italian fig trees | ficus carica

Since it’s fruiting season, this email from our files is especially relevant. Anyone who’s ever seen ants happily crawling in and out of their ripening fruit knows how irritating this is.

Albert writes:

Dear Italian fig trees,

Ants are attacking my figs as they ripen. What can I do? Any help will be appreciated.

Albert

Dear Albert,

Try “Tree Tanglefoot”* to trap the ants before they get to the figs.

Al

(* “Tree Tanglefoot” is an organic sticky compound of castor oil and natural waxes, that you apply as a barrier ring to keep climbing pests from getting access. It’s widely available.)

A recent email question, sent in by Lisa

I WANTED TO KNOW WHEN IS THE BEST PLACE TO MOVE & PLANT A FIG TREE, FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, & THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT. THANK YOU

LISA

Hi Lisa:

The only good time to move a fig tree is when it is dormant. The best time for you would be very early in the spring, when the tree is still in the dormant stage. Dig a hole in advance in the spot you have chosen to move it to, try to get as much of the roots as possible, and plant the tree as soon as possible.

All this is assuming that the tree is relatively small. A large tree can only be safely moved by a professional.

Al

Dad asked me to post that he’s out of transportable stock for the Farmers’ Market, so he’s not going to be going there for the remainder of the season. This also means he’ll be here on Saturday mornings, if you need to ask him questions or get a tree.

We got an email from Amy, who is looking for a recipe for cuccidadas, (or possibly cuchidahti, or cuddureddi, or even cucidati the spelling varies a lot.)

Hi,
Since you know a lot about Italian fig trees and such, I was curious if you knew of an
Italian fig cookie recipe? Or if not, at the very least, would you
happen to know where I can find good fresh figs in New York City?

Amy (NYC)

Hi Amy,
There are some recipe links out there, if you flex the spelling of the name a little, so I’ve posted them for you, but I wasn’t familiar with it myself.
Here’s what we found:
Sicilian Fig Cookies
Italiancook.com
Inmamaskitchen.com

As for the fresh figs, you may try the Union Square Green Market, but it’s hard for us to know: we’re around 60 miles from NYC…and as you may imagine, we never have to go out looking for fresh figs!
Thanks for your questions!
Tina