Amateur Gardening

Focus on… Growing figs

FORGET fig rolls as your source of consumption – fresh figs are where it’s at! Naturally sweet, with that unique soft and crunchy combination, how exactly do you secure such a sublime harvest?

Growing essentials

Have you heard that a fig’s yield is fickle? To reassure you, the three mature fig trees that I grow are loaded with more than 200 fruits each this year – that’s hardly fickle! Just understand that, originating from western Asia, the common fig (Ficus carica) prefers things hot.

In its native climes its closeness to the Equator allows it to grow and yield almost continually. In the temperate UK (unless overwintered in a heated glasshouse or polytunnel) we should only expect one crop, which matures in late August.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Amateur Gardening

Amateur Gardening2 min read
Simply Divine Dahlias
Your plant recommendations from expert plantsman, Michael. Hello team, it’s a big moment for nostalgia this week as we talk dahlias! I have such fond memories of my grandparents’ garden, with beautiful tall dahlia plants topped with all the flower ty
Amateur Gardening5 min read
Cannier Composting
The most sustainable compost is homemade, so starting a compost heap is an extremely positive thing to do. It provides us with superb, nutrient-rich organic matter that’s full of beneficial microbes to enrich our soils. Assembling a compost heap with
Amateur Gardening4 min read
Radiant Runners, Dandelion Delights And Slow Worms
The countryside here on the border between East Devon and West Dorset is full of yellow, from fields of oil seed rape, fluttering brimstone butterflies and if I’m lucky to spot them, yellowhammers. There’s plenty of yellow in the garden too, from dan

Related