I have been growing figs for 6 years. I love figs. I like eating them, I like setting them ablaze in a brandy sauce, I like making figgy pudding, I like selling them at the local farmer's market. This gardening year was abnormally cool and rainy. By the end of August, it looked like the bazillion figs that presented themselves on my trees were going to fall to the ground, green and hard -- fodder for the squirrels and birds. However, last Friday in a blast of ripening energy, several dozen turned color and became the joy I knew they were, with hundreds to following. I can hardly wait to get my hands on buckets and buckets of lovely, sweet figs!
Then, this morning my loving husband of 26 years says he's told some co-workers they can come to the house and harvest our figs. WHAT?!! I could not believe what I was hearing! I understand where he's coming from -- he is working long days, seven days a week right now and has no time to harvest. He knows I'm working to finish my graduate degree and teaching with little time to garden. He's thinking the figs might as well go to a happy home...which won't be ours.
So, it's time I take charge of the fig garden and learn a LOT so even if I have to give up my figs this year, it won't happen again because I'll be ready. I need to investigate fig information that will help me 1) grow plants I can manage solo, 2) add plants to make the harvesting/selling of them worth the effort to care for them, and 3) generate local knowledge so I have a vibrant customer base at my local farmer's market (so when the harvest is happening, the customers are available).
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