If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" it and share it to help spread it! Thanks for watching 😀TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Breeding Fig Trees Introduction 0:54 How Long Do Seed Grown Fig Trees Take To Fruit? 2:18 Breeding Parthenocarpic Fig Trees 5:02 My New Fruiting Fig Trees 7:02 Fig Taste Test #1 8:04 Fig Taste Test #2 9:30 A Shocking New Development! 10:54 Mother VS Daughter Fig Trees 12:31 Fig Taste Test #3 13:05 Fig Taste Test #4 13:46 Fig Taste Test #5 14:27 Fig Taste Test #6 16:18 But Wait, There Is More! 17:27 The Fig Breeding Lie 20:29 Adventures With Dale
At my very large local nursery here in SW Virginia I showed up to inquire about ideal apple species for my area. The main lady was called into the office to tell me, "Have you watched any videos by 'The Millennial Gardener? He's on UA-cam and has all the best information on the internet. I would just do what he recommends."🤣 I was so happy to know that I was getting my gardening info from apparently the BEST and what the PROs are watching as well!!!!
@@MikeDawson1 they had a packet printout of all fruit trees and the pollinator trees needed, but they said that his zone is very similar to ours and we can’t really go wrong with all of his advice :)
😂 that's so funny. I honestly have to say that apples are not my strong suit, since it is really tough to grow apple trees on the SE NC coast, and I'm still waiting for my trees to really produce. Folks up north and inland usually have better success with apples. I would probably look into Liberty if I were in your area, because it is extremely disease resistant. For a pollinator, I'd look into a red-fleshed apple, because I'm really enamored with them. I have a Pink Pearl, but it's too young to gauge. Lucy Glo in the grocery stores is the best apple I've ever had, and those are being sold by One Green World. Apples will be available for pre-order probably by mid to late Fall. I don't know much about the tree itself, but the fruit is incredible.
This truly is one of the most fascinating and certainly the most well made fig breeding experiment online. This may not rake in the viral views but damn for the dedicated fans these are the updates I crave. You have inspired me to try my own experiment in a year or two once my current figs get more mature. It would be so fun and interesting to have a one of a kind fig variety that who knows maybe it'll even outlive you or become commercially available in the very best cases. I'd love to leave behind a variety of fig or citrus tree for future generations even if it's only okay. Please keep this series updated! In a year or two I'd love to buy cuttings from some top performers. It would be so cool to have a fig that you can trace its exact lineage and would be one of the rarest in the entire world. Cheers, thank you and good luck!!!
Learned a new word today: “Parthenocarpic”...meaning that these varieties do not require pollination to produce edible and tasty figs, but they still can be pollinated by hand. Thanks for the lesson.😉
Unless you live in little 'wasp pockets' of California where they were established by commercial growers in 1899, any fig you've even off a tree in the US is a parthenocarpic variety. It's a very common trait in figs (thankfully, or else we wouldn't be able to grow them outside of the Mediterranean region).
You inspired me to plant a fig tree. Found a $40 fig tree at my local Tractor Supply this weekend for 75% off!!! So excited to get some figs and make preserves in the fall 👊🏻
That’s awesome that you were able not only in it’s self to successfully breed new varieties of figs, but now you’re actually tasting them and you’re able to tell us if they taste like their parents or completely different etc. Congrats on the success, I always enjoy watching all your videos they’re always very informative! Thanks for sharing this with us, I’m excited to see what the rest of the figs taste like in the near future!😃
This experiment is incredible. I found your channel because I was gifted a fig tree this year and wanted to understand how to care for it. I'm in CT and need to take it in for the winter.
I've been really enjoying watching this series over the last 3 years. I can't wait to see how the other seedling trees turn out and how the ones that have already fruited develop as the trees mature 👍
I KNEW more would set fruit ❤. We've waited long enough,, I thought you forgot about the experiment, either that or you just quit.. looks like all the work is finally paying off. ❤
Woww! Congrats on your success! I appreciate the update! I have been waiting for so long! 😄 I can’t wait to see what will happen on the future! What an awesome experiment! 🙂
This is the sort of content more gardening YTers should be making. I have been interested in crossing melons in my local NE area to try to create a landrace that is optimized for the environment. This is open inspiring! Keep up the awesome content man
It's really hard to do. This has been nearly 5 years of work. It all started with a caprifig tree, and it took years just to get pollen out of it. I would like to perform other breeding experiments in the future (I actually just planted a couple avocado pits), but it's such a huge commitment that it'll always be a tiny fraction of the content out there.
Pollen forms in the profichi crop, which is actually a breba. Main crop figs on a caprifig tree do not contain pollen. Because of this, it takes 2-3 years for a caprifig to produce pollen, because you have to preserve the previous year's wood and harvest the breba figs. Also for this reason, you can't prune a caprifig much. I actually prune my caprifig in June after I harvest the breba figs, so it still has time to produce new wood that I can overwinter into next season. If you prune it in winter, you'll be cutting off the wood you need. I recommend you watch my playlist on fig breeding: ua-cam.com/play/PL1gY7BoYBGIHWDFykCI-TRAt-Gm45Wwyw.html&si=ZpqpMQHh_FNACk6X
Great! Really inspiring. I have to do a bit of planning. I am in UK and building a collection of what I hope are suitable figs for our climate. It is much more exciting that I would have believed possible. This is my first year and we are just approaching leaf drop as we enter winter. Roll on next Spring. I am hoping that we will get fruit next year.
Since lockdown i collected over 72 fig varieties. Back when i had literally so much time to take care of them. Then i got busy, neglected them. Lost about 68 of the varieties due to not being watered. And in my hot country if you dont water for a week things die. Now i just have 4 plants. Luckily my favourite fig is still alive and i propagated it so now i can have 2 of them. Hoping to get 1-2 more varieties. I just want 5-6 fig trees now. No time for 80 potted trees to water anymore.
Congratulations and what a knowledgeable video on figs. I’ve been collecting seeds from my gardens and wildflowers and love growing things from those seeds. I would think that the fig world is going to thank you for all your hard work.
Your fig breeding experiment is very inspiring. Congratulations on your success! I have been itching to try fig breeding myself and have rooted some caprifig cuttings, but they have not begun to produce yet. When that happens, I will be sure to follow the guidance from your videos. BTW, when your males mature, don't just throw them away. They carry good genes. Others, including myself might be eager to get their hands on them. Consider putting them up for sale. Anyhow, best wishes and good luck to you in your endeavor.
Keep in mind the figs with the pollen in it are the breba crop of the caprifig, so they form on the previous year's wood. Therefore, the tree must be 2-3 years old to get the profichi figs containing the pollen. That's one of the longest processes - waiting for the caprifig to actually produce profichi. While it took 3 years to get these female seedlings to fruit, it took 3 years just to get pollen, so in reality, I'm 6 years into this experiment.
Absolutely amazing. I watched every one of your breeding videos. They even inspire me to try and sprout figs myself, I failed but ot was still fun. Due you think you'll ever sell cuttings of your breed varieties?
I am totally impressed with your success and breeding experiment. Like the famous LSU figs, you need to use MG in the name so it will continue to be identified as one of your figs in the future. I often wondered why no one was working with a fig breeding program like LSU had and am happy you are! So excited to continue watching your channel and updates.
They specifically caprify the figs to make them extra seedy and give that famous nutty flavor. The farmers take baskets full of male figs and hang them around the female trees so an abnormal amount of female wasps crawl into the female figs, which causes an overabundance of seeds to form inside. Sometimes, you'll open those Turkish figs and they'll be bursting with seeds. That's from over-caprification. Some may sprout, but chances are the caprifigs are not persistent, so none of those fig seedlings will actually bear fruit in areas without the fig wasp. They'll all shrivel up and drop off unless you find a way to pollinate them. I specifically sourced a rare male caprifig that carries the persistent gene so I could make parthenocarpic figs that will hold in any climate.
You truly are amazing in growing fig trees!! Can you please recommend me the best varieties I can grow in my 6b zone in Kentucky? Thank you!! I’m one of your biggest fan!! 🤗🦋🤗
Thank you! Fig varieties are pretty subjective when it comes to taste, but for your zone, you'll need quick fruiting figs. Look into Ronde de Bordeaux, Smith, Improved Celeste, Florea, Olympian, and Marseilles Black. All 6 of those figs are fast fruiting and nothing alike flavor-wise, so if you collected those 6 figs, you'd have a huge diversity of early producers.
So exciting! Are you leaving any trees outside to increase cold tolerance!? May I buy seeds? :-) such fun! Thank you for the info .. parthenocarpy!!! What a word!!!
Wow, I didn't know that's why you have so many fig trees. I grew-up with fig trees around me and had no idea they were so finicky to grow them in your climate. Do you think you could grow fig trees in your FL property? It rains a lot over there. I'll check out your earlier video. The yellow bus is still Dale's best toy. LOL. He definitely is joy to watch👍 Thanks for sharing your video.
I actually planted a fig tree on the property on Monday (update coming soon). Yes, they will grow, but rain and humidity are the enemy of figs. They can tolerate dew points in the 60's since Italy is fairly humid in the summer, but nothing like the coastal Carolinas or Florida. For that reason, figs will always be tough in the Southeast, and you need to choose varieties wisely. In Florida, I would like to find a way to grow the fig trees under some sort of cover, but I don't know if it's really economical to do so.
My entire region. Of Northern california has fig trees EVEEEERYWHERE. I know of 30 foot tall trees and since our local 2018 fire, they have been some of the fastest trees to re establish in our area. I couldn't tell you cultivativars, but I could send you cuttings as often as you'd like and our bees should transplant to you area.
So awesome! Happy for you. This is my first year growing figs. My Chicago hardy has like 20 figs on it but I hope they get done before it gets too cold. I'm in Massachusetts. Figs has been the same size for over a month but today I noticed they're starting to feel softer and the eye is starting to aim down instead of up so I hope they're going to change color soon
Hello. I'm really impressed by your experiment. Thank you for this! In the future, if you use early varieties (for example, Michurinska 10, Ronde de Bordeaux, Chicago Hardy, etc.) for breeding, there is a chance to obtain early varieties. I believe such varieties would be in higher demand since the current selection of early varieties is very limited.
Shade cloth: any advice on when to remove them? In Leland, NC.. looking like it will be cloudy and lower temps for the next couple weeks, thinking about taking them off tonight. (tomatoes, squash, etc..)
That’s wild you get so much rain when most of the country is in a drought. I’m praying for rain. I hand water almost every day across 8 acres. I do a little at a time. My trees might get water once a month with me hand watering. I have hundreds of trees. I’ve got piles of trash and wood to burn because we’ve been in a burn ban for months.
Awesome video as always, you have showed the progression of your fig breeding project perfectly. I have been looking everywhere for a saleeb cutting and cant find one. I saw someone on figbid had it and by the time i got off to order it was gone. If you want to sell a cutting i would be so grateful. I want to do my own fig breeding trial.
My Chicago fig has finally put out full sized fruits. Like big cherry sized fruits. 3rd season... first season in ground, previously in a potter and it died back completely last year, branches only 18 months old. Unfortunately now I'm thinking about moving to North Carolina... so I'll have to dig up some trees if I do. Looking at a nice 3 acres in Zone 8a area, that way by the time you edit and upload the video my weather will be caught up!
Great video! Question for ya. I'm in Charleston SC 9a, hot and rainy here also. I had to cut down my brown turkey fig last year and I LOVE figs. What's your top suggestions for a fig that will do well here and is that sweet tasty kinda fig that produces a lot. Happy for a few suggestions bc our local nursery can get almost anything. I watched your top fig video but wanted something in that category if you have time to write back. Much appreciated also!!! I want to plant a few also. Thank you!!!!
my tinker fig seeds from their breeding program are on their second summer so I am looking forward to next summer, i have 5 breeding pairs with about 15 trees
Great video do you give away fig cuttings or sale them at the end of the season i live in southren california high desert zone 9a and would to grow some of your best fig cuttings
There is a company in Fresno, zone 9B, Profig, who sells cuttings and small trees. He also sells fresh figs locally. I live close enough I'm going for figs later in the week. His varieties will be well suited for your zone.
I am also interesting in fig breeding .where could I get the Saleeb 271 male variety. Is there a way to identify a persistent male with out a breeding test
If you had to pick one persimmon tree to have in it yard, what would it be? I'm trying to decide which one to add this year. I have a fuyu already growing. Zone 8a Virginia Beach
I've had my dwarf fig tree for a couple years now and it produces fruits but they don't get that big and they end up shriveling up i think it could be a pollination issue but im not completely sure if it is any suggestions on how to stop them from shriveling? They are in containers but are watered regularly every day, since it's Phoenix and it's still in the 100s
Growing up, our neighbors had fig trees that had a pulpy texture, like bananas. I never like them. After watching this channel for years, I want to start growing figs. I need to figure out what variety that will do well and give juicy figs.
Sure! Big Bill grows like 100 figs in ground in Lancaster, PA (Zone 6). Check out Off The Beaten Path Nursery. You'll need to mulch them very well to protect them, though, and they will die back in the winter. You'll probably need to plant very early varieties up against a northern wind break to completely block the north wind. It'll be a lot easier to grow them in containers, though. That way, you can give them a head start in the spring. On cool summers, you'll struggle to ripen in-ground figs. Lots of people in Zone 4-5 grow figs in pots and store them in their basement or garage and move them outside in spring.
My 2 y/o Violet de Bordeaux fig tree finally fruited and is ripening, but they don't taste great. I've waited till they are super soft and fall off the tree. They taste more earthy than jammy. Will the taste improve as the tree gets older or do I need to add certain amendments?
Yes the taste will improve as the tree gets older and healthier. I recommend organic slow release fertilizers such as Dr. Earth / Down to Earth. Calcium from multiple sources such as Oyster Shell flour and Gypsum. Rock dusts such as Granite and Basalt. A good, well-draining medium that has good cation-exchange capacity (CEC) or in other words the ability to hold onto and release nutrients, such as coco coir. Top dress with worm castings and the dry organic fertilizer and then put a few inches layer of mulch on top to keep the water from evaporating and the soil cool so the microlife can do its work breaking down everything for the plant. I recommend Buildasoil, their website or YT channel as a good resource to start learning about these different amendments.
@@TheRealHonestInquiryI already have Dr Earth fertilizer, worm castings and mulch. Sounds like I just need to add the calcium sources. I actually used Buildasoil for my container garden this past year. Can't wait for next year, thank you so much!
Figs don’t like much cold beyond a frost or light freezes, but they can tolerate some snow. Temps in the teen’s usually leads to some dieback come next year, but they recover quickly.
You should give a baobab a try and grow the seeds. Fun fact baobab is a succulent not a tree so there’s no grow rings also bats pollute the fruits. Or give a soap Barry tree a try you can eat it don’t it’s full of soap compounds so yes people use it to make natural soap bars.
It's the only caprifig I have. Persistent caprifigs are rare, because very little research has been put into them. In addition, the fig pollen comes from the tree's breba crop, so it takes years of cultivation to get breba caprifigs.
Persistent caprifigs are very rare. Not much research has been put into them, since they're effectively useless from an edible standpoint. Furthermore, the figs that contain the pollen are the breba figs, so it takes years of growing them out to get pollen. Saleeb is the only caprifig I have, and not many are well-known and available.
Please tell me what to do about keeping tiny little ants (maybe a sugar ant) from demolishing all my figs. I'm in SC and the fig trees gave fruit, however, millions of little tiny ants consumed it all. NOW, the fig trees are producing a second batch of figs this same season and I would love to be able to pick and eat them before the insects get to them....please....what can I use, what do I do? Thank you, love your very INFORMATIVE presentation.
I don’t have any make F1’s that are clear to date, but they will, yes, if they are persistent. I assume they will be since all the females are. All figs in nature are F1’s since only crosses happen in the wild.
@@lydiaflores1521 Mine, that I have aren't old enough yet. Next yr will be three yrs old...we shall see. Everything else I have grown usually does after 3-4 yrs. Figs are fairly new to me, but I've kept em alive. :)
Professional fig growers would never grow figs in places with rainy summers. You'd go bankrupt. For truly good fig production, you need very dry summers, or you'll have to grow them under a high tunnel to keep them dry.
If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" it and share it to help spread it! Thanks for watching 😀TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Breeding Fig Trees Introduction
0:54 How Long Do Seed Grown Fig Trees Take To Fruit?
2:18 Breeding Parthenocarpic Fig Trees
5:02 My New Fruiting Fig Trees
7:02 Fig Taste Test #1
8:04 Fig Taste Test #2
9:30 A Shocking New Development!
10:54 Mother VS Daughter Fig Trees
12:31 Fig Taste Test #3
13:05 Fig Taste Test #4
13:46 Fig Taste Test #5
14:27 Fig Taste Test #6
16:18 But Wait, There Is More!
17:27 The Fig Breeding Lie
20:29 Adventures With Dale
At my very large local nursery here in SW Virginia I showed up to inquire about ideal apple species for my area. The main lady was called into the office to tell me, "Have you watched any videos by 'The Millennial Gardener? He's on UA-cam and has all the best information on the internet. I would just do what he recommends."🤣 I was so happy to know that I was getting my gardening info from apparently the BEST and what the PROs are watching as well!!!!
that's awesome that they watch his channel, but hopefully a large nursery would know what apple varieties do well in their service area!
@@MikeDawson1 they had a packet printout of all fruit trees and the pollinator trees needed, but they said that his zone is very similar to ours and we can’t really go wrong with all of his advice :)
How awesome!
😂 that's so funny. I honestly have to say that apples are not my strong suit, since it is really tough to grow apple trees on the SE NC coast, and I'm still waiting for my trees to really produce. Folks up north and inland usually have better success with apples. I would probably look into Liberty if I were in your area, because it is extremely disease resistant. For a pollinator, I'd look into a red-fleshed apple, because I'm really enamored with them. I have a Pink Pearl, but it's too young to gauge. Lucy Glo in the grocery stores is the best apple I've ever had, and those are being sold by One Green World. Apples will be available for pre-order probably by mid to late Fall. I don't know much about the tree itself, but the fruit is incredible.
You’ve been my go to guy for fig tree care and propagation for years! Love to see how your channel has and continues to grow 🎉❤. Congratulations!!
Thank you!
This truly is one of the most fascinating and certainly the most well made fig breeding experiment online. This may not rake in the viral views but damn for the dedicated fans these are the updates I crave. You have inspired me to try my own experiment in a year or two once my current figs get more mature. It would be so fun and interesting to have a one of a kind fig variety that who knows maybe it'll even outlive you or become commercially available in the very best cases. I'd love to leave behind a variety of fig or citrus tree for future generations even if it's only okay. Please keep this series updated! In a year or two I'd love to buy cuttings from some top performers. It would be so cool to have a fig that you can trace its exact lineage and would be one of the rarest in the entire world. Cheers, thank you and good luck!!!
I agree!
Learned a new word today: “Parthenocarpic”...meaning that these varieties do not require pollination to produce edible and tasty figs, but they still can be pollinated by hand. Thanks for the lesson.😉
Unless you live in little 'wasp pockets' of California where they were established by commercial growers in 1899, any fig you've even off a tree in the US is a parthenocarpic variety. It's a very common trait in figs (thankfully, or else we wouldn't be able to grow them outside of the Mediterranean region).
@@TheMillennialGardenerteach us to help stablish the fig wasp in gardens etc
I'm honestly one of those few individuals that loves the flavor and taste of all figs. They don't even need to get that sweet for me to enjoy them.
You inspired me to plant a fig tree. Found a $40 fig tree at my local Tractor Supply this weekend for 75% off!!! So excited to get some figs and make preserves in the fall 👊🏻
That’s awesome that you were able not only in it’s self to successfully breed new varieties of figs, but now you’re actually tasting them and you’re able to tell us if they taste like their parents or completely different etc. Congrats on the success, I always enjoy watching all your videos they’re always very informative! Thanks for sharing this with us, I’m excited to see what the rest of the figs taste like in the near future!😃
Only been waiting 3 years for this video 💪
Amazing patience, great work, I see patented fig varieties ahead.
It's been fun to observe.
This experiment is incredible. I found your channel because I was gifted a fig tree this year and wanted to understand how to care for it. I'm in CT and need to take it in for the winter.
I've been really enjoying watching this series over the last 3 years. I can't wait to see how the other seedling trees turn out and how the ones that have already fruited develop as the trees mature 👍
So much fun watching someone getting excited about creativity.
Congratulations 👏... Can't believe it has been 3 years... Time flies... 😅
I KNEW more would set fruit ❤. We've waited long enough,, I thought you forgot about the experiment, either that or you just quit.. looks like all the work is finally paying off. ❤
Been waiting for this video ! Now lemme get a cutting of that 2nd year fig from the videos 😍
Woww! Congrats on your success! I appreciate the update! I have been waiting for so long! 😄 I can’t wait to see what will happen on the future! What an awesome experiment! 🙂
Awesome! Always knew you were the fig whisperer! Great video, as usual.
also really cool that you can have a fruit-bearing tree FROM SEED in just 3 years!!!
This is the sort of content more gardening YTers should be making. I have been interested in crossing melons in my local NE area to try to create a landrace that is optimized for the environment. This is open inspiring! Keep up the awesome content man
It's really hard to do. This has been nearly 5 years of work. It all started with a caprifig tree, and it took years just to get pollen out of it. I would like to perform other breeding experiments in the future (I actually just planted a couple avocado pits), but it's such a huge commitment that it'll always be a tiny fraction of the content out there.
I need some cuttings!!!!!😊❤
Amazing stuff! It would be so exciting to try experiments like this and start to see the results.
Can’t wait to have trees of my own in the future! I’m waiting until I have my own land. Love the content
Get a couple now. You can, in most locations, grow them in containers. Why deprive yourself the joy of a fresh picked fig.
Great Video, I Rooted a sableeb capri fig this year, Hopefully I get some pollen next year , 🤩 😍 Thanks for the Update. I really enjoy it.
Pollen forms in the profichi crop, which is actually a breba. Main crop figs on a caprifig tree do not contain pollen. Because of this, it takes 2-3 years for a caprifig to produce pollen, because you have to preserve the previous year's wood and harvest the breba figs. Also for this reason, you can't prune a caprifig much. I actually prune my caprifig in June after I harvest the breba figs, so it still has time to produce new wood that I can overwinter into next season. If you prune it in winter, you'll be cutting off the wood you need. I recommend you watch my playlist on fig breeding: ua-cam.com/play/PL1gY7BoYBGIHWDFykCI-TRAt-Gm45Wwyw.html&si=ZpqpMQHh_FNACk6X
What an exciting update! Love Dale at the end!
Thanks! Dale appreciates it
Great! Really inspiring. I have to do a bit of planning. I am in UK and building a collection of what I hope are suitable figs for our climate. It is much more exciting that I would have believed possible. This is my first year and we are just approaching leaf drop as we enter winter. Roll on next Spring. I am hoping that we will get fruit next year.
Some interesting and promising results. Thanks for sharing your experiment and results. Looking forward to further reports. Thanks for sharing
Your knowledge of gardening is truly mind-blowing to me. Amazing work!
Thank you! It has been fun figuring all of this out.
So awesome, I'm happy for you. I can't believe I've been watching you this long.
Time flies, doesn’t it? I remember starting those seeds. I can’t believe it has been this long.
I can't wait for the updates. Brilliant.
Thank you!
Grest job, MG!👍Dale is too cute!😃
Thank you! Dale says hello
Since lockdown i collected over 72 fig varieties. Back when i had literally so much time to take care of them. Then i got busy, neglected them. Lost about 68 of the varieties due to not being watered. And in my hot country if you dont water for a week things die. Now i just have 4 plants. Luckily my favourite fig is still alive and i propagated it so now i can have 2 of them. Hoping to get 1-2 more varieties. I just want 5-6 fig trees now. No time for 80 potted trees to water anymore.
Thanks I greatly appreciate this fig breeding video.
Dude that is awesome!! Hard work pays off.
Congratulations and what a knowledgeable video on figs. I’ve been collecting seeds from my gardens and wildflowers and love growing things from those seeds. I would think that the fig world is going to thank you for all your hard work.
Congratulations! Great results for this long project. I’m looking forward to seeing the update on the other figs. 😊
Thank you!
Congrats on the success! I’d love to get my hands on a cutting to grow here in the dry California summer when they’re ready. So exciting!
Congratulations! And yay to your fig creativity!
Thanks for the update. Fun experiment.
Fascinating video! Very informative, and super fun to watch how your experiment in progressing!
Your fig breeding experiment is very inspiring. Congratulations on your success! I have been itching to try fig breeding myself and have rooted some caprifig cuttings, but they have not begun to produce yet. When that happens, I will be sure to follow the guidance from your videos. BTW, when your males mature, don't just throw them away. They carry good genes. Others, including myself might be eager to get their hands on them. Consider putting them up for sale. Anyhow, best wishes and good luck to you in your endeavor.
Keep in mind the figs with the pollen in it are the breba crop of the caprifig, so they form on the previous year's wood. Therefore, the tree must be 2-3 years old to get the profichi figs containing the pollen. That's one of the longest processes - waiting for the caprifig to actually produce profichi. While it took 3 years to get these female seedlings to fruit, it took 3 years just to get pollen, so in reality, I'm 6 years into this experiment.
super excited a youtuber outsmarted universities and extension agents across the United States-looking into buying islands to resell in Arizona
Absolutely amazing. I watched every one of your breeding videos. They even inspire me to try and sprout figs myself, I failed but ot was still fun.
Due you think you'll ever sell cuttings of your breed varieties?
Amazing video!! Love this kind of content with experimentation and new discoveries!
Thank you!
I am totally impressed with your success and breeding experiment. Like the famous LSU figs, you need to use MG in the name so it will continue to be identified as one of your figs in the future. I often wondered why no one was working with a fig breeding program like LSU had and am happy you are! So excited to continue watching your channel and updates.
About 10 years ago I collected seeds from dried figs imported from Turkey. So many sprouted. I was surprised. But I grew them indoors in pots.
They specifically caprify the figs to make them extra seedy and give that famous nutty flavor. The farmers take baskets full of male figs and hang them around the female trees so an abnormal amount of female wasps crawl into the female figs, which causes an overabundance of seeds to form inside. Sometimes, you'll open those Turkish figs and they'll be bursting with seeds. That's from over-caprification. Some may sprout, but chances are the caprifigs are not persistent, so none of those fig seedlings will actually bear fruit in areas without the fig wasp. They'll all shrivel up and drop off unless you find a way to pollinate them. I specifically sourced a rare male caprifig that carries the persistent gene so I could make parthenocarpic figs that will hold in any climate.
Great job! Looking forward to further studies!
Yes man!!! Keep up the experimentation!!!🤙 you definitely should open a fig tree nursery if it’s feasible!!!
You truly are amazing in growing fig trees!! Can you please recommend me the best varieties I can grow in my 6b zone in Kentucky? Thank you!! I’m one of your biggest fan!! 🤗🦋🤗
Thank you! Fig varieties are pretty subjective when it comes to taste, but for your zone, you'll need quick fruiting figs. Look into Ronde de Bordeaux, Smith, Improved Celeste, Florea, Olympian, and Marseilles Black. All 6 of those figs are fast fruiting and nothing alike flavor-wise, so if you collected those 6 figs, you'd have a huge diversity of early producers.
So exciting! Are you leaving any trees outside to increase cold tolerance!? May I buy seeds? :-) such fun! Thank you for the info .. parthenocarpy!!! What a word!!!
Great Job! Love Figs I currently have one in the ground and another one ordered interesting video
Wow, I didn't know that's why you have so many fig trees. I grew-up with fig trees around me and had no idea they were so finicky to grow them in your climate. Do you think you could grow fig trees in your FL property? It rains a lot over there. I'll check out your earlier video. The yellow bus is still Dale's best toy. LOL. He definitely is joy to watch👍 Thanks for sharing your video.
I actually planted a fig tree on the property on Monday (update coming soon). Yes, they will grow, but rain and humidity are the enemy of figs. They can tolerate dew points in the 60's since Italy is fairly humid in the summer, but nothing like the coastal Carolinas or Florida. For that reason, figs will always be tough in the Southeast, and you need to choose varieties wisely. In Florida, I would like to find a way to grow the fig trees under some sort of cover, but I don't know if it's really economical to do so.
Great video!
So I've been following you with the experienment.
Awesome
I appreciate it!
OHHHH YEAHHHHH BABBBYYYY FINALLY!!!!
My entire region. Of Northern california has fig trees EVEEEERYWHERE.
I know of 30 foot tall trees and since our local 2018 fire, they have been some of the fastest trees to re establish in our area.
I couldn't tell you cultivativars, but I could send you cuttings as often as you'd like and our bees should transplant to you area.
So awesome! Happy for you. This is my first year growing figs. My Chicago hardy has like 20 figs on it but I hope they get done before it gets too cold. I'm in Massachusetts. Figs has been the same size for over a month but today I noticed they're starting to feel softer and the eye is starting to aim down instead of up so I hope they're going to change color soon
Hello. I'm really impressed by your experiment. Thank you for this!
In the future, if you use early varieties (for example, Michurinska 10, Ronde de Bordeaux, Chicago Hardy, etc.) for breeding, there is a chance to obtain early varieties. I believe such varieties would be in higher demand since the current selection of early varieties is very limited.
It would be interesting to see if the new hybrids are more cold tolerant.
Thanks for your experimental efforts.
Awesome!!!
Thanks!
Shade cloth: any advice on when to remove them? In Leland, NC.. looking like it will be cloudy and lower temps for the next couple weeks, thinking about taking them off tonight. (tomatoes, squash, etc..)
That’s wild you get so much rain when most of the country is in a drought. I’m praying for rain. I hand water almost every day across 8 acres. I do a little at a time. My trees might get water once a month with me hand watering. I have hundreds of trees. I’ve got piles of trash and wood to burn because we’ve been in a burn ban for months.
Excellent!!!
Thank you!
With this herculean project, I can't imagine how you have time and energy also for a full-time job.
Awesome video as always, you have showed the progression of your fig breeding project perfectly. I have been looking everywhere for a saleeb cutting and cant find one. I saw someone on figbid had it and by the time i got off to order it was gone. If you want to sell a cutting i would be so grateful. I want to do my own fig breeding trial.
Congrats on the success! Great work
Thank you!
Dale's so sweet
You're planning on selling cuttings eventually right? I live in the Pacific Northwest. Would love to see if your varieties could grow well here too
Thanks for info didn't know all that
My Chicago fig has finally put out full sized fruits. Like big cherry sized fruits. 3rd season... first season in ground, previously in a potter and it died back completely last year, branches only 18 months old. Unfortunately now I'm thinking about moving to North Carolina... so I'll have to dig up some trees if I do. Looking at a nice 3 acres in Zone 8a area, that way by the time you edit and upload the video my weather will be caught up!
Did you have a website where you sale your fig tree cuttings?
Great video! Question for ya. I'm in Charleston SC 9a, hot and rainy here also. I had to cut down my brown turkey fig last year and I LOVE figs. What's your top suggestions for a fig that will do well here and is that sweet tasty kinda fig that produces a lot. Happy for a few suggestions bc our local nursery can get almost anything. I watched your top fig video but wanted something in that category if you have time to write back. Much appreciated also!!! I want to plant a few also. Thank you!!!!
Keep cross breading those 1 year maturing trees!
my tinker fig seeds from their breeding program are on their second summer so I am looking forward to next summer, i have 5 breeding pairs with about 15 trees
Is there a bad fig I have not tasted the new figs but the old fig is good for me
Great video do you give away fig cuttings or sale them at the end of the season i live in southren california high desert zone 9a and would to grow some of your best fig cuttings
There is a company in Fresno, zone 9B, Profig, who sells cuttings and small trees. He also sells fresh figs locally. I live close enough I'm going for figs later in the week. His varieties will be well suited for your zone.
I am also interesting in fig breeding .where could I get the Saleeb 271 male variety.
Is there a way to identify a persistent male with out a breeding test
If you had to pick one persimmon tree to have in it yard, what would it be? I'm trying to decide which one to add this year. I have a fuyu already growing. Zone 8a Virginia Beach
Very cool wondering if they would work up here where I live north of Albany, New York?
I've had my dwarf fig tree for a couple years now and it produces fruits but they don't get that big and they end up shriveling up i think it could be a pollination issue but im not completely sure if it is any suggestions on how to stop them from shriveling? They are in containers but are watered regularly every day, since it's Phoenix and it's still in the 100s
So do you think you will offer cuttings for sale in the future?
Do you have any Purpura Verde fig tree cuttings for sale?
Okay I just want a fig tree!
Growing up, our neighbors had fig trees that had a pulpy texture, like bananas. I never like them. After watching this channel for years, I want to start growing figs. I need to figure out what variety that will do well and give juicy figs.
You still selling fig cuttings?
Has your list for best tasting fig varieties changed at all since you last uploaded the list.
Can I grow fig trees in Golden Colorado zone 6a?
Sure! Big Bill grows like 100 figs in ground in Lancaster, PA (Zone 6). Check out Off The Beaten Path Nursery. You'll need to mulch them very well to protect them, though, and they will die back in the winter. You'll probably need to plant very early varieties up against a northern wind break to completely block the north wind.
It'll be a lot easier to grow them in containers, though. That way, you can give them a head start in the spring. On cool summers, you'll struggle to ripen in-ground figs. Lots of people in Zone 4-5 grow figs in pots and store them in their basement or garage and move them outside in spring.
Very tasty 🤤
My 2 y/o Violet de Bordeaux fig tree finally fruited and is ripening, but they don't taste great. I've waited till they are super soft and fall off the tree. They taste more earthy than jammy. Will the taste improve as the tree gets older or do I need to add certain amendments?
Yes the taste will improve as the tree gets older and healthier. I recommend organic slow release fertilizers such as Dr. Earth / Down to Earth. Calcium from multiple sources such as Oyster Shell flour and Gypsum. Rock dusts such as Granite and Basalt. A good, well-draining medium that has good cation-exchange capacity (CEC) or in other words the ability to hold onto and release nutrients, such as coco coir. Top dress with worm castings and the dry organic fertilizer and then put a few inches layer of mulch on top to keep the water from evaporating and the soil cool so the microlife can do its work breaking down everything for the plant. I recommend Buildasoil, their website or YT channel as a good resource to start learning about these different amendments.
@@TheRealHonestInquiryI already have Dr Earth fertilizer, worm castings and mulch. Sounds like I just need to add the calcium sources. I actually used Buildasoil for my container garden this past year. Can't wait for next year, thank you so much!
Is it possible any of them are edible caprifigs?
No. These are definitely all female figs. Caprifigs are very different looking and have different interiors.
do figs like a little snow?
Figs don’t like much cold beyond a frost or light freezes, but they can tolerate some snow. Temps in the teen’s usually leads to some dieback come next year, but they recover quickly.
Nice video. Thanks for the update.
I had mine sexed with Farmer Freeman and roughly half were male. I culled those so I could only focus on females.
You should give a baobab a try and grow the seeds.
Fun fact baobab is a succulent not a tree so there’s no grow rings also bats pollute the fruits.
Or give a soap Barry tree a try you can eat it don’t it’s full of soap compounds so yes people use it to make natural soap bars.
👍
takeaway from this video for us common folk....there is a fig community? 😂
How come you are crossing most of them with saleeb?
It's the only caprifig I have. Persistent caprifigs are rare, because very little research has been put into them. In addition, the fig pollen comes from the tree's breba crop, so it takes years of cultivation to get breba caprifigs.
Persistent caprifigs are very rare. Not much research has been put into them, since they're effectively useless from an edible standpoint. Furthermore, the figs that contain the pollen are the breba figs, so it takes years of growing them out to get pollen. Saleeb is the only caprifig I have, and not many are well-known and available.
Please tell me what to do about keeping tiny little ants (maybe a sugar ant) from demolishing all my figs. I'm in SC and the fig trees gave fruit, however, millions of little tiny ants consumed it all. NOW, the fig trees are producing a second batch of figs this same season and I would love to be able to pick and eat them before the insects get to them....please....what can I use, what do I do? Thank you, love your very INFORMATIVE presentation.
Add some sort of sticky barrier on the main stem, make your own or use a product like Tanglefoot.
I'm sure this is very interesting, but it's way over my head. Haha!
Do the persistent male F1’s produce pollen that can pollinate F1 females?
I don’t have any make F1’s that are clear to date, but they will, yes, if they are persistent. I assume they will be since all the females are. All figs in nature are F1’s since only crosses happen in the wild.
10 out of 10
1 in 1,024 chance
Also propose the best variety is ultimately named Dale
I gamble buying a variety that grew in -5 weather temperature I’m in a cone 7 area
You can bring it inside. I'm in zone 6.
@@seekeroftruth9900 do they bear fruit in containers ?
@@lydiaflores1521 Mine, that I have aren't old enough yet. Next yr will be three yrs old...we shall see. Everything else I have grown usually does after 3-4 yrs. Figs are fairly new to me, but I've kept em alive. :)
Are you sure you are a gardener and not a scientist? Careful or you'll make yourself famous. Amazing work!
I'm an engineer, so something in between the two 😂
This is the glaring difference between amateur and PROFESSIONAL fig grower.
Professional fig growers would never grow figs in places with rainy summers. You'd go bankrupt. For truly good fig production, you need very dry summers, or you'll have to grow them under a high tunnel to keep them dry.