Growing Figs in Cold Climates: A Complete Guide

by Lee Reich

Overview

From Minnesota to Moscow — how to grow fresh figs in cold climates

Growing Figs in Cold Climates is a complete, full-color, illustrated guide to organic methods for growing delicious figs in cold climates, well outside the traditional hot, arid home of this ancient fruiting tree. Coverage includes:

• Five methods for growing figs in cold climates including overwintering
• Cultivar selection for cool and cold climates
• Pruning techniques for a variety of methods of growing figs in cold climates
• Pest problems and solutions
• Harvesting, including ways to speed ripening, identify ripe fruit, and manage an overabundance
• Small-scale commercial fig production in cold climates.

Fresh figs are juicy, full-bodied, and filled with a honey-sweet flavor, and because truly ripe figs are highly perishable, they are only available to those who grow their own.

By choosing the right cultivars and techniques, figs can be grown across cool and cold growing zones of North America, Europe, and beyond, putting them within reach of almost every gardener. Easy and delicious — if you can grow a houseplant, you can grow a fig.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865719576
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Lee Reich, PhD, dove into gardening decades ago, initially with one foot in academia as an agricultural scientist with the USDA and then Cornell University, and one foot in the field, the organic field. He eventually expanded his field to a "farmden" (more than a garden, less than a farm) and left academia to lecture, consult, and write. He is author of many books, including The Ever Curious Gardener, Weedless Gardening, The Pruning Book, and Landscaping with Fruit, as well as a syndicated column for Associated Press. Lee has a PhD in Horticulture from the University of Maryland, and an MS in Soil Science and a BA in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He blogs at leereich.com from his farmden in New Paltz, NY.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Native home and reasons for widespread appeal

Chapter 1:
Why you can grow figs even in cold climates
Fruit bearing habit
The fig tree

Chapter 2: Pruning: very important!

Chapter 3:
Five methods for growing figs in cold climates
But first: How to care for the soil and nourish your figs
Method #1: Grow in a container
Method #2: Plant in ground each spring, dig up each fall
Method #3: Swaddle stems
Method #4: Lay down or bury stems
Method #5: In ground, in cool or unheated greenhouse or hoop house

Chapter 4: What kind of cold do you have?

Chapter 5: Some varieties for cold climates?

Chapter 6: Matching methods and varieties to kinds of cold climates

Chapter 7: Pests

Chapter 8: Harvest & preservation

Chapter 9: Future directions

Further information
Index
About the Author
A Note About the Publisher

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Growing Figs in Cold Climates is a welcome addition to our library from Lee Reich, our fruit guru. We have grown this delicious fruit on Maine's chilly coast, but Lee shows us how to do it even better."
—Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman, farmers, Four Season Farm, authors

"How far insightful horticultural knowledge can take us! Lee Reich has just talked me into trying to grow figs. Plant wisdom thrives in Growing Figs in Cold Climates. Clear instruction, backed with appropriate choice of methods for one's location, opens the doors on fig potential. Truly, to eat a fresh fig is to dine with the gods."
—Michael Phillips, Holistic Orchard Network, author,
The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard

"All gardeners need to take a look at Growing Figs in Cold Climates by Lee Reich. There is so much information applicable to growing any fruit that even if you don't want to grow figs, you won't regret the read. Here is an example of the perfect "how-to" gardening book. It is clearly written, with so many beautiful photos and expertly drawn illustrations, it could be a coffee table book and not just the next have-to-have gardening book. By all means, add Growing Figs in Cold Climates to the Lee Reich shelf in your bookcase. If you don't have such a collection get on it, ASAP!"
—Jeff Lowenfels, Lord of the Roots, author,DIY Autoflowering Cannabis

"For those who like to push the standard boundaries of suggested growing zones, Lee Reich's tribute to the mighty fig is a monumental and easily digestible resource. From pruning to pests to pairings, Reich's open love letter to the fig is full of insider tips on how to bring the familiar taste of the Mediterranean closer to home. Warning: There may be a Brown Turkey or Italian Honey in your hoop house future!"
—Jules Torti, editor-in-chief, Harrowsmith magazine, author,Trail Mix: 920km on the Camino de Santiago

"Happily for fruit lovers, expert grower Lee Reich has turned his attention to figs. This latest volume offers multiple methods for producing a bountiful fig harvest in frigid climes, even without a greenhouse. You'll learn how to grow the luscious fruit in containers or in the ground, how to prune judiciously, choose the right cultivar, and much more. This detailed guide is yet another of Reich's indispensable additions to the gardener's bookshelf. Be sure to add it to your own library."
—Rebecca Martin, Mother Earth News magazine

"Finally, a complete book about Growing Figs in Cold Climates. Lee Reich is a master at growing food, especially fruits, and his extensive personal knowledge about figs comes through clearly in his writings. This book covers every aspect and even shows you how to grow figs in five different ways to meet every gardener's needs. I've been following Lee's work for some time and trust what he says. He has a rare knack for combining science and practicality to come up with a simple way to garden. Follow his advice for growing figs and you are guaranteed success."
—Robert Pavlis, author, Garden Myths, Building Natural Ponds, and Soil Science for Gardeners, owner, Aspen Grove Gardens

"For a cold climate grower like me who does not yet grow figs. Lee Reich has made it seem easy and given me a fig growing goal. Some of his five techniques to grow figs way outside their usual growing areas would apply to other fruit as well, expanding the list of fruit to grow in your backyard or homestead. Plus the techniques open up vast areas of the planet to growing fresh figs. Finally Lee's FIGurative puns put a jovial touch to the text."
—Stefan Sobkowiak, The Permaculture Orchard YouTube Channel

"Lee Reich has written the definitive fig book! If you want to experience the bliss of eating a perfectly ripe fig fresh from your own tree—a delight that has to be experienced to be believed—this book will show you how. If you thought your climate was too cold for figs, his clear and well-illustrated instructions on different methods for overwintering fig trees will change your mind. With detailed information on the biology of these unique trees and on the types of figs, along with clear instructions on how to prune them, there is plenty here for novice and experienced fig growers alike."
—Linda Gilkeson, author, Backyard Bounty