Figs in the north: would you Adam and Eve it?
Despite being let down by my first plant, I was determined to give growing figs another go, using the UK’s most reliable variety, Brown Turkey. My initial buy, also a Brown Turkey, was an impulse, bargain buy. It became known as the ’emo fig’ as it looked miserable and sulked, before finally giving up the ghost. It was in a pot, and I may have mollycoddled it to death.
Brown Turkey can be grown indoors or out, according to the experts, and I’m giving my second plant a chance outdoors in the new raised beds. It’s planted against a sunny west-facing wall, which is painted black. This means this long wall absorbs the heat, slowly releasing it at night, keeping that area several degrees warmer than the rest of the garden.
Although it looks rather feeble at the moment, as it has just two main stems and one small one in the middle, I’m looking long-term. The aim is to fan-train it. The RHS says it’s hardy to H4 (-5C to -10C). The lowest we’ve had in the last 10 years is a few days of -7C, so here’s hoping. There’s always horticultural fleece if needed!
Potted guide: growing figs
- Oddly, fruits develop without flowers (they are inside the fruitlets) or, in Britain, pollination, so you can get a crop with a single plant.
- In spring, apply a general-purpose granular feed and mulch around the base of fan-trained plants, with well-rotted organic matter. Soil should be moisture-retentive and free-draining.
- Once the figs appear, apply liquid tomato fertiliser every two to three weeks until they start to ripen. Water well during summer.
- Figs like to have their roots cramped, which is why they do so well in containers (mine’s in an old coal scuttle).
- If you have one planted in a bed, dig around the outside of the root ball every couple of years with a spade to constrain it.
- Winter protection outdoors: for fan-trained figs, after leaf fall, pack the plant with straw, bracken, or bubble wrap and cover with horticultural fleece. Remove the insulation in May.
Harvesting figs
- Figs that are grown in an unheated greenhouse usually produce two crops, but those growing outdoors crop once.
- Fruit is ready when the skin is soft, sometimes sugary liquid is secreted from the ‘eye’ at the base. They split when squeezed.
- Figs can produce fruitlets in late summer and spring or summer – only the tiny pea-sized fruitlets produced in late summer survive winter and are advanced enough to flower the following summer.
- Fruitlets produced in spring may ripen in greenhouses.
- Remove larger fruits that are not mature enough to ripen at the end of the season, leaving the tiny embryo fruits at the shoot tips.
Suitable varieties:
- Brown Turkey
- Brunswick
- White Marseilles
- Osbourne Prolific (greenhouse)
- Rouge de Bordeaux (greenhouse).
Pruning and training figs
Train figs on walls outdoors or in the greenhouse against horizontal wires 30cm (12in) apart or hang 15cm (6in) netting 30cm (12in) away from the glass. The sap is an irritant, so be careful. Wearing protective gloves, start pruning from the bottom of the plant and work upwards.
Fan-trained figs: Allow enough space to train the fig as a fan. The height and spread can be up to 2m (6.5ft) x 3-3.5m (10-12ft) wide. In June, pinch out the growing tip of every other young shoot on the main framework to encourage lower, bushier growth. As shoots develop, tie them into the wires.
Container figs: In late March, cut out dead stems and weak branches before growth starts. In mid-June, remove the shoot tips from new growth, leaving four to five leaves.
Growing figs – Restricting root growth encourages fruiting
Either dig out a planting pit lined with slabs, use a root-restricting bag, or grow figs in containers on the patio. For figs in containers, plant in March-April into a pot one size larger than the original. Start them off in 30cm (1ft) pots and re-pot every two years using John Innes No 3 in a pot about 5cm (2in) larger. Leave a gap of at least 2.5 cm (1in) between the soil and the rim of the pot, to allow for watering.
Read this great fig advice from Lubera and this wonderful tiramisu, fruit bead and fig recipe.
