Kitchen Garden Magazine

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Fruit of the month

Figs are so easy to grow both indoors and out and the attractive plants make a really lovely screen for any south or west-facing wall.
If they have a drawback, it is that they are rampant if left to their own devices and so are best with their roots confined in a large pot, or when planted into a subterranean container made from upturned paving slabs or special root control fabric as used by landscaping contractors to confine the roots of street trees.
The best-known and most reliable variety for outdoor growing is 'Brown Turkey' although 'Brunswick' and 'White Marseilles' can also be grown outdoors and there are many more to try if you have a cold or cool greenhouse in which to keep them.

Figs can be trained into standards, but are more often trained against a warm wall as a fan-type plant to make the most of the radiated heat. It is also possible to grow them as a bush provided the garden is reasonably sheltered.

Since figs do not require pollination to produce their round or bell-shaped fruits, only one plant is needed to obtain a crop. Figs are unusual in that they crop three times a year given enough heat. However, in the UK our summers are only long enough for one crop to ripen and this is produced from fruits that go into the winter no larger than a thumbnail. Bigger fruits, those that did not quite ripen before winter, often remain on the tree only to fall off in the spring, and on outdoor plants are best picked off in October/November. However, under glass they may survive to ripen and produce a first crop in March.

The fruits are produced on the ends of the shoots as they develop and for this reason it is important not to give plants a haircut at any time in order to try and keep them within bounds. It is better to shorten every other sideshoot that emerges from the main branches of the fan, allowing the others to grow on and to fruit. Generally this pruning is best carried out before the end of June, but shoots that are growing away from or into the wall can be removed any time. Once the leaves have fallen in early winter, the main framework can be trimmed. This involves cutting back branches which have fruited to one or two buds above the point of origin, and any sideshoots belonging to the remaining branches – those that will fruit next year – are cut back to one bud. Now is also the time to remove completely any very old main branches that may need replacing.

For more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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