Tasting the Lattarula fig in Ground vs Pot

Lattarula. Otherwise known by a few other names.

AKA: Italian Honey, Blanche Royale, Lemon, Marseilles, Blanche, White Marseilles

My brother has his in ground and mine is still in a pot. You can see the clear difference in size between the two. The in ground fig is much more robust.

Picked on 7/29/18

In pot Lattarula

In ground Lattarula 

The taste is very mild the sweetness is good but I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of this fig. It's liek a better version of the Croisic. The positive is that it is a very productive breba for the PNW.  The texture is fluffy and sweet. It's still a great snack for when you want that shot of sugar.

The in ground fig was much meatier while the potted fig was a bit more concentrated and wilted. I prefer the in ground fig for sure.

Lattarula (7/29/18) 3yr old plant

Breba

Taste: 5.5

Sweetness: 6.5

Size: 7 (60 grams)

Productivity: 4

Total =  23

My Figbid Auctions are up

I have a few auctions up on Figbid. Ending in two days https://www.figbid.com/Browse/C160535/Fig_Trees

Petite Negra
Voliette De Sollies
Smith
I-258
Black Madeira

The in ground Brebas are coming!

It's the end of July and the Figs that are in ground are finally ripening. On the list is my Desert King, Violet De Bordeaux, my brother's lattarula. The Olympian and longue d'aout should be a couple weeks behind.

Lattarula

I noticed that the figs in pots that were left outside for the winter did have some breba casualties. My Gene's Vashon and Brandon figs in pots did not develop any brebas this year. They may have suffered from from frost that affected the breba wood. The main crop has already started on them though.

Ficus Palmata

I didn't realize it at the time but this unknown fig that came out of CA is most likely a ficus palmata. After watching Ross Raddi's video on the topic I became a bit more intrigued about the cousin of the carica.

The question now is if it will ever produce any ripe figs here in Seattle. Collected in 2015.

Here's my 3yr old plant. It's been neglected for the most part. But I think it's due for some TLC from me. Let's see if I can push this little guy for some ripe fruit.

Violet De Bordeaux Breba is Almost ready

My in ground Violet De Bordeaux Fig breba is almost ready to be picked! It's been hot here lately and it's helped it ripen sooner. Can't wait. It's a still a very delicious fig!

Update:

Ashland Unknown Fig ID

I bought some cuttings back in 2015 of this fig called Ashland Unknown off of Ebay.  I'm not sure why, maybe I was bored or drunk at the time or it was really cheap.  It has been in a 1 gallon for longer than it should have. This year I threw it into a slightly bigger pot to give it some room to grow and it has produced a few figs.

I love being to able to ID unknown figs. And I thought I had this one figured out but after slicing into it.

 

It looks nothing like a kadota when sliced. And it's definitely not a Desert King. However the taste has the sweetness of a Peter's Honey. Interesting fig. Good enough to keep. 

Now I have to do some research to find out it's true name. My guess is that it's a Kadota. Usually the pulp is amber but I have had Peter's honey Breba's that have turned pink. Might be due to environmental factors.

http://seattlegardenfruit.blogspot.com/2016/08/peters-honey-fig-breba-2016-grown-in.html

Ashland Unknown Fig (7/20/18) 2.5yr old plant

(Might be a Kadota)

Breba

Taste: 6.5

Sweetness: 8

Size: 4 (31 grams)

Productivity: 3

Total =  21.5

It's about to get Golden this year

Last year my poor Golden Riverside had no fruit. It was a victim of garage storage. I have windows in my garage and the little bit of light caused leggy growth which ruined fruit production. Luckily my brother's plant had figs. This year I took this fig out of the grenhouse in May and have been giving it a regular fertilization schedule and water.

It's happy and pushing out a good amount of figs. This picture is from 7/25/18. It should ripen in plenty of time.

**I have a ton of requests for this fig. Unfortunately, I sold off a couple of cuttings on Ebay. The winner informed me that they rooted fine but died upon up pot.

I also managed to root 3 cuttings but killed 2 when I went on vacation. It's still very scarce and I plan on growing out this one plant so that I have a back up for the next yr.

Learn more about it here

https://seattlegardenfruit.blogspot.com/search?q=riverside

Figs In Singapore and Malaysia Preview

Just a preview to my video made in Singapore. That'a fig grown by Dato Syed Elias. The biggest fig grower in Asia.

My friends Myka and Ryan from Fig Agro Lab in Singapore.

Tasting the Fiorone Di Ruvo Breba Fig 7/24/18

This monster fig is known as the Fiorone Di Ruvo. It's a grafted fig on a Gillette Rootstock. It's a going on yr 2.5. So far I've been impressed with this variety.

2017 Main Crop

Picked on 7/24/18

It's reliably put out gigantic brebas and a main crop. Check out last years main crop here. 2017

I've been very patient with this breba. I even covered it with a net to keep the birds out. Even Nolan has practiced some restraint from picking it, even though he's eye level to it every time he walks by.

This fig is so big that every time I have guest over, they go gaga over it.

My only concern with it, is that since it's a grafted fig the union is just not strong enough to support the weight of more than a couple of figs. So after the figs ripen this year I'll bury it in a larger pot above the grafted joint.

Nice tight eye. Keeps the bugs out and fig from splitting.

 

Almost 155grams!! That's definitely a main stay in the 100gram club.

Cutting into it, it looks a bit dry and not that appetizing. Pretty much what you would expect from such a large fig.

However when I bit into it, the fig was tastier than I had imagine it to be. Very melon like and lightly sweet. Not one of Nolan's favs. He did not eat the entire piece I gave him. I thought it was ok and not a great tasting fig but still yummy enough for me and the wifey. She prefers the melony figs vs anything too sweet.

Fiorone Di Ruvo Fig (7/20/18) 2.5yr old plant

Breba

Taste: 6

Sweetness: 4.5

Size: 16 (155 grams)

Productivity: 1

Total =  27.5

Let's talk about pots!

So you're moving into your 2nd or maybe 3rd or 4th year of growing figs. It's time to think about what size pots to buy.

In this video I share with you my recommendations for pots for your figs.

If I had to start over and buy pots again, I would go with the following:

1 gallons - 1st season
5 gallon - 2nd season
10 gallon self watering - 2nd season for the figs I want to grow really fast
20 gallons for the final size - 3rd-5th season, from here you can just root prune

This is all assuming you do not have the option of planting them in ground, which in most cases is the best route for growing figs.

Plant Pot size chart:

4" pot= pint (0.5 quart)
5-6" pot = quart (0.25 gallon)
7-8" pot= 1 gallon
8.5" pot = 2 gallon
10" pot = 3 gallon
12" pot = 5 gallon
14" pot= 7 gallon
16" pot= 10 gallon
18" pot = 15 gallon
24" pot = 25 gal
30" pot= 30 gal

Taste Review of the Black Zadar Fig Breba - 7/22/18

This Black Zadar came from figmanpeter in July of 2016

The Black Zadar fig as the name suggests may have come from Zadar, Croatia and sold out of Belleclare Nursery.

Picked the breba on 7/22/18.

It has become my fastest growing fig in the greenhouse and has taken over nearly 40% of the 9x14 ft space. It is also loaded with fruit!! No complaints about that since this is an amazing fig.

It's amazing how quickly a fig can go from green to ripened in a greenhouse. It took 2 days to go from green to the size below.

I think it was because I had picked off the big brother, the plant then channeled all of it's energy into the 2nd largest fig. It grew so fast that the skin couldn't catch up and grew stretch marks.

Strangely last year this fig pushed out brebas a in the November time frame. 

I love it's size and shape but it certainly doesn't win any awards for it's beauty. 

So far the biggest breba of the year topping out at 102 grams. 

The taste of a perfectly ripened Black Zadar is mixture of melons, strawberry, and honey. There are also subtle hints of black licorice from the skin. Very subtle and maybe masked by the meatiness and sweetness of the fig. Overall I like it a lot. With an overall score of 31.5 this fig may have beaten the DK for most well rounded fig. 

Let me see, it's over 100grams, a tasty breba, complex flavors, productive and perfectly sweet? I think that is a combination for a nearly a  perfect fig. The only draw back is that it does have a large open eye which may make it prone to bugs.

Black Zadar Fig (7/22/18) 2yr old plant

Breba

Taste: 8

Sweetness: 7

Size: 11 (102 grams)

Productivity: 5

Total =  31.5