If you looked at my yard and garden, I would probably deny that years ago I completed the Master Gardener program. It's more to save face for the MG program than myself, lol. However, I still love getting my hands in the dirt and watching things grow. One plant that I found that's super easy to grow and gives a great reward is the Brown Turkey Fig tree.
I purchased this fig tree at Lowe's about 5 years ago. It started as a small plant about a foot tall and has grown quickly to a huge fig producing monster. We are in Zone 7 here in Tennessee and the fig tree has done very well here. Just make sure you plant it in a spot with future growth in mind. I planted a Rose of Sharon on each side of mine and will now have to relocate them.
The tree has a very pleasant smell all summer long. It actually smells even more fragrant right after the first frost that kills the foliage. All that's left after the frost are tall bare branches. I cut these back to the ground each winter. New shoots will grow every spring, producing more and more figs.
While this season's figs are still green, the picture above is from last fall.
Fresh figs are great but I prefer to dehydrate them. They taste just like a Fig Newton cookie! I also made fig preserves last fall for gift giving. I'll be sharing that recipe later this fall when the figs ripen.
I hope you give figs a try. They are super easy and yield a lot of fruit.
In the meantime, here's a fresh fig recipe to whet your appetite!
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| Southern Living Recipe |
Ingredients
- 4 ounces chopped cooked bacon or country ham
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted pecans
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 12 fresh figs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Toasted baguette slices
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together bacon or country ham, softened goat cheese, finely chopped toasted pecans, and chopped fresh thyme. Cut figs in half. Press back of a small spoon into centers of fig halves, making a small indentation in each. Spoon bacon mixture into indentations. Bake on a baking sheet 7 minutes. Drizzle with honey. Serve immediately with toasted baguette slices. Southern Living AUGUST 2010
I hope you feel inspired to give growing figs a try. Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie
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Hello Angie, When you cut them to the ground save the braches, cut them 8inches and wrap the fig sticks in wet newspaper and put in a plastic bag ,put them in a dark cold space and in a month or so you will have shoots coming up and all new baby fig plants I do it thanks have fun gardening!! its called propagating fig cuttings!!
ReplyDeleteI've never attempted propagating the cuttings but would love to give this a try. Thanks for the info!!
DeleteThe brown turkey figs that we planted this winter in Mobile, AL seem to be one trunk trees. If we cut it off at the ground there would be nothing left. Do you modify your soil at all? What do you use to fertilize? Nothing in this article to really say how to grow figs.
ReplyDeleteHi Pat, my tree is several years old but it still grows from numerous shoots off of the roots each year. The shoots grow to about 6-8 feet tall each year but once the winter hits, the shoots, foliage, and any remaining figs are killed by the frost/freezing temps. I wait until spring before cutting the dead shoots. I do not fertilize or amend the soil at all. It is planted in a south facing location that gets about 8 hours of full sun. That's all I've done to mine and it's flourished each year. Being so far south may have allowed your shoots to continue growing into a bigger tree. Does your tree produce figs?
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