When someone asks you, "Why do you grow fig trees?

[Achilles]

This is one of many good reasons.

$12.99/lbs!!!!

[Bravo_Figaro]

omg !

[Figland]

Imagine if those were WM#1 or Black Madeira or even Strawberry Verte!

[Wunga]

Organic is always more but even without that, they are not cheap and you rarely get anything besides brown turkey.

[Achilles]

Also, figs and most fruit should be organic as they don’t have many environmental pests that need heavy chemicals. Especially figs. I need 50 acres and 5000 brown turkey 🦃 fig trees and I’d be rolling in it.

[Fig Gazer]

wait till you meet Black Fig Fly !

[Achilles]

I’ve been growing figs in Greece for many years, where BFF is very present. You quickly learn to let nature have some fruit too. It’s never stopped us from having and growing figs.

[WCFiggy]

I am not even sure those are ripe...Nothing beats a fully perfectly ripen fig freshly picked off the tree.

[Achilles]

Def not ripe.

[twoputz]

I knew my Brown Turkey was a top fig......

[Wisner]

Some local people were selling fresh figs for $8/pound this season.

[Realtorbyday]

Wow!

[TNJed]

When “someone” asks that question I respond “Honey, go watch your mystery shows and don’t worry bout what I’m doing….”

[T.Frank228]

Ha. Make that serial killer shows in my house

[Frankenberry]

That is my wife! Murder mystery shows!

[Figland]

TNJed I'm hearing that lately after this BFF thing, fortunately I have not seen any sign of it here, those trees in pots are going in the ground! Some of them are ahead of the game and now I have to wait till our "winter" to dig them up and try to replant them so I don't kill them!

[drbud]

Shopped at “Fresh Market” Jackson, MS yesterday and small trays of 3-5 BROWN TURKEY figs were $4.00!
I didn’t look to see where they were grown, but not locally, as the wrappings were preprinted with Fig name etc on it.

[Achilles]

I don’t understand how a fruit that literally can be grown anywhere can be so expensive. I’ve always wondered the same about lemons. Who pays $1 per lemon at the supermarket when a Meyer lemon can be grown in most places.

[goodfriendmike]

How many yards do you see fruit trees in? People rather spend money then dig a hole to put a tree in that "will take up to much space"

[don_sanders]

I probably spend a lot more than $1 per lemon on the lemons that I grow here in this climate. Haha.

[Sparky]

I understand the OP's point, but I have a feeling most of us are spending more than that to grow our own, even if you don't factor in labor. Include labor and it gets kind of embarrassing! 😳 But on the other hand we are not eating unripe Brown Turkeys, are we?! 😁

[venturabananas]

Every home fruit grower should read the book “The $64 Tomato”.

[Frankenberry]

My first home raised egg cost around $1200. Now 6 years later it is less than the grocery stores for delicious eggs...

Chicken manure does great as fertilizer and the cost savings continue and circle of life goes around...

[Sparky]

Frankenberry Wow that's an expensive egg. Did it say "Tiffany" on it?

[Harish-C]

$12.99/lbs!!! for Brown Turkey!/!

Which state or city is that price being asked?

[Achilles]

Northern California

[Ktrain]

People who do not grow figs will pay it I have no doubt.

I would for the right type.

[Wunga]

When I didn't have my own place I would pay a pretty penny for certain things I couldn't grow. Nothing is like a fig so 2$ for 1 was reasonable.

[Ktrain]

Agreed, I pay $5 for a Dragon Fruit because my daughter loves them so much.
That is when I can find them...which is rare.

[2AngelsMushrooms]

This is about an average price for retail sales honestly. We all know how perishable these figs can be and don't transport or store well.

[Harish-C]

I have bought fresh figs from Costco a few times, unknown varieties but most likely Brown Turkeys from California; I remember having paid something like 7.99 or 8.99 for a 2-lb. pack.

[ginamcd]

Same here, but once you sorted out the horribly under ripe and inedible fruit, you were left with about a pound of marginally edible, and maybe two or three figs that decently ripened.

[MJFIGS]

Turkish 🤣🤣

[JCT]

So $13 / lb for fresh figs is a bit extreme. What I always find silly is the price for passion fruit in the stores. It's often $2-4 per FRUIT! And this is in California where it's easy to grow. In about 2 weeks I'll be giving them away to the neighbors by the handful.

[Alastair]

Achilles, what store is this?

[Achilles]

Community market

[ginamcd]

Sadly, many will pay that for marginally ripened figs and declare them a delicacy. Once you get a taste of perfectly tree ripened fruit, you realize how horrible the under ripe grocery store figs are. Same with tomatoes -- the only ones I'll buy at the store are Campari, and only then after I give the package a sniff to confirm they smell like ripe tomatoes. Most will just grabs the reddest looking flavorless baseballs and go merrily on their way.

[JoePAFig]

Yes, exactly this! I smell the Camparis and strawberries to see if they smell like they should.

[Wisner]

The lady selling figs locally said people were crazy for fresh figs this year. She had over 40 people on a waiting list to buy from her.

[SubmarinePete]

You can’t even find fresh figs for sale here in DC. At least not on the places I shop.

[Achilles]

Beware of people that count gardening time as labor.

[sc4001992]

Here's my Brown Turkey figs. This is the only tree I have in ground, rest are new cuttings in pots. I should try eating some of my Brown Turkey instead of giving them away to my neighbors.

I have about 4 dozen fruits all ripening slowly one at a time (every week) so I might try a few of the next ripe fruits. I'm still new to fig varieties, can anyone tell me if the Brown Turkey has a breba crop, and if it does, how do you distinguish the main and brebra ? Is the fig in my photo a breba or main crop fig?

[venturabananas]

Yes, Brown Turkey has a breba crop. I can't tell the difference from a photo of the fruit alone. Breba grown on last year's wood, i.e., from an area with no leaves. Main crop come out on this year's growth, i.e., where there are leaves, just like mulberries. Don't judge figs by CA Brown Turkey. It is not a top tier variety.

[Sparky]

Try letting them hang for 2 more days. They should be much sweeter.

[sc4001992]

Thanks Mark, I checked my figs, so it looks like these are (not main crops), must have been brebas.