Figs

Ripe figs picked today

Figs are not a crop many gardeners think of in our part of the country (the Ozarks Mountains of Missouri/Arkansas). Probably 34 years ago when I moved here, and we were still solidly in Zone 6, figs wouldn't have survived. Over that time, we've slipped into Zone 7-a as the climate has changed. Like most gardeners, I like to try to grow things I supposedly can't. As a long time fan of figs, I started my first fig plants in the 1980s just to see if I could grow them.

Brunswick figs ripening on the stem.

You may or may not know that figs can't be picked early, like peaches, then left to ripen. They have to be picked when they are completely ripe. That means soft, ripe figs don't ship well as they only have about 3 days of freshness before they start to get mushy.

I don't do anything special for any of my figs. I used to mulch them heavily, wrap leaves and straw around the stems, but the efforts were, well, fruitless. Brunswick is a fig that in our climate dies to the ground each winter, no matter what you do. And each year it sends up new stems and the figs begin ripening in late August.

Constantine figs ripen throughout the summer and fall.

The next fig I added was Constantine. This is a large bush fig (most figs are substantial bushes or small trees). Mine reached about 12 tall. I had to move it, and had a back hoe dig it up and put it in a new, better location. This year, its first year in the new spot, it has grown to over 8 feet tall and has produced a small but good crop of figs.

Constantine figs and leaf.

You can tell the variety of fig by its leaf. Each kind of fig has its own distinctive leaf. If you look close, you can see the difference in the one above, and the Brunswick below. The leaves are the same size, but the size of the figs on Brunswick are much larger than on the Constantine plant.

Brunswick ripe figs and leaf.

Brown Turkey Fig leaves.

I'm also growing Brown Turkey fig but the few figs it had were gobbled up by a squirrel before I got to them. Brown Turkey figs aren't as tasty as the others, above.

Chicago Hardy fig.

Friends at Bear Creek Farm gave me a pair of Chicago Hardy fig plants and they've been producing figs even while still in the pots! Their figs are small like Constantine, but sweet and produce bountiful crops.

I have a new book just out. If you follow the link you'll see more details. Customers have been asking for this title for several years so I finally got it off my desk and published.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity of the National Heirloom Exposition in Santa Rosa, CA, come by my booth and say hi, or come to my program. The Expo runs from Sep 11 - 13 at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. See you back here in a week.

Can You Eat a Cassabanana?

Leaves are falling without much color. Funny, that, considering 2 years ago when we had an awful drought and the leaves were beautiful. This year we had an over abundance of rain, and now, no fall color to speak of.

The rosemary plants are blooming, and the basils are all doing their best to produce seed before frost. Usually we have frost around Halloween and that's expected this year, too.

A seedling papalo sprang up in the medicinal herb bed. A reader sent a comment (listed elsewhere) that she had found papalo combined well with grape juice. I am anxious to try as I've not found a great deal it goes with. Another reader wrote that she enjoyed it crushed in water for a cooling beverage. You may recall that when Adam our friend and summer WWOOFer was here, he tried papalo in all sorts of dishes, beverages, teas nicknamed him Papalo Picasso, since he is a highly creative artist, wore great hats and played in the papalo beds. Anyoneand salads. We wanting some papalo seed to try, let me know as I'll have plenty in a few weeks. Mine came from Boliva where a friend brought it back from a native community there.

(You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them to see them better if you want).
The banana-looking plant on the left of the photo is actually a banana, the hardy variety that lives outdoors. It has outgrown the bed it's in and one of my jobs yet this fall is to dig it out and move it somewhere. I'm expecting a backhoe for some work in the driveway sometime this fall and will get him to dig a hole as it will take a considerable spot for the banana. On the right side of the photo, what looks like another banana, is actually a banana canna. Really. It looks for all the world like a banana, but isn't, and is in the canna family. It, too, has to be dug up, but it will rest in the dark and quiet of the wellhouse until spring and replanting time.

The Brunswick fig has been giving us a few ripe figs every couple of days, which is why I am anxious for the first frost to hold of as long as possible. Figs can't be picked green and ripened indoors like a tomato can. They have to ripen on the bush, then the rush is to pick the fig while soft and sweet, before the ants attack it. We've had a good crop on this plant, as well as on the Constantine fig. Brunswick freezes to the ground each winter, then comes up bigger and better in the spring. Constantine is different in that it's a 12 ft. high bush that does not die back. Both plants have excellent fruit. I added a Brown Turkey fig this year, as well and it had a few fruits and still has a few coming on. We're not in fig territory, but grow them anyway, with no actual care or attention.

One plant that is just coming into its own is the cassabana, a tropical vine that produces loofah-sized fruit. The photo here shows the female flower and the immature fruit. It would take another month or longer for the fruit to ripen. But it was worth a try and the vine is interesting on the arbor. I bought the seed at Baker Creek Seed and planted it directly in the ground last spring. Had I started the seed in February or March, I might have ripe fruit now. Having no idea what cassabanana tastes like, I don't even know what I've missed. It needs hot summer temperatures to ripen, so it will not be happy with our 40 degree nights.

Staying Cool

Hot hot hot! We've had upper 90s this week, hotter earlier than normal. And with rains every few days, we have the humidity that non-Ozarkers think we always have. While we humans hide out in the shade in mid day, it's just what the green living things need. Plants are amazing in how they take heat and sun. No sunscreens needed. The tomatoes are racing higher each day, although the heat has slowed the blossom set a bit.

Summertime arrived last week with a barrage of tourists to the Lake. Branson has long lines of traffic, the restaurants are crowded and Table Rock Lake is full of boats, skiers, and mega floating mansions being dodged by jet skis and an occasional sail boat.

I avoid the lake. Too much sun, dodging mega-mansions moving 30 miles an hour, noise, tourists who have little regard for a lake they don't live on, just doesn't sound like a good time to me. I'm more like the floating frog in the inner tube. Let me have a cool spot in the shade and I'm fine. I garden in early morning and late afternoon and avoid the heat of the day. Even this lightning bug naps during the day on the underneath side of the Constantine fig leaf.

Our friend, Ellen Spector Platt has a timely book from Stackpole Books, Lavender, How to Grow & Use This Fragrant Herb. She gives descriptions of many of the lavender varieties, includes information about growing it, lots of sources for plants, and the various ways it's used. And, like all really good books, it has recipes! Here's Ellen's recipe for Herbed Potato Salad:
3 pounds small potatoes
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 cups chopped lovage or celery with leaves
1/2 cup chopped chives
1 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers or 1/2 tablespoon dried
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cup edible flowers for garnish (calendula, chive, dill, borage, etc.)

Boil unpeeled potatoes until soft but not mushy. Drain and cool. Slice with skin on. Mix the herbs and seasonings with the yogurt and gently stir into the potatoes. Garnish with the edible flowers. Refrigerate until serving time. Serves 6.

Our own lavender in the garden is blooming happily although the blooms and bloom spikes aren't as robust this season. Too much rain in May didn't make the plants happy. We grow Munstead and Hidcote, the two most reliable varieties here. I've trialed 'Grosso,' 'Lavender Lady,' 'Linda Ligon' and several others and none live more than a year in the garden, so I've gone back to the old standbys. I use ours in ice cream, in cookies, cakes and mix the flowers (fresh or dry) with lovage, scallions, garlic and a bit of orange or lemon zest when baking chicken.

Molly, our Jack Russell, is the guardian of the garden. She believes she is a 100 pound gorilla, when in reality she's just a mere 11 pounds. Two nights ago she tackled a medium sized raccoon. Now you may love raccoons, even feed them which if you've ever skipped a few feedings and had one or more raccoons tear down your patio door, you know better. On a farm, with chickens, sweet corn, feed and other things, raccoons aren't welcome. Molly patrols at night and if she discovers an intruder, either deals with it or calls for help. She had to have help with this one and was so beaten up that she slept for a day and night, had to have antibiotics and in the heat is still a bit subdued. But she's a brave hunter and protects our territory very well.

Josh was out in the garden early this morning, gathering comfrey for one of his sick goats. Comfrey has lots of healing properties, and often a sick goat will seek it out if it's within reach. The goat had a shot of antibiotics and a good handful of comfrey.