Yep! mine gave me about ten brebers in Juy, which were nice. With this first frost ( 25 Nov )most of the main crop are lying on the ground and when opened are bone dry and tastelees,thus with all the leave are headed for the compost bin.
I don’t believe we will get any main crop figs from brown turkey this year because the summer has been all wrong for figs, as I said in the video it is the perfect fig for our climate as it reliably produces breba crops. None of my figs have main crop fruits that will ripen this year which is of course the problem of the UK climate 🙄
one of the reasons why the main figs do not swell is due to the fact that we do not have the fig wasp in uk to pollinate them. (Mediterranean wasp/fig wasp). a friend has a heated green house and keeps figs in there. despite the warmt the main crop do not ripen up!
That only applies to the varieties of fig that require the fig wasp to pollinate them to develop fruit. Most varieties sold here are the type that do not require pollination 😁
All of my varieties don’t need pollination for the main crop, in fact I doubt if anybody sells the fig varieties here that need pollination to get main crop 😁
Please explain what a breba is as opposed to main crop. I've always been mystified that a fig tree can, at the same time, have ripe fruit and small hard unripe nuggets. Thanks Also I have a long 5ft high stone wall...can I espalier fig to that height? Does it restrict a fig's natural tendency to control its height as much as this? thanks for your video
Hi Richard I’ve covered it a few times before but will be delighted to explain again as clearly as I can 😁. Breba is the fig technical term for the FIRST crop of the season. These are the figs that develop towards the ends of the PREVIOUS season’s growth. They overwinter as pea size or smaller embryo figs against the woody stems which allows them to survive a normal winter ( in our cool temperate climate ). They start swelling at the same time as the new growth breaks out and should reach maturity around July to August outdoors ( varies a bit with variety ). Some fig varieties do not produce breba crops reliably, some such as brown turkey do. Main crop figs are always produced on the new growth of the current season , but in the UK climate many fig varieties do not produce main crop figs at all as they do not ripen in time. A wall is perfect for growing a fig against as it maximises warmth which helps the fruits develop and ripen. Figs respond well to hard pruning so you can espalier it certainly. There are ‘tricks’ to improve the chances of breba production and tricks you can use to try and force main crop figs to develop, but you’ll need to watch the relevant videos. A simple point to remember is that if you heavily prune ALL of the previous season’s growth off the plant you would of course cut off all of the potential breba crop
@@lyonheart84 Thanks for this..much appreciated. Figs were a big part of my childhood..in my parents' walled garden. Great to understand them a little more... excited to get planting. Thanks again
The breba figs on my largest tree ( unknown variety but not brown turkey ) were double this size, you can see all the recent videos about those in my fig playlist. Glad if any part of this video was some use. BTW the USA brown turkey is apparently completely different to the UK brown turkey 🤪
Find these Brow Turkey figs on my tree now end of November here in bristol uk, Day temp max 14 C, are ripening -but are going striaght thru my (B-owls) to be polite !!!
Great stuff. I got much to look forward to in coming years. Due to the lateness of coming out of dormancy, is it a good idea to try and graft other fig varieties on the Brown turkey?
I see no reason why not Mike, in the event of a lack of space for numerous fig plants. I suspect a scion will show its own characteristics ie wake up a bit earlier even if on a brown turkey rootstock. I feel brown turkey is only a couple of weeks later waking up but it certainly seems to progress more slowly ( or at least it does for me ). The fastest figs can develop from embryo to ripe fruit in 90 to 100 days, some such as brown turkey seem to take 100 to 110 days or even longer, that’s a crucial difference in our cooler climate 😁
Yes just like Joe’s multi grafted tree. I’ve just got mine in pots to restrict their size although of course that heavily restricts fruiting as well so not ideal 😁
Here in UK 20mls inland from Bristol we had our first frost 25Nov 2023, At 7am I watched from my kitchen window all the leaves faling off my Brown Turkey. All those figs which were half blck/brow n were already lying on the ground. I picked up about 25 but now must read up re cooking same. As stated below there is NO WAY I can eat them raw !
I’ve previously use the half ripe figs by preserving them whole in syrup but to be honest it was a waste of time as I’ve still got most of them left a year later 😂. They are too sweet to eat much and they still have a slight aftertaste to them. Frankly in future I’ll just leave these unripe fruits on the plant and remove them when I have time and throw them in the rubbish 😂. Some times people think too hard about trying to use up inedible produce 😁
I am from London and Wembley. I have many varieties of figs from different parts of the world I am looking for someone to start a small farm To increase these types
Once the tree has gone completely dormant and it’s obvious the figs won’t develop further I remove the fruits that are recognisable as figs ie 0.5 inch and bigger. Anything pea sized or smaller I leave as they should survive the winter and be next season’s brebas. The tree won’t waste energy on the larger ones as it cuts off the sap to them anyway which is why they shrivel and dry up. I only remove them because it tidies up the tree but they could also go mouldy over winter and cause disease on the tree
It’s definitely a monster-sized tree/bush now 😂. Yeah, this is the reason I wanted the real Brown Turkey as I wanted something that would be able to reliably fruit for me. Of course, I have a load of different varieties in pots, but I have no idea which of them will produce reliably here. I plan to try a bunch of different ones in containers and graft a few of the best-performing and good-tasting ones onto my in-ground tree in the future. It will be good for saving space in my small garden.
@@lyonheart84 Oh yeah, I remember when you did a video of it when you pruned it. Mine hasn't grown at all since I got it at the end of June, the leaves have gone a bit pale since I planted it in the ground too 😬
Yep! mine gave me about ten brebers in Juy, which were nice. With this first frost ( 25 Nov )most of the main crop are lying on the ground and when opened are bone dry and tastelees,thus with all the leave are headed for the compost bin.
Haha you’d have to be desperate to eat the aborted November fruits 😂. I had dozens of breba fruits this year fortunately 😁
Pls make a main crop/early video. As in names and varieties for the uk. Great video.
I don’t believe we will get any main crop figs from brown turkey this year because the summer has been all wrong for figs, as I said in the video it is the perfect fig for our climate as it reliably produces breba crops. None of my figs have main crop fruits that will ripen this year which is of course the problem of the UK climate 🙄
I had a small Brown turkey in a pot by a south facing garage when I lived near Inverness and had a small crop of brebas figs most years.
Definitely considered one of the best fig varieties to get breba fruits in most parts of the UK 👍
i collect the main fruit when very tender, boil them in a nice syrup and jar them up, keeping them in fridge. i then eat them as sweet. yummy!
I made fig jam last summer from brown turkey figs, it was very nice
I live near Bristol and now Nov Eleven I am eating a main crop about 3 perday. Had breber crop as you say ! about ten.
Remarkable to be getting main crop in your area, especially given the persistent rain we’ve had in the last month or two 🤪
I had first brown turkey fig today, I see myself buying more in the future
Glad you got a fruit, it’s a perfectly good variety here for the UK even if there are a few so called ‘delicious’ figs that will grow here
one of the reasons why the main figs do not swell is due to the fact that we do not have the fig wasp in uk to pollinate them. (Mediterranean wasp/fig wasp). a friend has a heated green house and keeps figs in there. despite the warmt the main crop do not ripen up!
That only applies to the varieties of fig that require the fig wasp to pollinate them to develop fruit. Most varieties sold here are the type that do not require pollination 😁
@@lyonheart84 i only just noticed your comment. Do you have such fig plant which do not need polunation for the main crop?
All of my varieties don’t need pollination for the main crop, in fact I doubt if anybody sells the fig varieties here that need pollination to get main crop 😁
@@lyonheart84 cheers. When you say here where do you actually mean. I live in england
@tekinmoustafa8141 on the edge of London in the Southeast 😁
Please explain what a breba is as opposed to main crop. I've always been mystified that a fig tree can, at the same time, have ripe fruit and small hard unripe nuggets. Thanks
Also I have a long 5ft high stone wall...can I espalier fig to that height? Does it restrict a fig's natural tendency to control its height as much as this? thanks for your video
Hi Richard I’ve covered it a few times before but will be delighted to explain again as clearly as I can 😁. Breba is the fig technical term for the FIRST crop of the season. These are the figs that develop towards the ends of the PREVIOUS season’s growth. They overwinter as pea size or smaller embryo figs against the woody stems which allows them to survive a normal winter ( in our cool temperate climate ). They start swelling at the same time as the new growth breaks out and should reach maturity around July to August outdoors ( varies a bit with variety ).
Some fig varieties do not produce breba crops reliably, some such as brown turkey do.
Main crop figs are always produced on the new growth of the current season , but in the UK climate many fig varieties do not produce main crop figs at all as they do not ripen in time.
A wall is perfect for growing a fig against as it maximises warmth which helps the fruits develop and ripen. Figs respond well to hard pruning so you can espalier it certainly.
There are ‘tricks’ to improve the chances of breba production and tricks you can use to try and force main crop figs to develop, but you’ll need to watch the relevant videos.
A simple point to remember is that if you heavily prune ALL of the previous season’s growth off the plant you would of course cut off all of the potential breba crop
@@lyonheart84 Thanks for this..much appreciated. Figs were a big part of my childhood..in my parents' walled garden. Great to understand them a little more... excited to get planting. Thanks again
Nice one!
Thanks 😁
If the figs at your house are bigger o my 😮 I can’t wait for baseball sized figs this was a super informative video
The breba figs on my largest tree ( unknown variety but not brown turkey ) were double this size, you can see all the recent videos about those in my fig playlist. Glad if any part of this video was some use. BTW the USA brown turkey is apparently completely different to the UK brown turkey 🤪
Find these Brow Turkey figs on my tree now end of November here in bristol uk, Day temp max 14 C, are ripening -but are going striaght thru my (B-owls) to be polite !!!
Remarkable to be getting brown turkey figs ripening outside late November, it’s almost unheard of 👍. Great job
Only trouble is that I can NOT eat this main crop as even one will sent me running to the LOO !@@lyonheart84
Great stuff. I got much to look forward to in coming years. Due to the lateness of coming out of dormancy, is it a good idea to try and graft other fig varieties on the Brown turkey?
I see no reason why not Mike, in the event of a lack of space for numerous fig plants. I suspect a scion will show its own characteristics ie wake up a bit earlier even if on a brown turkey rootstock. I feel brown turkey is only a couple of weeks later waking up but it certainly seems to progress more slowly ( or at least it does for me ). The fastest figs can develop from embryo to ripe fruit in 90 to 100 days, some such as brown turkey seem to take 100 to 110 days or even longer, that’s a crucial difference in our cooler climate 😁
Thanks Brett, the space availace in my garden is tight, so in time, grafting to my turkey fig will have to be the way to go.
Yes just like Joe’s multi grafted tree. I’ve just got mine in pots to restrict their size although of course that heavily restricts fruiting as well so not ideal 😁
Here in UK 20mls inland from Bristol we had our first frost 25Nov 2023, At 7am I watched from my kitchen window all the leaves faling off my Brown Turkey. All those figs which were half blck/brow n were already lying on the ground. I picked up about 25 but now must read up re cooking same. As stated below there is NO WAY I can eat them raw !
I’ve previously use the half ripe figs by preserving them whole in syrup but to be honest it was a waste of time as I’ve still got most of them left a year later 😂. They are too sweet to eat much and they still have a slight aftertaste to them. Frankly in future I’ll just leave these unripe fruits on the plant and remove them when I have time and throw them in the rubbish 😂. Some times people think too hard about trying to use up inedible produce 😁
I am from London and Wembley. I have many varieties of figs from different parts of the world
I am looking for someone to start a small farm
To increase these types
Nice to have a good collection of figs 👍
Do you remove figs that are not going to ripen in time, to save tree from wasting energy. I'm in the south east of the UK.
Once the tree has gone completely dormant and it’s obvious the figs won’t develop further I remove the fruits that are recognisable as figs ie 0.5 inch and bigger. Anything pea sized or smaller I leave as they should survive the winter and be next season’s brebas. The tree won’t waste energy on the larger ones as it cuts off the sap to them anyway which is why they shrivel and dry up. I only remove them because it tidies up the tree but they could also go mouldy over winter and cause disease on the tree
It’s definitely a monster-sized tree/bush now 😂. Yeah, this is the reason I wanted the real Brown Turkey as I wanted something that would be able to reliably fruit for me. Of course, I have a load of different varieties in pots, but I have no idea which of them will produce reliably here. I plan to try a bunch of different ones in containers and graft a few of the best-performing and good-tasting ones onto my in-ground tree in the future. It will be good for saving space in my small garden.
What’s frightening is that I pruned this back to a few main stems less than 2 years ago lol, I’ll have to do the same again next winter 😂😂
@@lyonheart84 Oh yeah, I remember when you did a video of it when you pruned it. Mine hasn't grown at all since I got it at the end of June, the leaves have gone a bit pale since I planted it in the ground too 😬
@@PeterEntwistle they can definitely take a while to get settled 😱
the ones sold in home base do not give figs!
Lol I have no idea what variety Homebase might have been selling 😂
I have 3 brown turkey trees but I don't like the fruits. They are ugly and inferior to other varieties.
The fruit are nice on my parents' tree and it's a reliable cropper in the UK climate. I've never really thought of the fruits as ugly 😁