Is Anybody Growing Figs In Thailand?

[piki]

Hi,

I'm living in chiangmai,

I wonder if anybody is growing figs in thailand I would like to buy from him/her.

thanks.

Piki

[CHARLES1949]

i do not know anyone growing figs in the chiang mai area......however i was able to buy a fig tree at the chiang mai university ag expo in december of 2009...also, someone was selling the trees at the maejo university ago expo in december also.........my tree was less than a foot tall and now stands about 4 feet tall with many figs on it.........the only time i have seen any figs for sell was at the royal food festival in chiang mai this past year.......chiang mai university may sell figs but i am not sure....

[getgoin]

Royal Project.

[JurgenG]

my tree was less than a foot tall and now stands about 4 feet tall with many figs on it.........

How do they taste ?

We're cleaning some land to grow fruits, why not figs ?

[rice555]

Hello Piki, there have been other farming threads on growing figs,

I don't know if the the persons growing is for home use or commerical

production?

You might get more answers on the food forum.

If you want to grow your own, search for fig growing on T-V, you can

also go to the P/N's on the picture(1 of 2) and have them send you a

copy of the magazine in the other picture. Their are 4-5 places that have

adds for trees, maybe fruit too. Mag was/is Bt. 50 ) postage. Yes it's in

Thai, but the pictures are nice!

rice555

[paracetamol]

Fig wasp !

google it ...Wikipedia... it's for me not allowed to post a URL or hyperlink

[themuse1969]

Hi Piki. I'm on the same quest. My initial search result indicates there is at least a small industry of fig products. I would think your hill country would be the best growing area, as are many fruits.

piChay

[soidog2]

Hi Piki. I'm on the same quest. My initial search result indicates there is at least a small industry of fig products. I would think your hill country would be the best growing area, as are many fruits.

piChay

A Google search in Thai; will find you several sources for fig trees.

I have some for my personal consumption, not that difficult to grow; the ripening fruit need bird protection.

Good luck

[WatersEdge]

Hi piki,

Sure wish you were closer to my dear Aunt in Los Angeles.

She would load your car with egg cartons full of figs, both yellow and purple types.

No charge, she's just happy to see them not go to waste.

Now back to serious life in Chiang Mai.

When you say you want a lot,

Roughly how many is a lot.

A lot from my Aunt for your morning bowl of cereal,

or a lot to fill containers of dried figs for export.

Is there lead time allowable for an interested farm to plant and grow?

Do you wish to lease a farm yourself to guarantee your in house supply?

It might be worthwhile to explore grafting the sweet purple fig,

into the huge wild ficus trees

A quick photo search on Google leads me to say Ficus variegata

which bear fruit of the same shape, light green color,

but too bland to put in your mouth, terrible for it's total lack of taste.

It bears clusters of fruit out the side of the bark, on both trunk and branches

rather than the type you are looking for, which bears near the leaves.

Tapping into that trunk might give you rapid access to the right kind.

I have a huge tree in the river bottom, which the old mother goats linger under

waiting for either fruit or leaves to fall.

It might not have taste, but they know it's nutritious.

Other Ficus climb and strangle a host tree.

[brahmburgers]

I grew figs in northern California, no problem. I took some cuttings of black mission here to northern Thailand, here's what happened: Started out growing good, then, yet after about 15 months, the leaves would curl, blacken and fall off. There were also small white moths, and their tiny green caterpillars ate the leaves. Frustrating. they eventually died. I don't spray chemi, but maybe I should have.

Then I got some cutting from Soidog (thanks!), and the new ones are doing better. They're growing leggy (long stems), but am cutting them back to get them to bush. Not many figs yet, but they're still young. Not surprisingly they like a lot of water. They also like a lot of manure, but not easy to get here where I reside in Chiang Rai. All the chicken farms around town went out of business when SARS hit.

I also mulch them heavily, about 6 inches deep. Don't dig around the roots (that will damage them), but just put lots of mulch on top. Roots spread wide.

Similar to avocados, Thais don't appreciate fresh or dried figs because they simple don't have them in their markets.

Incidentally, there are about 9 types of wild figs which grow in this area. Am wondering whether pathogens from wild and domesticated figs go back and forth (some of the wild ones are dying also, even when they're large and healthy looking just weeks prior). Note, figs are the earliest domesticated plant - earlier than wheat and other grains, as evidenced from ancient figs found at an Israeli archaeological dig. Scientists figured they had to be domesticated, because edible figs only grow from cuttings, not from seed.

[oldestswinger]

Bburgers: you say the roots spread widely. Back in the UK the accepted practice was to restrict root growth by planting in a (brick) - or other - lined hole 3'x3'x3'. This encouraged the production of fruit.