Need recommendations for a southern commercial fig planting

[WillsC]

Have a friend near me who is a commercial blueberry farmer and he will be joining the forum shortly. He also has a nursery where he raises a few other fruit trees and plants as well as BB plants. He is looking to do a test field to try the waters to sell the figs commercially as he has the connections in that field.

He basically wants:

Good taste:

Disease resistant:

Abundant fruiting

A spread out harvest.

Looking at trialing 4 or so varieties and looking for recommendations.

[Gina]

I have an acquaintance who sells figs at farmers' markets near San Diego. He likes trees with a good breba crop for early sales. Not sure if that's what you mean by 'spread out harvest'.

[WillsC]

Somewhat but like RDB is early and Pasquale is late just trying to lengthen the season.

[Kelby]

LSU varieties come to mind. They were bred in part with commercial use in mind if memory serves.

[AscPete]

Not a top end fig, but for the south, Marseilles Black VS, http://www.ourfigs.com/forum/variety...illes-black-vs
Vasile S. (Herman2)

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture was growing it in the beginning of the 20th Century and it was trialed at The Maryland Department of Agriculture. In both places it was the most precocious cultivar in their trial, but the size of the fruits was not big enough to be selected for Commercial production.

If trained on a trellis (multiple cordons) it could be even more productive in a smaller foot print, which would be true for any selected cultivar.

[CajunB]

If it was my orchard,I would plant mostly LSU O'Rourke,cause at my location,its the first to break dormancy,fastest grower,larger fig than Celeste,produces till the first frost,very productive and most important of all,it just taste good..........

[Darkman]

I sure hope mine does the same. It is pushing small leaves and is about three feet tall. It survived several 19 degree nights and wild temperature swings. I did not see any freeze damage.

[paully22]

LSU O'Rourke did very well for me. Actually all 3 new(Orourke, Tiger & Champagne) LSU strains have been reliable here. According
to Dan A., many commercial farms in his area are switching over to LSU Improved Celeste.

[eboone]

Wills-if he is looking at selling figs at local markets then he should also think about the appearance of the produce. Some of the good green or yellow Southern varieties for taste like Alma or LSU Gold don't always look the best and might not sell as well to an uneducated consumer.

What about those VdB you grew on the low trellis-those were pretty productive, did they taste great and would they have sold well?

[greenfig]

I agree with Ed, they should look tasty and attractive. The return will be much higher. One local seller asked me once if I knew a red, large fig that would do well for him. He was normally selling BT and Black Missions

[drphil69]

Wills - if the farm is near you, I would have to say whatever you recommend. You are the expert in fig growing in that climate!

[Gina]

I don't know how well it does in the south, but panachee is a very striking fig.

[Pino]

Depends on the consumer market.
I think new fig eaters/lovers would be attracted by a nice looking and sizeable fig. Long time fig eaters/lovers would go for the best taste. Do a survey to find out.
The right fig also needs to grow well in that environment.

[Harborseal]

Rumor has it that Panache does a lot better in CA than the humid south. It splits with rain

[Gina]

What is this 'rain' of which you speak??

[Harborseal]

See, we need a like button for comments.

[Darkman]

Second that!

[Bevman]

IMO, that if someone was trying to introduce figs for eating, say in a market that has not tasted them before, they would offer taste samples so the consumer would be inspired to buy what taste good, no matter what it looks like on the outside. In other words, since the figs have not been available before, a certain amount of educating the consumer will be needed. We all know some of the worst looking figs are the best tasting ones.

[Harborseal]

I should be more clear. My panache split in the rain even though the plant and pot were covered in a large plastic bag. So in that case it was probably the high humidity that made them split. Since I cover them with organza bags, no insects got in and they ripened normally. Panache would be ideal for preserves/jam/etc but might not be ideal for fresh sales. St Rita and Salem Dark would be good mid season plants. Hardy Chicago is good as a mid seaqson to frost plant. HC will continue ripening good figs with highs in the low 60s, just more slowly. JH Adriatic is a great late fig which will also ripen well in cool weather.

[WillsC]

Bump

[Rewton]

OK, I'm totally out of my element in answering this question (having never lived in the south) but I'll give it a shot anyway. I second the idea of the LSU varieties - maybe LSU Scott's Black? But for variety you will also want a green fig. Perhaps Adriatic JH which produces at least some breba crop. Another possibility could be Ischia Green though it sounds like it doesn't produce very many brebas. Atreano does very well in the mid-atlantic and northeast and was developed for production in Italy. But I've also heard that it doesn't do well in the south? Perhaps another one of the honey figs will do well there - Peter's Honey?

[mountainfigs]

If I were considering growing commercial figs in Florida, and with your friend's stipulations in mind, I would take a long hard look at White Triana and Violette de Bordeaux. I would also give serious consideration to Hunt and the Mount Etnas and to all LSU figs probably beginning with both O'Rourke and Improved Celeste. I would strongly consider Dalmatie and Smith, Malta Black and Nero 600m. But I would want to personally trial all of these and several dozen others first, in the area of the orchard. I would also read closely every word of this 2010 Garden Web thread: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussi...gs-2010-season