Finding favorites

[drivewayfarmer]

It has been a good fig season here in NH. Still is even now.
Really amazes me how good a fig we can ripen in central NH.
Had to get out the dehydrator to keep up with those we couldn't eat fresh even with help from friends.
Random snack pictures from the season.
Best picking was 50 + ripe figs from one 6 year old RDB tree one day. Still the favorite here for us along with JH Adriatic.
Black Madeira ready in the next couple of days .
After all the tastings this season so far the favorites are :
RDB
JH Adriatic
St. Rita
Norella
Malta Black
LSU Scott's Black
Maltese Beauty
Macool
Danny's Delight
MBVS
Valle Negra ( Valle Calda)

[Fygmalion]

Beautiful figs, Kerry... Your bountiful harvest gives hope to those of us in zone 6 and colder who also want to enjoy such beauties... BTW... I didn't realize that the Maltese Beauty got so big... How big was that one nestled between the JH Adriatic in the picture?

Thanks,
Tony

[drivewayfarmer]

Scott , they are both very good figs with completely different flavors .
M. Beauty is much larger for me with a sweet creamy quality and with a hint of a flavor that reminds me of pecan pie. Overall a sweet and rich flavor when fully ripe.
I love them both .

[COGardener]

Kerry, you had me at pecan pie!!!

Thank you for your insight.

[Fygmalion]

Ditto on the pecan pie comment... definitely a 'gotta have'.....

[COGardener]

Very nice Kerry!!! One day I will catch up to you. Thank you for sharing!

[drivewayfarmer]

Some pics of M. Beauty on scale.

[Fygmalion]

Super pics! Love the honey ooze in pic 1!

[GregMartin]

Very nice Kerry. I'm keeping a close eye on mine. Hopefully they'll ripen this year. Might throw a small greenhouse over it since it's starting to get a bit chilly.

[fitzski]

Nice collection, Kerry. Gives me hope to see your bounty every year.

[tinyfish]

A very nice collection of figs you have.

[lauralou]

Wow. What a bounty! I'm hungry now.

[AscPete]

Congrats!

So far my favorites continue to be the berry flavored Mount Etna Types...
Attached are photos of this mornings haul from nine 5 gallon potted trees, eight under 3 years old..

[cjccmc]

Amazing figs Pete, especially from 5 gal containers. I need to search past posts to see how it's done.

Celeste is sort of my baseline for fig flavor comparisons. On 1 to 10 scale how do Mt. E compare to Celeste for you?

[AscPete]

Thanks...
Its only one days harvest and I've been losing 15% - 20% to Wasps (then) and Fruit Flies (~ 60% loss for the Celeste cultivars on 6 trees) .


Its done with pruning and adequate fertilization... My benchmark cultivar is Hardy Chicago which is in the Dark Berry flavor group while Celeste is in the Sugar Flavor group. Celeste reminds me of Palm Dates with their small size, sweetness and light brown sugar flavor they are about a 6 - 7 compared to 7 - 8 for Hardy Chicago (and some other Mount Etna Types).

[Fygmalion]

Beautiful figs, Pete....

[don_sanders]

Nice list.

Would you say that Norella, St Rita, Malta Black, Macool, and MBVS taste very similar if not the same?

Is the Danny's Delight the light or the dark version?

Does Valle Negra taste the same as VDB/Negronne to you?

Thanks.

[drivewayfarmer]

For me they taste similar except with real different variations in "tone" , but St.Rita and Norella are the real stand outs the last two seasons .
My DD is the dark version which I got from Bob H..
Valle Negra for me is earlier and is more flavorful than the VDB or Large Negronne I've had.

[F. Bennett]

Valle Negra was superb for me this year too, Kerry. They had a very sharp berry flavor. The skin was fantastic too. I have 3 more that are just about ready to pick.