Any gardening experts on the forum?

[Swissy]

When i inherited my parents house it came with a largish garden at the rear of the property, and my parents god bless them, had planted lots of stuff, of which i have benefited this summer, plums, apples, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, Figs etc plus even Zucchini

All the fruit from these plants has tasted fantastic, i've made lots of jam and pies with them, but i'm stumped with the figs from the fig tree.

Although the figs mature and from the outside look just like the ones on the fig tree at my house in Italy, the insides are all mushy, and inedible, and i can't work out why, any ideas anyone?


Cheers.

 

[Nod]

Our small fig (Brown Turkey - suitable for UK climate...) set several fruits but then they all dropped off for some reason. There can be many reasons including too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too much fertilizer, too little etc.! In the past, I've seen the same problem you describe but that was from a tree that had sprung up (in the UK) from a discarded Turkish fruit so possibly not a suitable cultivar for the UK.

If the fruits were fine in the past, it might just be a bad year for the tree this year.

 

[Swissy]

Our small fig (Brown Turkey - suitable for UK climate...) set several fruits but then they all dropped off for some reason. There can be many reasons including too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too much fertilizer, too little etc.! In the past, I've seen the same problem you describe but that was from a tree that had sprung up (in the UK) from a discarded Turkish fruit so possibly not a suitable cultivar for the UK.

If the fruits were fine in the past, it might just be a bad year for the tree this year.

I'm unaware whether the figs it produces have ever been any good.

 

[andya700]

We forage quite a bit during the year, and we know a couple of locations where there are medium sized fig trees. The problem is that the weather in the UK can be unpredictable, but this year has been nearly ideal. I say nearly because with all the hot weather, we have also had some prolonged torrential rain, which can really mess with fruit growing - just read about winemaking. Here is a decent article on fig growing in the UK.

https://perfectplants.co.uk/blog/grow-figs-uk/

 

[sphexx]

... , but i'm stumped with the figs from the fig tree.

Although the figs mature and from the outside look just like the ones on the fig tree at my house in Italy, the insides are all mushy, and inedible, and i can't work out why, any ideas anyone?

I have several fig trees, both pots and in the ground, all Brown Turkey which is the commonest, hardiest UK variety. They are just starting to ripen, slightly later than usual which is odd given the hot weather. Brown Turkey ripens very quickly going from hard to over-ripe in maybe 3-4 days — they start to droop slightly while still hard then swell and get a touch of colour while still being green (colour). They’ll ripen after picking if you catch them just before fully ripe.
If yours are Brown Turkey it’s possible they are over-ripe, they split of course and are eaten by wasps and bids etc.
My best guess is that your parents have planted cuttings from an Italian variety which doesn’t do well here but that shouldn’t be a problem with our recent weather.

 

[sphexx]

Oh, I should have added that while you can get 2 crops from figs in Italy here you only get 1 but they are from tiny fruit that has over-wintered. You are supposed to remove (in the Autumn) any fruit you can grasp between thumb and forefinger as though they may overwinter they will not ripen. It’s possible the fruit you are seeing now could be those that have overwintered but gone rotten.

 

[Swissy]

I have several fig trees, both pots and in the ground, all Brown Turkey which is the commonest, hardiest UK variety. They are just starting to ripen, slightly later than usual which is odd given the hot weather. Brown Turkey ripens very quickly going from hard to over-ripe in maybe 3-4 days — they start to droop slightly while still hard then swell and get a touch of colour while still being green (colour). They’ll ripen after picking if you catch them just before fully ripe.
If yours are Brown Turkey it’s possible they are over-ripe, they split of course and are eaten by wasps and bids etc.
My best guess is that your parents have planted cuttings from an Italian variety which doesn’t do well here but that shouldn’t be a problem with our recent weather.

This is most likely the reason, it's a shame that i have a lovely looking tree that produces equally good looking fruit, but i can't eat any of it

 

[sphexx]

This is most likely the reason, it's a shame that i have a lovely looking tree that produces equally good looking fruit, but i can't eat any of it

Don’t give up on the trees. As they ripen, I have to check mine every day to get the ripe ones. If this is your first season with them they come good or be better next year. You could also get a Brown Turkey fig tree as back up — widely available from garden centres or online.