The Unknown's from AJ's collection [Harvest update thread]

lewisfigs

Member
Thought I'd provide an update on my fig collection now that everyone is starting to eat some fruit from their trees! For background, my intro post is here https://figfanatic.com/threads/a-unique-private-collection-and-an-intro.1130/

It's been a ton of work since I last posted in Feb, I got to some things, and not to others. One of the biggest projects heading into next year will be pruning. I intentionally did not prune any of the trees because I wanted to see which trees produced a breba. There have been only 9 trees with a breba, 3 of which have been harvested (tasty!). Most trees were not pruned regularly, they almost all need some rejuvenation pruning. I will also undergo root pruning and changing of the soil as soon as each tree goes dormant in the fall. Most trees have not put on more than a few inches of new growth, and that growth does not look as healthy and vigorous as you would expect. Many trees have multiple trunks, some with 10 or more. Given the low growth, there has been moderate fruit set to date. I've upped my fertigation with a 300 gallon stock tank that will allow me to continuously fertigate vs once at a time. I hope to see more growth and fruit set in the next couple of weeks, as my season is long enough (warm until Nov).

We've had less than ideal weather too - a couple of hail storms have left many leaves tattered and yellow. Way more rain than expected has caused some early fruit drop. In ground trees are showing signs of rust 😧 and have been treated.

But the reason you're all here - the fruit!!

I'll update this thread with each variety as they ripen. First up and the biggest surprise so far is:

Yen Bai, from Vietnam.
This fig tastes like you're eating raw honey out of the jar. It is SO sweet, and it's the one I keep thinking about. The skin color hard to describe - it is pinkish gold, not brown or yellow, but somewhere in between. The inside flesh is caramel colored, with a reddish/pink spot in the dead center. There is little seed crunch, and the skin is sweet, slightly firm, but doesn't detract from the flavor. I wish I could describe the sweetness - I put honey on my yogurt and cereal, and this fig could serve as a direct replacement - I could thinly slice this fig and layer it over my yogurt and not even miss the honey. Would be amazing on a crostini with goat cheese and prosciutto! It's the make your teeth ache a little kind of sweet, and I wish I had hundreds more. Figs weigh 30-35g. Tree is growing in a 25g pot and is at least 4 years old. First figs were harvested on June 24th. There were no brebas on this tree this year. The eye is a little open. Crazy thing is, I think these could have stayed on the tree a few more days. The birds have pecked at the more ripe ones, so I pulled them off - I'll have the remaining 30 or so covered with bags this afternoon so I can see how long this one will stay on the tree. I can't imagine the sweetness being any more concentrated than it already is.

Comparison: I've looked around a bit and have not been able to find a honey fig with a similar colored skin and of this size. If you know of any similar figs, please share I'd love to look them up. I have Zaffiro which many believe is one of the sweetest, and Yen Bai is noticeably sweeter and much more concentrated honey flavored.

This one is absolutely a keeper and I can't wait to grow more of them. It will go in ground as soon as possible because I need more of this one.

FullSizeRender.jpg

71436625-1977-4D64-8E7B-0FBBABF4939C.jpg

Yen_Bai_Leaf.heic
FullSizeRender_06278dfc-80fb-402e-a9f7-9e9792417f4d.jpg
 
Thought I'd provide an update on my fig collection now that everyone is starting to eat some fruit from their trees! For background, my intro post is here https://figfanatic.com/threads/a-unique-private-collection-and-an-intro.1130/

It's been a ton of work since I last posted in Feb, I got to some things, and not to others. One of the biggest projects heading into next year will be pruning. I intentionally did not prune any of the trees because I wanted to see which trees produced a breba. There have been only 9 trees with a breba, 3 of which have been harvested (tasty!). Most trees were not pruned regularly, they almost all need some rejuvenation pruning. I will also undergo root pruning and changing of the soil as soon as each tree goes dormant in the fall. Most trees have not put on more than a few inches of new growth, and that growth does not look as healthy and vigorous as you would expect. Many trees have multiple trunks, some with 10 or more. Given the low growth, there has been moderate fruit set to date. I've upped my fertigation with a 300 gallon stock tank that will allow me to continuously fertigate vs once at a time. I hope to see more growth and fruit set in the next couple of weeks, as my season is long enough (warm until Nov).

We've had less than ideal weather too - a couple of hail storms have left many leaves tattered and yellow. Way more rain than expected has caused some early fruit drop. In ground trees are showing signs of rust 😧 and have been treated.

But the reason you're all here - the fruit!!

I'll update this thread with each variety as they ripen. First up and the biggest surprise so far is:

Yen Bai, from Vietnam.
This fig tastes like you're eating raw honey out of the jar. It is SO sweet, and it's the one I keep thinking about. The skin color hard to describe - it is pinkish gold, not brown or yellow, but somewhere in between. The inside flesh is caramel colored, with a reddish/pink spot in the dead center. There is little seed crunch, and the skin is sweet, slightly firm, but doesn't detract from the flavor. I wish I could describe the sweetness - I put honey on my yogurt and cereal, and this fig could serve as a direct replacement - I could thinly slice this fig and layer it over my yogurt and not even miss the honey. Would be amazing on a crostini with goat cheese and prosciutto! It's the make your teeth ache a little kind of sweet, and I wish I had hundreds more. Figs weigh 30-35g. Tree is growing in a 25g pot and is at least 4 years old. First figs were harvested on June 24th. There were no brebas on this tree this year. The eye is a little open. Crazy thing is, I think these could have stayed on the tree a few more days. The birds have pecked at the more ripe ones, so I pulled them off - I'll have the remaining 30 or so covered with bags this afternoon so I can see how long this one will stay on the tree. I can't imagine the sweetness being any more concentrated than it already is.

Comparison: I've looked around a bit and have not been able to find a honey fig with a similar colored skin and of this size. If you know of any similar figs, please share I'd love to look them up. I have Zaffiro which many believe is one of the sweetest, and Yen Bai is noticeably sweeter and much more concentrated honey flavored.

This one is absolutely a keeper and I can't wait to grow more of them. It will go in ground as soon as possible because I need more of this one.

FullSizeRender.jpg

71436625-1977-4D64-8E7B-0FBBABF4939C.jpg

Yen_Bai_Leaf.heic
FullSizeRender_06278dfc-80fb-402e-a9f7-9e9792417f4d.jpg
The closest I can get to that is Osbourne Prolific (first few pics) and Alma (the rest). Your neck is clearly different than Alma though (which is a great honey fig).IMG_7891.jpegIMG_7894.jpeg
 

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The closest I can get to that is Osbourne Prolific (first few pics) and Alma (the rest). Your neck is clearly different than Alma though (which is a great honey fig).View attachment 9276View attachment 9277

Looking for someone local who grows OP to see if I can get one for comparison - it looks close but it looks like there are some subtle differences. I'm going to let the next few ripen as long as I can. I have Alma, not close to being ripe yet. Thanks for the pics!
 
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