The fig tree, the fig tree, the fig tree, the fig tree, the Smyrna berry or the fig tree - all these names belong to one subtropical plant that loses its leaves for the winter, whose homeland is the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.
General information
Figs have been known to man since ancient times and have been cultivated for about five thousand years. Under favorable conditions, this tree grows and bears fruit for more than three centuries. Fruits filled with juice and excellent quality of taste were highly valued by gourmets.
There are more than a thousand varieties of this magnificent plant. Fruits have different sizes, shapes, colors, tastes, ripening periods, yields (some bear fruit twice a year). Fig berries are widely used in the food industry. A variety of figs has been bred, which is used only for obtaining dried fruits, and is not consumed fresh. The fig tree is illegible to growing conditions, bears fruit steadily, and is not susceptible to diseases and pests.
Figs: description, varieties, photo
The most popular are the following:
- Crimean black. Has Europeanorigin. When caring for a crop, be sure to prune and form a crown. Its high yield and mid-season fruit ripening allow you to enjoy them twice a year - in July and September. The berries of the first harvest are large, purple, pear-shaped, asymmetrical, weighing up to 80 g.
- Dalmatian. One of the best early maturing table varieties. Two crops are harvested per year, the fruits of the first weighing 180 g, the second - 130 g. The shape is elongated, reminiscent of a narrow pear, the skin is yellowish with white spots. Sweet with a slight sourness of a reddish color, the pulp melts in your mouth.
- Abkhazian purple. Refers to figs, the variety of which has a medium-late ripening period. Generously bears fruit twice a year. The first crop ripens after mid-August, its fruits have a mass not exceeding 80 g. The berries of the second crop, whose mass is not more than 50 g, ripen in early November. Fruits of brown-violet color with an elongated slightly ribbed shape, very pleasant to taste.
At the second harvest, the fruits are half the size, have an elongated pear shape and are black in color, shimmering with purple. Raspberry juicy pulp has a slight sourness. In hot weather, the fruits of this fig variety are dried in the sun.
Frost resistant
Figs, varieties of which can grow at temperatures up to -27 degrees, are grown in gardens and household plots as an ornamental or fruit crop. Winter-hardy include:
- Brunswick. It is famous for the early ripening of very large fruits. Themthe mass reaches about 200 g. The shape of the berry is pear-shaped, the color is greenish with a purple tint. Juicy sugar pulp has wonderful taste qualities. Fruits twice a year. Multipurpose application.
- Kadota. Mid-late ripening, harvested twice a year. The mass of the fruit of the first harvest is 70 g and 60 g of the second. The fruit is rounded in the form of a pear, a rather dense peel of a yellowish hue with a green tint. Rich, appetizing, pinkish-red flesh has an attractive taste. Kadota figs are not damaged during transportation. Used in industrial and domestic conditions for the production of jams and preserves.
Self-fertile
Fig trees mostly have male and female flowers. Parthenocarpic - These are hybrid varieties, the fruits of which are formed without pollination. There are not so many of them, and White Adriatic figs can be attributed to them. Description of the variety: fruits weighing up to 60 g with a greenish skin and reddish flesh. They ripen twice a year. Berries of pleasant sugar, almost without sour taste.
Large-fruited
Have advantages over others due to large and tasty fruits. The most large-fruited include:
- San Pedro black. It was bred in Spain and gained its popularity all over the world, the fruits are shaped like a beveled egg up to 10 cm in diameter, pleasant to the taste. Berries grow on vigorous fig trees that require care and good fertile soil. Under ideal conditions, the fig tree gives a rich harvest twice a year. The fruits havefragrant, sweet pink flesh and almost black skin. Eaten fresh, dried or processed.
- Corderia. The berries of this variety of figs (photo below) are large, covered with a yellowish-green peel and contain orange, very sweet, excellent-tasting flesh.
- Sugar Celeste. Frost-resistant, with large berries and two crops during the season variety. The fruit is sweet and juicy, pear-shaped with a thin skin of a greenish color with a purple hue.
Corderia perfectly withstands the lack of moisture in the soil, so it is preferred to grow in waterless areas.
Sweetest
Strawberry. The variety is distinguished by tall, strong trees and good cold resistance. Plants have a good yield. Their pear-shaped fruits with a refined taste, sweet, fragrant pulp of medium size ripen after August 15th. Used fresh and processed.
Honey. Mid-season, does not require pollination, the trees are thermophilic, undersized, sprawling, do not need highly fertile soils. The fruits are light green in color, unusually sweet. The tree is adapted for growing at home.
Best Early
Brogiotto Nero. The pear-shaped fruits grow on tall, strong trees that produce two consistently high yields per season. Berries weighing up to 90 g have a burgundy skin and excellent taste. And also figs belong to the best varieties of early ripening. Dalmatian and Brunswick, which were described above. They need 80 days to fully mature.
Mid-late varieties
Temri. It grows in the Caucasus, and Tunisia is its homeland. The plant is self-fertile, very productive, the fruits begin to ripen in late August, fruiting ends in November. The berries are sweet, ovoid, slightly ribbed, covered with burgundy-purple skin, weight reaches 75 g.
Date Neapolitan. Fruits in September once a season. The fruits are pear-shaped, medium in size and good tasting, raspberry-colored flesh, burgundy skin with a purple tint.
Pink Fig Tree
The variety of fig Sabrucia pink bears fruit without pollination, is a winter-hardy tree, withstands frosts down to -18 degrees, gives two harvests per season. The first is called winter, because the ovary is formed in the fall and, with good shelter, is perfectly preserved until the spring heat. In July, these fruits ripen. And at the very beginning of June, a second crop is formed at the site of a new growth, the fruits of which ripen in September.
Large berries with a diameter of 5 to 6 cm and a length of up to 10 cm are pear-shaped and have an excellent taste. The skin is a grayish-pink hue, and the flesh is the color of a strawberry. A fully ripe fig fruit is sweet and fragrant. The tree should be grown in trenches and covered with insulation for the winter in order to get a July harvest. For the autumn harvest, it is enough to spud the base with soil, pull it off andwrap the tree with material. Berries harvested after drying have a rich aroma and are very sweet, while berries picked after yellowing of the peel are less aromatic and moderately sweet, but are stored longer.
Figs: description and reviews
Relatively frost resistant varieties include:
- Sochi 7. Good yield, fruit weight reaches 50 g, berries have a pleasant slightly sour taste.
- Nikitsky. The plant is partially self-fertile, mid-season, fruits are sweet-sour, large.
- Dalmatian. One of the best table varieties (description above).
The biggest problem is growing figs in winter. The main task is to save the trees and prevent them from freezing, so amateur gardeners most often share their experience in preparing frost-resistant fig varieties for winter. In their reviews, they recommend:
- plant the plant in places protected from the wind, and form it correctly;
- before the onset of the winter period, the earth in the root part of the plant should be dry, and the roots themselves should be wet;
- make the shelter breathable so that fungal diseases do not appear, and there is ventilation during thaws.
Conclusion
According to archaeological evidence, figs are one of the first crops that people began to cultivate for food. This happened a thousand years earlier than cultivated cereal plants appeared. Surprisingly, the pink fig variety is a tomato. The name was not chosen by chance. Tomatoesin appearance and taste, they are very similar to figs. In our country, fig trees are grown in the Crimea, the Krasnodar Territory. In warm climates, fig trees are easy to grow, and where the weather is cool, the crop is obtained in greenhouses or at home on windowsills, using only self-fertile varieties.
