The classic Brown Turkey fig and why it suits the UK climate especially for brebas. Pros and cons. 

Haha you’d have to be desperate to eat the aborted November fruits 😂. I had dozens of breba fruits this year fortunately 😁

Definitely considered one of the best fig varieties to get breba fruits in most parts of the UK 👍

That only applies to the varieties of fig that require the fig wasp to pollinate them to develop fruit. Most varieties sold here are the type that do not require pollination 😁

@@lyonheart84 i only just noticed your comment. Do you have such fig plant which do not need polunation for the main crop?

All of my varieties don’t need pollination for the main crop, in fact I doubt if anybody sells the fig varieties here that need pollination to get main crop 😁

@@lyonheart84 cheers. When you say here where do you actually mean. I live in england

@tekinmoustafa8141 on the edge of London in the Southeast 😁

I made fig jam last summer from brown turkey figs, it was very nice

I don’t believe we will get any main crop figs from brown turkey this year because the summer has been all wrong for figs, as I said in the video it is the perfect fig for our climate as it reliably produces breba crops. None of my figs have main crop fruits that will ripen this year which is of course the problem of the UK climate 🙄

The breba figs on my largest tree ( unknown variety but not brown turkey ) were double this size, you can see all the recent videos about those in my fig playlist. Glad if any part of this video was some use. BTW the USA brown turkey is apparently completely different to the UK brown turkey 🤪

Glad you got a fruit, it’s a perfectly good variety here for the UK even if there are a few so called ‘delicious’ figs that will grow here

Thanks 😁

Remarkable to be getting main crop in your area, especially given the persistent rain we’ve had in the last month or two 🤪

I see no reason why not Mike, in the event of a lack of space for numerous fig plants. I suspect a scion will show its own characteristics ie wake up a bit earlier even if on a brown turkey rootstock. I feel brown turkey is only a couple of weeks later waking up but it certainly seems to progress more slowly ( or at least it does for me ). The fastest figs can develop from embryo to ripe fruit in 90 to 100 days, some such as brown turkey seem to take 100 to 110 days or even longer, that’s a crucial difference in our cooler climate 😁

Thanks Brett, the space availace in my garden is tight, so in time, grafting to my turkey fig will have to be the way to go.

Yes just like Joe’s multi grafted tree. I’ve just got mine in pots to restrict their size although of course that heavily restricts fruiting as well so not ideal 😁

I’ve previously use the half ripe figs by preserving them whole in syrup but to be honest it was a waste of time as I’ve still got most of them left a year later 😂. They are too sweet to eat much and they still have a slight aftertaste to them. Frankly in future I’ll just leave these unripe fruits on the plant and remove them when I have time and throw them in the rubbish 😂. Some times people think too hard about trying to use up inedible produce 😁

Once the tree has gone completely dormant and it’s obvious the figs won’t develop further I remove the fruits that are recognisable as figs ie 0.5 inch and bigger. Anything pea sized or smaller I leave as they should survive the winter and be next season’s brebas. The tree won’t waste energy on the larger ones as it cuts off the sap to them anyway which is why they shrivel and dry up. I only remove them because it tidies up the tree but they could also go mouldy over winter and cause disease on the tree

Hi Richard I’ve covered it a few times before but will be delighted to explain again as clearly as I can 😁. Breba is the fig technical term for the FIRST crop of the season. These are the figs that develop towards the ends of the PREVIOUS season’s growth. They overwinter as pea size or smaller embryo figs against the woody stems which allows them to survive a normal winter ( in our cool temperate climate ). They start swelling at the same time as the new growth breaks out and should reach maturity around July to August outdoors ( varies a bit with variety ). Some fig varieties do not produce breba crops reliably, some such as brown turkey do. Main crop figs are always produced on the new growth of the current season , but in the UK climate many fig varieties do not produce main crop figs at all as they do not ripen in time. A wall is perfect for growing a fig against as it maximises warmth which helps the fruits develop and ripen. Figs respond well to hard pruning so you can espalier it certainly. There are ‘tricks’ to improve the chances of breba production and tricks you can use to try and force main crop figs to develop, but you’ll need to watch the relevant videos. A simple point to remember is that if you heavily prune ALL of the previous season’s growth off the plant you would of course cut off all of the potential breba crop

@@lyonheart84 Thanks for this..much appreciated. Figs were a big part of my childhood..in my parents' walled garden. Great to understand them a little more... excited to get planting. Thanks again

Remarkable to be getting brown turkey figs ripening outside late November, it’s almost unheard of 👍. Great job

Only trouble is that I can NOT eat this main crop as even one will sent me running to the LOO !@@lyonheart84

Nice to have a good collection of figs 👍

What’s frightening is that I pruned this back to a few main stems less than 2 years ago lol, I’ll have to do the same again next winter 😂😂

@@lyonheart84 Oh yeah, I remember when you did a video of it when you pruned it. Mine hasn't grown at all since I got it at the end of June, the leaves have gone a bit pale since I planted it in the ground too 😬

@@PeterEntwistle they can definitely take a while to get settled 😱

Lol I have no idea what variety Homebase might have been selling 😂

The fruit are nice on my parents' tree and it's a reliable cropper in the UK climate. I've never really thought of the fruits as ugly 😁