Plant Profile: Figs

[Guest feature by Kerry Lin, Merritt College intern]

A note from Kerry: I'm a bird enthusiast with interests in photography and I chose this as my project to challenge myself in video-making. I also wanted to share the amazing knowledge PJ has and focused on figs! I think they get a bad rep for a fruit that has wasps in it, but it's often not the case!!

GROWING FOOD IN THE EAST BAY: FEATURING FIGS!

Food is the heart of the East Bay and not everyone has access to fresh, healthy produce. Food apartheid is the lack of access to healthy food due to structural injustices based on race, class, and geography. The history of redlining and inequitable, racist systems has separated people from food grown in the ground. The only grocery store in a neighborhood may be several miles away. Imagine the stress of making several grocery runs every week without a car. Urban agroecology is a social justice movement and practice that honors the land and provides food and ecosystem services through stewardship and restoration. Food is medicine. Land and agricultural power should be returned to the people. In this post, we’ll feature figs as a fruit tree you can grow in your homes and inspire you for your future food garden. Most figs do well growing in the Bay Area and the five cultivars featured here are Atreno, Brown Turkey, Celeste, Desert King and the Excel fig!

A Guide On Edible Figs

Edible figs, or Ficus carica, are a species of figs belonging to the Moraceae family which includes: mulberries, figs, jackfruit, and breadfruit. Other figs in the genus of Ficus are used for its latex, medicinal properties, or ornamental value. People in the Eastern Mediterranean cultivated figs around 11,000 years ago and today, it is a beloved fruit around the world. Figs are unique in that they are a false fruit. Unlike true fruits, which develop exclusively from the ovary (e.g. cherries, bananas), it is both a multiple and accessory fruit. The stem actually becomes the flesh of the fruit and the interior is lined with multiple flowers. This unique anatomy is called a syconium. Next time you open up a fig, you’re looking at inverted flowers!

Figs are dioecious, meaning an individual tree will either grow female or male reproductive parts. Growers have termed four different types of figs. Common figs are female figs capable of growing edible, delicious fruit without pollination. Other female figs are smyrna types which require a fig wasp to pollinate its flowers or caprification by hand. San Pedro female figs will grow a crop that does not need pollination and another crop that does. A male fig, or caprifig, requires caprification and houses fig wasps, supporting three generations in a year. Wasps will first emerge in the spring from the previous year’s main crop, and then fertilize the breba crop developing until the summer. These summer wasps will then mature and reproduce in the main crop, restarting the cycle again. Female smyrna figs can benefit greatly with caprification (natural or manual pollination) which further develops the fruit’s flavor and quality.

A unique feature of growing figs is that they have a breba and main crop. The main crop creates an abundance of fully developed figs in the fall. The early breba crop fruits a season before and produces less than the main crop. Its quality and size is usually not as developed but it may be as great as the main crop for certain varieties.

Edible figs prefer partial to full sun and well-draining soil. They can grow in USDA hardiness zones of 5-10 but will need cold protection in zones 5-7. Some figs do well in containers, but make sure to water them because they tend to dry out easily.

Some plants provide benefits when grown together and are called companion plants! Most herbs grow well with fig trees like lavender, sage, and rosemaries. Berries are also great companions like strawberries and currants. Comfrey is also a great addition along with nasturtiums and marigolds. Avoid tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and other plants with deeper roots.

Five Figs For The East Bay From A to E

ATREANO FIG 

Originating from Durrazano, Italy, this is a honey-flavored fig with pink strawberry flesh and green exterior when ripe. Great taste right off the tree and can be added for toppings.

BROWN TURKEY FIG

Produces reddish-purple fruit with sweet-tasting jammy consistency.

CELESTE FIG

Thought to have come from France, the Celeste fig is a resilient, humid-tolerant fig. The tree grows medium-sized purple to brown fruit. A bite into this fig will reveal red honey-flavored flesh.

DESERT KING FIG

Figs of the Desert King are sugary and have a berry flavor with a jammy consistency. They grow giant green fruit with pink flesh.

EXCEL FIG

Excel figs have a yellow-green outer skin with amber flesh. Sweet and rich with honey flavors.

Next time you look at the name of a fig, you can figure out where it was cultivated!

Figs Around the World:

Figue — French 

Higo — Spanish

Figo — Portuguese

Fico — Italian

تِيـن — Arabic

无花果 (wú huā guǒ) — Chinese

イチジク (ichijiku) — Japanese

무화과 (muhwagwa) — Korean

Vả — Vietnamese

Check out our other fig varieties here, or visit the East Oakland Nursery and El Sobrante Nursery! 

Guide to Planting Your New Fig Tree