I have a "thing" about the South of France and Italy. The climate, cuisine, wines and laid back culture all strike a chord with me. I long for the day when I can spend a month in a rented house, shop in the local markets, and soak up the sun and vibe.
My husband took a tree pruning class a few winters ago, where the expert gardener said, " why have an ornamental fig as a houseplant when you can have an edible fig?" The fig seed was planted. I purchased a brown turkey fig this spring. The tree had these great huge leaves that I have only seen in books (covering the nether parts of various people).
About a month later, the figs started budding. The tree had about 20 figs on it. The figs took about 2 months to mature. About a month ago, just before I started harvesting the fruit, I noticed that the leaves were getting brown and shriveled. I saw that evil spider mites had infested the tree, and were hell bent on "taking it down". Even the new leaf buds were lunch for the mites. We decided to move the tree outside. With daily showers, and the wind in it's branches, the fig seems to have recovered. The leaf buds are now able to emerge, and it may just make it.
Pictured above is the last fig from the tree. Below is the simple dish that we made by broiling the fig crop with Lola Canola Buckwheat Honey drizzled over. Buckwheat honey is very dark, with a molasses appearance and flavour. We ate the dessert on our piazza (patio) in front of the forno (fire).
1 comment:
I'm glad Miss Figgy recovered! Speaking of exotic fruit, check out www.australianfingerlime.com a caterers wildest dream come true!!! From Thea
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