This is the third post in a new series, in which @papa-pepper will share about different plants that they plan on growing on the homestead, and why.
Our third featured plant is the Fig Tree, and we are already enjoy the fruit of these guys
.
FIG TREE VIDEO
BACKGROUND
When we moved down to Arkansas, we noticed that a few of the neighbors had some fig trees growing in their yards. While they do not produce every year for our neighbors, they have still kept them growing and certainly do enjoy it when they can get a taste of the ripe fruit.
Since we plan on growing about all that we can, I was immediately interested in these trees and began to learn more about them.
PLANT INFO
Figs are members of the genus ficus and there are over 800 species worldwide in that genus. The varieties of fig trees that I have encountered include the Brown Turkey, Celeste, and Brooklyn White. I think that it is amazing that whether you are in northern states like Illinois and New York, or down south in Texas or Florida, there are varieties of figs that you can grow in your area.
For us, we figure that we might as well try every variety that could grow here and then see what ones do best for us. Interestingly enough, I was just gifted a larger fig tree while we were at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, but I'll share more about that some other time.
GROWING CONDITIONS
Fig trees can grow in any soil condition, but it needs to be well drained. They seem to do best in sunny areas and like a lot of organic material to grow in. Here, they do best when planted on the south side of a home, or similar structure that can reflect the heat of the winter sun.
While some fig trees farther south can grow for years, frequently they die back every year here. There should be some that are hardier which I will look into getting, but often the ones that people have in this area do die back. Then, in the spring, new shoots burst forth from the root system. We will be experimenting with the best ways to grow our own, but so far all of ours are in plants.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Figs are interesting when it comes to nutrition. For one, they become healthier for you when they are dried, instead of eaten raw. For example with 100 grams of figs, the % DV of Potassium grows from 7% to 19% when the fruit is dried, and the % DV of Manganese increases from 6% to 26%. Obviously drying the fruit helps preserve it longer, but the increased health benefits are another amazing reason to dry them.
Besides the examples shared above, figs are also a good source of Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Calcium, and Magnesium.
Figs can also act as antibacterial and antifungal agents, and they are a powerful antioxidant. They can help treat common diseases like diabetes, anemia, liver disease and ulcers.
PROPAGATION
When it comes to propagation, it is very easy to just cut a branch off of the tree and "plant" it. If you keep it watered and have at least one node below the surface of the earth, there will be a good chance that it will root. We have been practicing doing this for over a year now, and even our five year old has a good amount of experience.
Not only does the ease of propagation allow us to have as many of these plants as we want, it offers a good potential source of income too, since many people apparently will purchase a rooted fig for $10 or more. That's good news for us!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It is a blessing to be able to meet so many amazing plants and to have the opportunity to plant them and care for them. We are so excited about the future right now and can't wait to enjoy more fresh figs from our propagated plants.
As we continue to work on projects like propagating and planting fig trees, we will keep you posted on how we are doing with it. Hopefully we will even have some to share!
All photos, video, and writing are original, but some research was done at the following websites: Source 1, Source 2.
IN CASE YOU MISSED MY PREVIOUS VIDEOS FROM THIS SERIES
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-fig-tree
Until next time…
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Nice , thanks for posting and sharing the FIG, the propagation.
I love fresh fig from garden.
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You're welcome!
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I love also gardening same as you @papa-pepper. My father taught me since my childhood to plant vegetables and fruit bearing trees.
Recently, i just watched a videos about hydrophonics wherein you can plant vegetables even in limited area and you dont need soil. And you can harvest 30% more than the regular method of planting. Im still learning it through youtube videos. Hope someday ill be successful in this endeavor - having hydrophonics in my home. :)
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Very cool, I wanted to try that one day too.
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Wow!
Excellent insight on fig trees.
I learnt a lot.
Thanks!
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you are really awesome man,,
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Congratulations! Figs are so good, when I have my own land I shall plant some as well haha
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Excellent post brother. Figs are quite nutritious
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very interesting color... these berries... looks almost artificial...lila-purple... if we see some next post from you...we ll have the result of a longtime-survival-experiment if these berries really are not poisened ;-)
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the smell of fig trees reminds me of the summers of my childhood.
in my fathers village they grow a variety that it has more light color, we call them white figs. this variety we call them black. just don't eat too many or you'll end up in the bathroom . :)
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@papa-pepper and his green fingers not any one have those :-) just love green-figs and cheese
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You seem to be an expert in planting fig, and possibly other fruit plants. I have learnt a lot. Thanks so much for sharing.
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Nice posts, In fact I made a spanish connection by seeing your pictures!
Casually, are you sure the dry fruits dont just have more nutrients per 100 grams because there is actually more fruit? As they lose water you have to throw more and more figs in there to get 100 grams....
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That's what I was wondering. You can follow my source link, but I was kind of thinking the same thing might be true.
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I'm going to check that out. In the meantime, I have challenged you:
https://steemit.com/callout/@ecoinstant/ecoinstant-calls-out-papa-pepper
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I suspect that it is a concentration, this site admits as such
and even recommends rehydrating dry figs by soaking to aid digestion.
Fascinating either way, thanks for writing this article, if there is an underused and under-understood fruit it is the fig!
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I like the Lil pepper modelling for the Homestead Edition of Pops Peppers blog....She's got talent.
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Oh my favorite fruit, i just love figs so much man! In Mauritius I have seen only the one with green skin only. But we do import a lot from Holland btw.
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Great work bro.thanks for shared.go ahead.resteemd
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fig is a blessed fruit here in my country
i like its test so much :)
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I grow gigs in Florida and we have 2 harvest of them , the fall and the spring, and ours grow so much we have to cut them back every year or have little production. I wish I had as much land as you do, but then again, you have much more energy than i do. BTW, I just hit 1000 followers today and loving it, especially with friends like you making my day special every day.
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What kind of fig is it? Do you know? Alsi, if you cut it back anyway, maybe I could buy some cuttings from you next time.
Congrats on 1000 followers!
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thank you. I'm not sure of the exact name, it was here when i purchased the property, but no cost on cuttings, will let you know when I cut it back.
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I returned from Turkey a week ago. Every morning I ate this magnificent fruit! =) He's just delicious, sorry that he is not very available in our country (((
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You're the green master!
@steemitcards, !papa-pepper
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Great post! Oddly enough, I have recently developed an appreciation for figs. Where I have been living, in the desert of Australia, we have deep gorges that contain permanent water and remanent species fig trees. The gorges they live in are mostly rock, and some of the higher up trees have roots that stretch over thirty meters to the aquifers below. You can see their roots poking out of the walls of the gorge, and when you look up, you can see that beautiful fig tree drinking up the sunlight at the top of the gorge wall.
FIGGIN' AMAZING
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Where have you been? How long ago did you get back on steemit?
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It's a long story. But, I have been trying to get back on here. I have been further than the reaches of the internet could travel, managing a fully self-sustaining eco-retreat in the middle of a national park. I think I will begin contributing soon, by 2018. I am going off grid again for a month in Nepal, but will make an effort to get back up to speed on the wonderful world of Steemit. I FIGure it out someday :)
It's always good to see what you have to share!
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This post has received a 25.00 % upvote from @steemdiffuser thanks to: @jbbasics. Steem on my friend!
Get Upvotes, Join Our Trail, or Delegate Some SP
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You are the best of user steemit @papa-pepper
I like you
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Did you know that figs are one of the oldest cultivated fruits? 11,000 years by some accounts, hence the reference to Adam and Eve covering their nakedness with fig leaves.
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Right there from the beginning.
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This is such a different fig tree than what I have seen or eaten. In our areas, where I grew up, we had to climb the fig trees to pluck the fruit, or they'd be hanging in plenty. One beautiful tree would bear as much as 10 kgs or more, and broadly classified as male and female as well. The male fig bears no eatable things, and is given to cow/ox. It's easy to make home-made wine out of fig @papa-pepper. But, for that, you need to have ripe fig and there's process to rotten it. You should try doing that. It taste beautiful.
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very cool video buddy.
sorry my friend was late to enter,
because it was subuk again.
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very good post my friend..
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Mmmm, figs ;)
Can you grow the elusive PawPaw plant where you are, @papa-pepper?
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Interesting, never thought about growing these, wouldn't mind growing passion fruit. I am really getting into gardening :)
Hello there, just popping into say THANK YOU for my parcel, I have wrote a post, was a lovely surprise, thank thank you again :)
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Fantastic Figs
Great info @papa-pepper. I love figs. You've convinced me to grow one in my window!
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@papa-pepper, you like very healthy nutritious fruits I see. Ever heard of the Morenga tree?
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Divericttion is the name of the game. Here is something the little peppers could do by themselves to add to the family income. Each fig tree should produce quite a few cuttings, at $10 a time it would be a good earner for them.
When to find the best fig for your area they will be able to make a killing. Go the mighty little peppers.
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This post has been ranked within the top 25 most undervalued posts in the second half of Oct 03. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $27.03 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Oct 03 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
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We planted our fig saplings last year and we had our first crop this spring! It has been amazing. I currently have four fig trees and would like more, but I may have to buy more property...lol Our homestead is finally taking shape that we want and the figs have been a great addition. These are still fairly small trees but they provided enough for drying and eating fresh. My grandaughter likes them baked and filled with goat cheese!
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I like that passion fruits.
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Fig trees are awesome, we had two really well established trees at my parents house, and earlier this year I propagated one from a cutting off my neighbour tree. It’s now coming into its first Southern Hemisphere spring and boom, there are heaps of new leaves growing from the propagated branch.
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