 days to ripen last year and 107 days this year. That's based on the time from the first pea-sized fig to the first fully ripened fig.

I did notice, though, that any of my figs, late or really late, when headstarted in a grow tent with a high internal temp and transitioned outside at comparable temps, would ripen at around 102-110 days. First year BNR took 115 days this year.

On the other hand, those that were transitioned outside earlier, at cooler temps, took longer to ripen. Also, those that set fruit later and have been ripening at cooler day and night temps, also took longer to ripen.

So, lots of variables are at play here.

 

[oat]

It's a really good looking fig. Do you know if 107 days is typical for this or do you think it should be earlier as it matures a bit more?

It’s early-mid season for me. Mine is 3 years in the ground. It’s 2 weeks later than Crozes for me. Keep in mind that this is in California with caprification.

 

[TorontoJoe]

How true is that? I haven't found any convincing and reliable evidence that fig trees do, indeed, ripen figs sooner as they mature. I went through a bunch of grow records on the other forum some time ago, and, while everyone seems to be convinced that more mature trees ripen figs sooner, the grow logs didn't seem to support that. It would be very hard to do so too, as the weather may differ a lot from year to year and have an impact on the ripening times. If they do, it could be relatively insignificant. A late fig won't magically become a mid fig, or a mid fig won't become an early fig.


Sometimes it can go the other way. My I-258 took 103 days to ripen last year and 107 days this year. That's based on the time from the first pea-sized fig to the first fully ripened fig.

I did notice, though, that any of my figs, late or really late, when headstarted in a grow tent with a high internal temp and transitioned outside at comparable temps, would ripen at around 102-110 days. First year BNR took 115 days this year.

On the other hand, those that were transitioned outside earlier, at cooler temps, took longer to ripen. Also, those that set fruit later and have been ripening at cooler day and night temps, also took longer to ripen.

So, lots of variables are at play here.

You generally find a first or second year tree will ripen in the same number of days as one in say, its 4th or 5th year? That's interesting... I usually find my very young trees take longer... .that said, I don't log dates.

The assumption though was that being of fruiting maturity with the size and established root system supported the fruit development more efficiently

 

[Figgin' A]

You generally find a first or second year tree will ripen in the same number of days as one in say, its 4th or 5th year? That's interesting... I usually find my very young trees take longer... .that said, I don't log dates.

The assumption though was that being of fruiting maturity with the size and established root system supported the fruit development more efficiently

I take frequent pictures of the progress of all my trees and have a pretty good record when they set figlets and when they ripen. I also write down the dates and important milestones of all my top figs, so I have a pretty good idea. I don't have 5 yo trees yet, I haven't been growing figs that long, but based on observations made on 1, 2 and 3 year olds, they've all been taking about the same to ripen, give or take a few days depending on the weather each year.

 

[Figgin' A]

It’s early-mid season for me. Mine is 3 years in the ground. It’s 2 weeks later than Crozes for me. Keep in mind that this is in California with caprification.

I've seen research where they demonstrated that caprification expedites ripening time. The pollen source also affects the speed of fig ripening. - https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/plu...ex.php/nbha/article/download/12831/9441/56470

 

[rNexus]

I take frequent pictures of the progress of all my trees and have a pretty good record when they set figlets and when they ripen. I also write down the dates and important milestones of all my top figs, so I have a pretty good idea. I don't have 5 yo trees yet, I haven't been growing figs that long, but based on observations made on 1, 2 and 3 year olds, they've all been taking about the same to ripen, give or take a few days depending on the weather each year.

Its possible your growing style is so successful from the start that you dont see 'improvements', while other growers dont provide the initial ideal conditions needed to ripen a fig as fast as possible.

 

[grasshopper]

Its ripening window probably still have room to improve in the next few years because most of the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd years trees are still in training. There are exceptions if you start training them in the first year but many people don't.

Another way to track is by GDD because the temperature distribution is different every year and location specific. So, it is easier to compare GDDs across years and geographical locations. e.g. It takes about 3000-3500 to ripen most BMs. This year I got my first few BMs at around 2120, which never happened before. Now, I know it is possible to ripen BM before mid-July, way before Florea.

The only thing I did was leaving the trees inside the hot, dark garage because I didn't have time to move them out. That might have cooked them for 2 extra weeks and avoided the colder nights outside. If that is the recipe, we can all try to keep a few trees in the grow tent or inside for extra 2 weeks before taking them out. Note: I didn't even turn a light on in the garage. Couple trees had leaves scalded because I forgot to move them in the shade first. I did move most of them under shade for 1-2 weeks.

I think there are ways to quicken ripening and hopefully, done so at ease and without compromising quality.


ps. Most of the growing records on Ourfigs were done by long time growers. Their trees are mature and they have these varieties for years.

 

[Figgin' A]

Its possible your growing style is so successful from the start that you dont see 'improvements', while other growers dont provide the initial ideal conditions needed to ripen a fig as fast as possible.

I think it's entirely possible. I saw Tia Penya, Craven's Craving, I-258, VDB, Socorro Black, and several others under optimal conditions taking about the same time ripen. I've also seen some of my earlier varieties like Mt Etna taking almost as long to ripen under less optimal conditions.

However, I give them all the same type of headstart, some less, some more, and I don't see any appreciable decrease in ripening times year over year.

 

[grasshopper]

I've seen research where they demonstrated that caprification expedites ripening time. The pollen source also affects the speed of fig ripening. - https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/plugins/generic/pdfJsViewer/pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/index.php/nbha/article/download/12831/9441/56470

Thanks for citing the study. I believe that was done on Smyrna but I think pollen source has similar effects on the Commons. It is just that for a Smyrna, the pollen source is naturally a decision point for the growers but less so with Common fig growers.

Since I lived in SoCal with wasps before, I can easily tell the difference in size, color, taste and even shape with caprification. I didn't have enough records to compare the ripening time though.

 

[TorontoJoe]

I take frequent pictures of the progress of all my trees and have a pretty good record when they set figlets and when they ripen. I also write down the dates and important milestones of all my top figs, so I have a pretty good idea. I don't have 5 yo trees yet, I haven't been growing figs that long, but based on observations made on 1, 2 and 3 year olds, they've all been taking about the same to ripen, give or take a few days depending on the weather each year.

That's interesting and something I'd like to follow. It may very well challenge some old beliefs.

 

[Figgin' A]

Thanks for citing the study. I believe that was done on Smyrna but I think pollen source has similar effects on the Commons. It is just that for a Smyrna, the pollen source is naturally a decision point for the growers but less so with Common fig growers.

Since I lived in SoCal with wasps before, I can easily tell the difference in size, color and even shape with caprification. I didn't have enough records to compare the ripening time though.

I would love to see a detailed study on ripening times as a tree matures. Are we talking days faster? Weeks? Does it apply to figs grown in pots? Does pot size play a role? I assume so as, in my experience, figs in general grow much better for me in larger pots and look healthier. Anyway, lots to explore in this area.

 

[Figgin' A]

This year I got my first few BMs at around 2120, which never happened before. Now, I know it is possible to ripen BM before mid-July, way before Florea.


ps. Most of the growing records on Ourfigs were done by long time growers. Their trees are mature and they have these varieties for years.

Interesting. My BM (Craven's Craving) also ripened way too early this year.

I see your point about their trees being mature and not gaining any more... but I can compare how long my young trees take to ripen and compare to theirs, and make conclusions from that.