Olive propagating

[bobm]

Mary, there are quite a few fig orchards in the Great Central Valley of Cal. and some of them have stands to sell figs. Also, there are 2 fig trees on the side of the road on the outside of the property fence line just 1 mile from my ranch where the ripe figs are free for the picking. So I have the option to get all of the figs that I want to eat and enjoy. Fig Newtons are just the baked figs coated in dough version and I enjoy them out of season when no fresh picked figs are to be found.

 

[thistlebloom]

I don't care for fresh figs. I can eat...two, tops, before .

I should point out that that's two figs annually.

 

[ninnymary]

bobm, I'm from Fresno, the heart of the central valley. Since all our family is down there, we go quite often. I've never seen fig trees down there. We go on Hwy 5 and then to 99. There are tons of almond trees, and citrus trees.

To me the inside of the fig newton is very seedy even though fresh figs have the same thing. I also think the dough is terrible and that they could have come up with a better recipe.

Thistle, I thought of getting a second Violette de Beurdeux for the deck but decided against it when I got a funny look from my husband. It was like "I know you love figs but seriously"?

Mary

 

[bobm]

Yes, lots of almond and citrus orchards, but have you noticed the olive, walnut, pistachio, peach, apricot, apple , quince, pomogranite, etc. orchards all around Fresno too ? Not to mention the Thompsons' seedless grapes for raisins vinyards and the table and wine grape vinyards ? How about the acres upon acres of tomatoes, and other vegetable crops or the dairy , beef and horse operatons ? How about alfalfa crops that are harvested 5-6 times per year ? How about the strawberry fields ? How about the many small Oriental vegetable acreages grown by the Hmong ? All are grown all around Fresno, Cal.

 

[jackb]

Sounds like the Garden of Eden.

 

[Smart Red]

My problem with figs is figuring out when they are ripe and ready to harvest. I tend to wait too long as I have no experience with figs other than what I have grown here.

 

[digitS']

I don't know much about figs but we had a nice little tree in southern Oregon.

To find out if a fig is ripe, put your hand under it and bounce it. If it falls off the branch and into your hand, it's ripe. If it gets away from you and falls to the ground, it belongs to the banties. They have been down there pretending to scratch around looking for bugs but actually waiting for a fig to fall off the tree ...

I like figs fresh, canned or dry. They seem very different in these three conditions but I like them almost equally as well.

I'm with Mary on the fig newton. I'm a cookie guy and a fig guy but what is that dough?! No, I can eat 'em but they sure aren't a favorite.

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

Thank you, Steve. That sounds doable.

 

[thistlebloom]

Maybe it's the brand of fig newton cookie that makes you despise it.
There are some with a whole grain cookie part that I prefer. Figs are rustic, lets just face it, and they need a hearty cookie blanket to bring out their seedy best.

 

[ninnymary]

Figs are very easy to tell if they are ripe. You just squeeze them a little like an avocado.

Thistle, I've tried that famous main brand that I can't remember.

bobm, some of the crops and beef operations that you mention are south and east of Fresno. We come up from the North of it. There are sooooo many walnuts and other types of nuts when we go east to our cabin. Nut trees have exploded everywhere. Yet, I've read that 1 almond tree takes quite a bit of water.

Mary