Interview With A Fig Grower: Nina

Is fig collecting contagious? Is it worth growing a large number of varieties? Are fig communities beneficial? Read one fig grower’s experience…

Annnd… we’re back with another interview of a fig grower from the eastern part of the USA. I love hearing how people are able to zone push with this amazing plant. If you think you can’t grow figs because your growing zone is too cold, think again! We have Nina with us today showing us that even outside of the typical zone recommendation for figs you can have a large and yet manageable collection. I’m so glad to be able to share her story with us. Without further ado, please welcome Nina…

Location: Philadelphia, Zone 7b

My name is Nina, and I’m a fig fanatic. I worked in academic publishing as a product manager for online research databases. I’m happily married, and my ever-patient husband supports my fig obsession. I have an independent streak and like to try new things just to see if I can do them. My practical tendencies mean I like hobbies where something useful is produced—I also bake, brew cider, can fruit and pickle veggies, sew, and knit. For pure relaxation, I enjoy painting in watercolors, playing mahjongg, or reading.

I grow figs about 25 miles south of Philadelphia in zone 7B. My yard is 0.75 acres in your classic suburban subdivision, where the front yard needs to be kept tidy for the neighbors. While zone 7B provides great fig growing conditions for classic, reliable workhorse figs, I’ve been accused of thinking I grow in California because of my interest in new California varieties.

I’m a foodie with a pretty sensitive palate and I love trying new things. Once I discovered properly ripened fresh figs at a local farmers market, I was hooked. I loved the flavor immediately, but they were so hard to get because they were so perishable. Their inaccessibility just added to their allure. My mom told me that she loved figs too—her friend grew them and shared a few ripe figs with her and she wished she had more too.

Once I learned my mother’s friend was growing figs in our area, my mind began to spin with possibilities. When I moved to a house with a sunny yard in 2017, I bought two Chicago Hardy trees from an online nursery. I made every rookie mistake there is—I didn’t feed them; I accidently removed all the baby figs one year thinking I was “pinching” correctly; bought tissue culture trees that didn’t produce fruit in the five years before I gave up; I didn’t prune; and tried with varieties that needed a longer growing season than I had. During the pandemic, my Chicago Hardy trees began to produce a handful of figs a year, which I reluctantly shared with my mom before her death in 2022. Not being able to be more generous with my figs when she was alive is one of my regrets and probably why I get so much pleasure from sharing figs now.

I joined the online [fig growing] community in 2022 looking for advice as to why some trees never fruited. Being completely honest, I initially thought they were crazy. I said, “There’s no way I’m going to end up like them with hundreds of trees. I’ll just use the forum to learn the three best varieties. I’ll buy them rather than trial hundreds of figs. This way, I can have the best varieties and be done.” Yeah, right. Obviously, I was drawn into the fig community just like so many before me. The stories behind heirloom figs, the fantastic flavor descriptions, the identity crisis with all the synonyms and re-labelled figs, and the ingenuity fig growers showed to ripen figs in cold or short-season climates captivated me.

I created an Airtable database of my figs to track them. This database is great for keeping track of when figlets form, where the tree is in the yard, how long it takes to ripen, and uploading photos associated w/specific trees. I love seeing progression photos from the cutting to the mature tree. According to my database, I had 220 trees (177 trees more than 1-year old and 43 freshly rooted cuttings) in the spring. Now in August, I’m proud to say I’m down to 172 trees total having given away most of my duplicates and rooted cuttings. I’m not counting any of my new air layers though! 🙂

I know I can’t keep all these trees. My irrigation system is designed to support 160 trees in 8-gallon pots, a handful in 15-gallon pots plus garlic, and a fig nursery of 3-gallon pots. A bigger limitation on the collection size is winter storage in my 2-car garage. This past winter, I stored 5 15-gallon squat pots, 76 8-gallon square pots, and 96 3-gallon round pots. This spring, I up-potted 56 trees into 8-gallon pots that can’t be stacked into a 3rd layer as easily as when they were in 3-gallon pots. It will be a lot harder to fit my collection in the garage. Wish me luck—I’ll probably have to prune before storage rather than leaving the cuttings on the tree, so they’ll be fresh for the recipient.

How I grow…

I grow my figs in pots because my yard has a very high water table that precludes growing in the ground. My potted figs are on top of black landscape fabric that reflects a lot of heat, which I’m sure helps with ripening. It is so much hotter working on the black fabric than on the lawn in the summer.

I have a multi-zone irrigation system that makes this large collection possible. While setting up an irrigation system takes some time and patience, I can’t imagine hand watering a collection of this size. Irrigation lets us travel and not be held prisoners to the figs in the summer. I started my irrigation with a ½” pipe size but upgraded the main feed lines to ¾” for greater capacity. This quick fix was a lot cheaper than upgrading the entire system — I just needed the ¾” to ½” transitions. I was interested in adding a fertilizer injector like an EZ-Flo earlier this season, but I decided a trellis system was more important.

The trellis system is similar to the vineyard trellis training approach for grapes. It attaches the fig scaffolds to deer fencing monofilament stretched between T-posts so that (1) scaffolds grow more horizontally than possible with branch spreaders; (2) fig trees don’t tip over easily; (3) irrigation lines don’t blow out when the trees tip over because they’re attached to the trellis; (4) sunlight reaches the interior of the fig patch; and (5) walkways are less cluttered thus maximizing growing space. I had a huge problem with too-tall trees tipping over last year and wreaking havoc with the irrigation system. I must thank JCFiggy who shared this system with me and WVMJack who first introduced it to the DMV Fig Growers group on Facebook. This trellis system is a must-have for my dear husband who maintains the irrigation system for me.

I’m also embracing pinching more this season, but I know my trees are still too tall. The photos by Figgin’ A of his pinched figs with multiple figs at every node are very convincing. Last year, I grew a bunch of 1st-year trees that ended up being 10-15 ft whips. While this allowed me to harvest a lot of cuttings, the trees took forever to set scaffolds this spring. My trees seemed at least 1 month later than last year to set scaffolds while recovering from that first chop. Some of my trees (anecdotally many were Adriatic-types) seemed to almost go into shock after the harsh pruning and were very slow to wake up (I’m looking at you White Madeira #1, Paradiso, Sister Madeline’s Green Greek, and Prosciutto Unk).

This delay in waking up may have contributed to my first attack by ambrosia beetles, which was just devastating and such a surprise to me because I hadn’t heard much about them in my area. If you’re lucky and don’t know about ambrosia beetles, they drill holes into trees and inject a fungus that kills the tree afterwards. You have to cut the entire tree to the ground and burn it to prevent more infestation. I lost 4 trees this year and will definitely be proactively spraying next season to prevent more loss. All the other pests we fig growers moan about (squirrels, birds, ants, and even the black fig fly) take only the fruit. The ambrosia beetle can kill the entire tree in one afternoon! I hope you never see that tell-tale toothpick sticking out of any of your tree trunks!

I confess to using commercial fertilizers rather than home-made organic equivalents. While I am interested in soil health for my native soil, the soil in the pots is already artificial. (I use a mix of a peat or coir-based potting mix that’s on sale, soil conditioner and/or pine bark, and Safe-t-sorb oil absorbent.) Given the demands of growing in a pot with irrigation, I want to make sure the trees are fed adequately. I mix Osmocote Plus, pelletized lime for lawns, and a touch of Epsom salt in my potting soil, and I top dress with the same mixture to replenish the nutrients at the start of a new season. I use Jacks 20-20-20 to help with a quick wake-up/vegetative growth in the spring but stop feeding with it as soon as the scaffolds appear. I try to offset the ecological “cost” of my fig monoculture by using ecologically friendly gardening techniques in the rest of my yard (planting native plants, leaving wild areas, no-spray lawn, minimize soil disturbance, etc.)

I am not able to provide much of a head start for my collection. Although I purchased a grow tent for indoor head starts, I haven’t set it up due to a lack of garage space. Previously, I have been reluctant to put my figs outside too early because the collection is too large to shuffle. This year, I started moving trees outside 1 month before my projected frost date (April 15th) in hopes that new green growth will appear after the frost date. Once they were outside, they stayed there—no shuffling at all. I didn’t get the last of them placed till April 15th.

Irrigation (from Drip Depot) has saved me. I’m experimenting to find my favorite emitter. I started with adjustable emitters, but it was hard to set them consistently. I switched to normal drip emitters but didn’t like how only certain sections of the pot were watered. Right now, I’m using drip rings for the 8-gallon pots but I may try spray emitters on the smaller pots this year. I use coco coir window-box liner as mulch on my 8-gallon pots, and the drip rings work very well underneath it. We keep notes on how much water we give them at different times of the season. Balancing the amount of water so that the trees grow well to establish the new growth for main crop formation without having so much water that the fig flavor is diluted when ripening is always challenging.

The garden cart from Tractor Supply lets me move my trees around easily. The fat tires don’t sink in the mud and I’m able to lift the pots onto the cart easily with the removable walls. I use the cart like a table/work surface when I’m up potting or pruning/notching because it minimizes bending over.

For installing the trellis, the T-post driver and gripples are essential. My brother-in-law cautioned me that he didn’t think I’d be able to drive the T-posts as it took him hours with a sledgehammer. I’m able to set 5-6 T-posts in a half-hour with the T-post driver (the 18.5-lb one from Tractor Supply). The Gripple Plus (from Deer Busters) also makes it easy to tension the wires without special tools. Remember to get the little tool that allows you to release the tension on the Gripple Plus so you can reuse the gripple if needed.

When rooting, I always use 4x9 treepots (Greenhouse Megastore), Promix HP or Promix HP-CC, and perlite. I root indoors so I rely on shop lights (“4FT LED Shop Light, 100W, 10,000 Lumens, 4000K” from Newhouse Lighting with a 5-year warranty on Amazon) and the foldable grow light stands (“iPower GLJMPSFOLD4 4 Feet Foldable Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed Starting Plant Propagation” on Amazon). I have four light stations set up, and I’ve rooted >110 cuttings a season (you have to stagger them so that it is warm enough to move the oldest outside). Get the treepot trays to help keep them upright.

Top tips…

Find what works for you. Everyone’s growing conditions are slightly different. You can start by emulating other growers in your zone/region, but you’ll always have to tweak based on your reality. For example, I started with fig pops but then realized I was too curious and couldn’t keep my hands off them in that first delicate month of rooting. Switching to bagged treepots means I’m not tempted to check on their root progress. I use heat mats (with a thermostat), which can be controversial. I took the temperature of the rooms where I was rooting, and it dropped into the 50s at night. Once I added them, my success in rooting cuttings really took off. I’m just really careful that the thermostat probe is positioned correctly so that I don’t cook my cuttings. Finally, there are a lot of people who claim to be fig experts and give definitive answers online. Do not follow them blindly. Use your critical thinking skills and trust yourself.

Get involved with the fig community. Fig growers are among the kindest, most generous, interesting people I’ve ever met. If you see someone from your area and you’re too shy to contribute to the public discussion, send a private message to introduce yourself. Seek out your local fig growers — they can give you better ripening dates/better varieties for your area. Many times, they’ll have spare trees or cuttings they’ll happily share too! Don’t overlook the in-person community either. I belong to Backyard Fruit Growers (www.byfg.org) based in Lancaster, PA and they offer educational speakers, scion swaps, tours of members’ orchards (including pawpaws), etc. Although I’m very private on Facebook, I participate in the DMV Fig Growers in-person events even though I do not live in DC, Maryland, or Virginia. This warm, welcoming, inclusive group attracts attendees from 4-5 hours away and offers informative lectures (Bill Landis from Off the Beaten Path spoke at our spring event), fig tree sales/swaps as well as fig raffles and giveaways, family-friendly fun, fig tastings, etc. I’ve also attended get-togethers of the Northeast Fig Growers hosted by Bass Samaan from Trees of Joy; heard Ross Raddi speak at the Philadelphia Orchard Project (www.phillyorchards.org); and checked out the Staten Island Fig Festival.

Plan ahead and enjoy the journey. Most people are limited by space (either land or winter storage). Know your limits and remember cuttings will eventually turn into trees. It should remain a fun hobby rather than a chore or burden. Decide how many trees you can handle and try to stick to it.

The most joy…

[What brings] the most joy is a hard question to answer. Obviously, I love eating them! I also love to share them, so more people grow them and taste what a wonderful fruit they are. I love all the interesting people I have met that I wouldn’t know if it weren’t for our shared love of figs.

If I could give only one answer, it would be the serenity and sense of accomplishment I feel when walking among the fig patch on a summer morning — those perfect mornings when it isn’t too hot and it is quiet except for the birds singing and a slight rustle as you brush by a fig leaf. The coconutty smell of happy figs wafts up and my mind drifts lazily over the potential each fig represents. The anticipation in my mind is usually greater than the reality of eating a fig, but I’m never disappointed. It’s like buying a lottery ticket and understanding that even if you don’t win the jackpot, you still get your money’s worth by dreaming about what you would do with the jackpot. Take a walk with me around my fig patch here:

The biggest challenge…

Squirrels. OMG, I hate squirrels that steal my fruit. I know there are other pests (like raccoons that break my fig branches when stealing figs or birds that peck once and ruin the fig), but I really hate the squirrels the most. They’re just so perky and sassy when they do it. I do take it personally.

Last summer was the first time I really had significant squirrel problems. When my collection was smaller (2017-2022), I was able to keep them in fruit cages. While the nylon netting draped over the aluminum frame wasn’t that sturdy, the visual barrier kept the squirrels from figuring out that figs are yummy. When my collection expanded beyond what could be caged, I assumed my quantity of trees would produce enough figs for me and the squirrels. I underestimated how many squirrels I had. Sadly, two lots near my house had over 50 mature trees removed between them, and most of the displaced squirrels moved into my yard! Last year was also a mast year so the huge oak trees that surround my yard produced even more acorns which led to even more squirrels.

When the bulk of the main crop started coming in, I wasn’t able to eat a ripe fig unless I protected it. Individual organza bags and whole tree nets didn’t work because the squirrels just sucked the fig through the fabric. The only thing that worked for me was plastic cupcake clamshells with ventilation holes inside an organza bag that was tightly tied to the branch. Even if the fig was knocked off, they couldn’t reach it because of the rigid clamshell and they couldn’t open the clamshell because the organza bag fit too tightly. While these work, they are very labor-intensive to put on and take off without damaging the fig.

This year, I’m experimenting with squirrel repellent balls (smell like garlic and mint), plastic snakes, holographic reflective tape, and a motion-activated owl. I’m interested in adding a motion-activated sprinkler system to shoot jets of water at intruders (I’ve seen it work at a much smaller local garden) but need to figure out how to scale it up for my fig patch. It’s a never-ending battle!

Favorites and least favorites…

It is so hard to choose a favorite—there are so many ways to assess a fig and it’s so true that the best fig is one that is perfectly ripe before you. There will always be that hot new fig you’re trialing that you haven’t had a chance to taste yet. My choices are based on my experiences with more established trees in my collection where I’ve been able to sample a lot.

For flavor, the I-258 and Smith were the first to “knock my socks off.” There’s a reason they are so popular. The Adriatic-type figs (White Maderia #1, Prosciutto Unk, Ponte Tresa) have fantastic strawberry flavors and ripen well at the end of the season when a fresh fig is that much more treasured.

For both productivity and flavor, I value my workhorse Mt Etna types that taste so good and give so much. I started with Chicago Hardy, and that’s the fig I recommend the most frequently to beginners. While most Mt Etna-types have a similar deep berry flavor, the Sangue Dolce had a particularly rich, dense texture that really stood out last season and Kesariani is so productive!

For looks, I’m partial to the striped Rigato del Salento (PB) and the beautiful color variations of the Honey Plum and Violet Sepor/Socorro Black. They all taste good too, but their good looks add to their appeal.

Cavaliere was a real surprise last season in terms of flavor, productivity, and size. Other local fig growers had cautioned me that large figs split too much in the humidity, but these figs were perfect last season which was a drought. I’ll be watching closely to see how they manage in this summer’s weather. I’ve gotten some really big breba this year which is even more impressive because we’ve had far more rain this season than usual.

Alma was such a welcome change from the berry figs last year. I didn’t think figs that were simply sweet would interest me that much, but the dense rich flavor was a standout.

I try to give varieties a full 3 years before making any decisions, but large honey figs like Yellow Long Neck and Tuvia Shehora haven’t impressed me yet. They were bland watery blobs in their first two years. I’m still dialing in my irrigation so perhaps they will improve in the future.

What I’m looking forward to and my future with figs…

I have high hopes that the trellis system will solve a lot of irrigation blowouts and allow more light into the trees. So far, so good!

I’m also looking forward to learning more about the California discoveries and how they grow here in zone 7B. Before all the practical naysayers shake their fingers at me, I do logically understand that my growing conditions don’t match California. I’m just very curious, like a challenge, and willing to admit I’m susceptible to eye candy with the caprified figs looking so good. Last season, Exquisito and Honey Plum were tasty, prolific figs and Yolo Bypass ripened and showed promise without caprification in its 2nd year. Janet’s Unk and 505-H from FigGazer didn’t get a chance to ripen the figs they set in their 1st year from cuttings, but I expect they will as they mature.

I got interested in hand pollination after JoePAFig of Fairmount Figs let me taste his caprified figs at his first shindig in 2022. I started growing caprifigs 3 years ago (have Saleeb, UCD 347-1, Capri Q, and Enderud) and I intentionally purchased Smyrna figs like Unk Pastiliere; figs that benefit from pollination like Thermalito; and I’m trialing complete unknowns like Sally Ann from Figland or Wilson’s Coyote Rainbow Fig from FrostyMorningFarm to see if they require pollination. This season, the Saleeb, Enderud, and UCD 347-1 all set a lot of profichi. Unfortunately, this spring was among the wettest and the heavy rains meant the figs were so wet that it was hard to harvest the pollen. I’m experimenting with ways to harvest pollen from very wet figs (Let it dry on the tree? Dry it in a dehydrator? Dry it in the refrigerator?) and will try again next year.

Finally, I’m looking forward to tasting Angelito, Vince #3 Unk, Boysenberry Blush—all of which will be in their 2nd year and looking like they’ll ripen fruit.

I don’t think I’ll stop growing figs, but I can see a point where I downsize my collection. I’m trialing a lot of figs and imagine that there will be duds not worth keeping. Also, it’s a lot of physical labor to set up and store a collection of this size, and no one is getting any younger. Maybe when I’m eighty, I’ll only have 2-3 trees left. Hopefully by then, I’ll have given enough fig trees away that there’ll be plenty of figs grown by friends willing to share!

I can be found online on the forums (9ah-figlet on FigFanatic.com and 9@h-figlet on OurFigs.com) and in-person at DMV Fig Growers (☆ our next event is Sept 13th at Two Story Chimney Ciderworks in Gaithersburg, MD ☆) and BYFG (Backyard Fruit Growers) events.

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Thank you so much, Nina, for your interview! We have a shared interest in California seedling finds 😁 (and a shared problem of squirrely fig thieves 😤) Sounds like a pretty nifty event for the DMV Fig Growers on September 13th, hope everyone nearby marks their calendars to attend. Have a good time and someone please eat some tasty figs for me while you’re there! 🤤