Speeding up fig ripening

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by Margaret, Aug 17, 2007.

  1. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    Location:
    Sunshine Coast, B C Canada
    I understand that commercial grape growers remove leaves in order to improve grape quality. Is it possible to hasten up fig ripening by doing the same? I have hundreds of second crop figs forming but unless we have a very long warm and sunny autumn they will just wither over the winter. My first crop has only produced about a dozen so far. I intend to pinch off new growth as was suggested recently. The tree is about 14ft tall, is very healthy and is never fertilized and rarely watered.
    Many thanks for your thoughts.
    Margaret
     

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  2. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Location:
    Victoria Australia [cool temperate]
    I think the grape people remove some growth to let the sun in. From my experience down here figs need lots of sun to ripen well so maybe the removal of some of the leaf growth to let sun in would help but maybe need to be mindful that the wind might keep things cool if you denude too much.

    Here is a suggestion from:-

    http://home.att.net/~oc_crfg/fig-2.htm

    "To hasten ripeness in cool weather.
    The use of large plastic bags over the near-ripe figs has proved to be a good way to increase heat and thus ripen figs more rapidly. The bottom end is kept open to allow moisture to escape. In warmer areas, papers covers may be better used if the figs get too hot and cook. It also effectively keeps birds out"


    Liz
     
  3. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    Location:
    Sunshine Coast, B C Canada
    Thanks for the thoughts Liz. I suppose that my hypothesis was that food available to the fruits might be increased when it was not going to the leaves. It might be interesting to take leaves off on some branches and leave them on others and see what happens. If the figs' size increases enough I will also try the brown bag idea but at the moment we are being reminded that we are in a rain forest!
    Apparently a grape grower in the Niagara region of Canada is now using the NZ idea of using sheep to eat the leaves from his vines.
    Find all of your posts interesting as our temperatures seem similiar. We can have dry summers but the rest of the year can be fairly rainy.
    Margaret
     

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