I think I’m starting to see why figs are ridiculously expensive to buy. The two sprawling bushes are covered in fruit this year and they are popular with the birds and insects. They’ve been straightforward to grow, but securing the ripe fruit has been tricky.

Figs - Womens HQ

I know the fig bird has been appropriately named because I’ve seen many fly out of the fig bushes. No choice, the figs needed to be netted because the fig birds feast on the ripe ones. They seem so happy chirping and darting around the native garden, who’d think they could do such a thing.

Figs - Womens HQ

Same as last year, little black caterpillars are chomping through the leaves, but I’m dealing with this and have squashed most of them. This might sound harsh, however no sprays are used and it gets rid of them.

Figs change colour and become plump very quickly and it’s important to check daily to collect ripe fruit. I will need to crawl in under the net to get my share, and that is hopefully ALL of them!

Figs - Womens HQ

Even after netting, something managed to chew the skin off a few of the ripe figs. It looks like caterpillar chewing, yet I didn’t see any? I found this blue bug though, and I hope its intentions are innocent. I’ll keep an eye out for the culprits

How delicious are the soft, brown, juicy figs to eat when ripe?   Yummy with a cheese platter, cut up in a salad and when roasted and served as a dessert.   There are many ideas on how to cook this delectable fruit and 10 Delicious things to do with Fresh Figs has caught my attention on google. I’m salivating!

I need to be extra vigilant to keep all the bugs at bay. It’ll be worth it!

Figs - Womens HQ

Handy Hint 1 #

After picking all fruit,remove netting straight away so branches don’t grow through and cause damage. How do I know this? I know because our netting has lots of holes in it from not coming straight off fruit trees. It’s a shame because netting is expensive, and so now we use lots of pegs to try and close the holes.

Handy Hint 2 #

Figs can be propagated when a branch is held to the ground (e.g. brick) and covered with soil. The branch will take root and start a new plant.

Figs - Womens HQ