@Yvonne Smith While still living in Phoenix, one of the stations was doing a story about the sanitation department. A video was shown of a worker opening a manhole sewer, revealing the inner walls lined solid with gigantic roaches. He stated they estimate the average sewer as having about a quarter-million of them. Disgusting sight it was, I reflected on the then-current wave of criminal activities going on, and thought tossing an apprehended thug in one of the sewers for a day or so, followed by promise of return incarceration for repeat offense, might prove more rehabilitative than jail and slapped wrists. The image below does not even come close, but the idea is there:
We now have two fig trees, and there were baby figs on both of them last summer; but they vanished before they got ripe enough to eat. I am not sure if the squirrels (or birds ?) ate them while they were still small and green, or if the heat of the summer caused them to fall off. The same thing happens with all of our fruit (peaches, berries) so it is probably the squirrels feasting away on the baby fruits. Anyway, each year, I keep hoping, and I snipped a few branches off the largest fig tree and planted them, in hopes that these grow.
Good luck, Yvonne. My neighbor had a large fig tree/bush in town. Every year I would watch the squirrels come and strip the tree bare, just before the figs got ripe enough to pick. Once in a while they would miss one.
Okay, that answers that question ! At least I know what is happening to the figs. I will look and see if I can find something non-lethal (we love our little squirrels, too, and don’t want to hurt one), that will make the fruit less tasty for them. Maybe strong mint, coffee, or cayenne in a spray bottle ?
I live in a section of Fresno called Fig Garden. The entire area was once all Fig Trees. BTW I love Fig Newtons.
We did that to try and save the strawberries, and the next day, I found I had trapped and killed a poor little bird in the net. If I have to kill living creatures to save the berries and fruit, I am not willing to do that. So, we got rid of the nets. I am trying to move the strawberries in places that the birds are less likely to steal them, but the peaches, blueberries, strawberries and figs just never quite make it. I am just going to have to find something that will work and not hurt the little hungry birds and squirrels.
My lifetime association with Figs has always been through their Newtonian configuration. I like 'em! Hal
Sam’s club has nice boxes of fig newtons, flavored either raspberry or blueberry, although both flavors mostly just taste like a regular fig newton. The ones from Sam’s Club are made with whole wheat flour; so as a little snack now and then, they are probably as health as anything in the cookie category. Our fig trees are leafing out nicely, and the one out back has really grown; but we have yet to get even one little fig from either one of the fig trees.
I have never loved Fig Newtons, although I probably ate a ton of the stuff when I was a kid because my dad liked them, so we always had them around, while we didn't always have snacks that I liked better. I have never tried them as an adult.
Ugh, don't mention grubs to me. We have an infestation in our front yard and a stupid armadillo keeps digging up the lawn to get the grubs. I have put enough poison out there to make the yard glow in the dark, but so far the grubs (and armadillo) are winning. Oh, and I don't like figs, either. The fresh ones are kind of slimy or something. Ick.
I'm always in a "try new food" phase. Dried figs and dates had their turn in my trying to get more fiber in my diet. The best recipe I had was dried figs stuffed with feta and wrapped in fresh sage leaves and prosciutto, crisped in a frying pan, drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Those were pretty good, but not enough to make it on my routine rotation.
Our fig tree is getting larger each year, and it has quite a few figs on it this time, so we are hoping to actually get some figs from it this season. Bobby has been watering it almost every day, to help the figs get nice and plump.