Taste Review of the Blava Fig Breba - 7/20/18

My Blava fig was originally purchased from Dan Foster in June 2017. He is a well respected fig collector with many great varieties.

 I had no idea that Blavas had brebas, so I was excited to see fruit on this young tree. Picked 7/20/18

Unfortunately, there was a only 1 fig on this entire tree. Judging by the droopiness of the fig on the branch I picked it. You never know when the bird will get to them or hungry relatives who like to tour your yard.

The color of the fig was a deep black cherry. It was quite pretty.

For a breba, it was quite small. only 10.7grams.

And when I cut it open it looked very dry on the inside. So my initial reaction was that it was going to be a bad tasting fig.

I was surprised however to find that it had such a strong distinct and intense dark cherry flavor. I've never tasted a fig that tasted so much like cherries. It was somewhat acidic in the best way. I enjoyed every small bite of it. Now had it been juicier this little fig would have scored a bit higher but I have high hopes for it next yr.

Blava Fig (7/20/18) 2yr old plant

Breba

Taste: 7

Sweetness: 6

Size: 2 (10.7 grams)

Productivity: .5

Total =  15

I donated some figs to the New Start Community Garden

I was extremely happy to meet Taryn,

who helps to run the NewStart Community Garden in Burien. AKA the Shark Garden.

Together with John they've converted a highschool baseball diamond into a community garden.

I love the fact that she has dedicated a spot to create a fig forest. I personally would love to see more projects like this around the PNW. I have way more trees than I can personally take care of and may donate more trees as I start to whittle down my collection.

I gave them a Ventura Strawberry,  Gillette, Chicago Hardy, Pelle De Beu, Atreano, and a couple of unknowns that I had lost the tag for.

As she gave me a tour around the gardens we cam across this incredible black berry bush that had black berries that tested like plums. It was very tasty. Even Nolan loved it.

They were plump and juicy. Taryn was nice enough to give me start from the plant. I can't wait to get it in the ground.

She also gifted me with a rare Black Goji berry plant. I'm super excited to grow this variety. It's suppose to high in antioxidants and somewhat rare.

Quoted from Logees:

Black Wolfberry, originates in the Himalayan Mountains in Central Asia where it is revered for its health benefits. The fruit may be eaten fresh, dried or made into a tea, and just a few dried fruits added to water will turn it vivid purple. Black Goji fruit contains vitamins A, C and E, and includes some essential fatty acids which are unusual in fruits. They also have large amounts of proanthocyanidins, a powerful antioxidant that removes free radicals from cells similar to cranberries or grape seeds. The round fruit starts green and matures to purple and black when fully ripe. Black goji is a shrub that reaches 4-6’ tall. The leaves are light gray to greenish and fleshy; the branches have thorns. It is self-fertile and fruits ripen in summer to early fall.

Update on the Hydroponic Fig

My Hydroponic fig is ripening. It's in a south window and doesn't get the same light as being outdoors but it's still developing ripe figs even in just window light, which is kinda impressive.

There are some indoor mealy bug issues but they were manageable for the most part. I'll do a full review on the next ripe fig.

Although I had lost the tag to this fig. I believe this fig is simply a Kadota.

It was a very mildly sweet and had very little flavor. 4/10 score. I wasn't expecting incredible results from this experiment. I am happy to prove that you can grow ripe figs indoors without additional lighting hydroponically.