My container grown fig tree is giving me another good harvest year.
Picking figs daily since mid-August, some days only a few other days a handful but lately by the containers. Sharing the bounty with friends and neighbours.
Was hoping to create some neat fig dishes, but they seem to get eaten before I can locate a recipe.
Container Grown Figs
Convinced a friend who never tasted tree-ripened figs to try one, she loved it (will have to keep an eye on my fig tree whenever she visits during fig season 🙂. Hope her husband gets to taste the ones I sent home for him.)
NOTE: To prevent fruit drops during our unusual and extend dry spell these past weeks I had to water the tree at least twice a day, the disadvantage of growing in a container.
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Long beans are loving the hot weather we are experiencing. Vines are strong and healthy and producing well.
Red Noodles Long Beans
Green Chinese Long Beans (aka Yardlong Beans & Asparagus Beans)
Red Noodles Long Beans & Green Chinese Long Beans
Many of my friends had never seen red noodles long beans nor tasted them so am sharing the harvest with them.
This week is going to be another hot week (90’s and high 80’s), long beans will be happy. Looking forward to continued bountiful harvesting of long beans.
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Harvest my first Brandywine tomato. Because of the location (too shady) my tomatoes are not doing well this year, not only are they late in coming in but also low production, need to select better location next year.
Brandywine Tomato
The above Brandywine tomato weighed in at a whopping 1½ pounds. Unfortunately I got to it a bit too late and it split, not picture perfect but still wonderfully delicious.
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Harvest for the past week included more Peppermint Swiss Chard, Chinese Chives, radishes, Shanghai Bok Choy, Beets, Amaranth and herbs.
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Still battling wildlife. Some critters ate my pea shoots, carrot tops, radicchio and parsley, need to find a solution and real soon.
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Garden to Wok 
Always love seeing what you harvest Norma. Nothing much exciting from my side at the moment, as we have had non stop rain for the past couple of weeks plus more expected until the end of this week. I do hope my garden survives so much rain. Aslo, I want to collect pallets from the hardware store in town to make some more veggie boxes.
Have a super day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hello Mandy,
You are having too much rain and we are having drought, if only we could even things out. I hope your garden survives, do post photos. A super day to you too.
Gorgeous long beans and figs, Norma! Our tomatoes at Locust Grove are all splitting this year– usually I blame too much water for tomato splitting, but not this year! I’ll have to do some research…
Hello Susan,
Thanks. Do let me know when you learn the reason.
Haven’t found an answer I’m completely satisfied with– but UNEVEN watering may be the issue. From a Cornell Bulletiin : “Keep soil evenly moist to prevent blossom end rot. This can also help prevent cracking when fruit absorbs water too fast after heavy rain following dry conditions.” We haven’t had many heavy rains, but we do water only once per week at Locust Grove.
Hello Susan,
Sounds reasonable to me.
Absolutely yearning for some of your warm weather! First day of Spring here tomorrow. Woohoo! Those figs look beautiful, as does your basket of colorful beans – have never seen red noodles long beans! Good luck with catching those darn critters. I wonder what they are?
Hello Saskia,
Glad spring has arrived in your neck of the wood. I am hoping to catch the critter/s but so far no luck
Fig envy again. I found some nice ones in the store and we enjoyed them with some prosciutto. Nice noodle bean harvest. The beans should really enjoy the weather this week.
Hello Dave,
You would enjoy growing your own fig tree, am surprised you haven’t done so. Yes, the beans are very happy.
I wish I could get to taste one of the figs!
Hello Angie,
Sending virtual figs your way, enjoy.
I’ve never tasted those long beans either, but they sure look good! And those figs … no wonder there are never enough for a recipe, they look delicious!
Hello Susie,
Long beans are easy to grow, here is the link to my Chinese Long Beans post with recipe: https://gardentowok.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/chinese-long-beans-vigna-unguiculata-subsp-sesquipedalis/
The figs were sweet as honey.
Those are lovely figs. I dug up the ones I had planted in the ground because they never seemed to ripen in time before freezing weather. The container grown ones seem to mature much earlier.
Hello Dave,
Thanks. I cannot grow fig in the ground in my area it would not survive the winter unless I am willing to bury the entire plant and then uncover it in the spring, a huge production.
Those yard long beans look amazing. I’ve never tried them – how would you say the flavour and texture compare to regular green beans?
Hello Margaret,
Yard long beans are easy to grow and will do well in your area. The flavour is different from regular green beans, not sure how to describe it. Here is the link to my Chinese Long Beans post with recipe: https://gardentowok.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/chinese-long-beans-vigna-unguiculata-subsp-sesquipedalis/
Hi Norma, your peppermint Swiss chard sounds very interesting, never had heard of that variety before. Also love the long beans…….was wondering how you prepare them,?
Hello Cheri,
The stem of Peppermint Swiss Chard is pink and white like peppermint, very pretty. Cook the same as other Swiss Chard.
Here the link to my Chinese Long Beans post with recipe: https://gardentowok.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/chinese-long-beans-vigna-unguiculata-subsp-sesquipedalis/
Thank you Norma, looks like a delicious recipe!
Hello Cheri,
You are welcome.
I have ONE Brown Turkey fig this week 🙂
Hello Mac,
Hope you harvest many, many more.
Those beans look so perfect. And I like how you color coordinated the rubber bands. The figs I got off my trees when I had them were never all that good. They always ripened in October and it was just too cold.
Hello Daphne,
My kids live in Norton, MA and grow figs in container successfully do give it another try.
As always a wonderful harvest, me too I have never seen red noodles long beans !!! and the figs!!! I wish I am one of your neighbors 🙂
Hello Amira,
I too wish we were neighbour, I could learn all about middle eastern cuisine from you.
I’m so glad you posted on figs this week. It reminded me that I have some in the fridge and I’m going to throw them in my cous cous tonight now. 🙂
Hello Kristy,
Figs in cous cous, sounds so exotic, please post recipe and photo.
I’ll snap one tomorrow. 🙂
Hello Kristy,
Thanks, looking forward.
Hi Norma! Well I went to take a picture and it turns out someone ate all the figs out of the cous cous already. Ha! I’ll see if I can find some in the store and make it again. Looks like I wasn’t the only one that enjoyed it. 😉 I’ll keep you posted.
I know that Figgy is still a baby compared to your container fig but I can’t help but be jealous of your harvest, WOW! During early spring one of our local grocers (one associated with Jamie Oliver) was selling each fig for $3.99!! That little box is worth a fortune!!!
Hello Eva,
$3.99 for one fig? What kind and how big were they? Any was sold? I could get rich from my harvest 🙂
You will be getting a lot more figs from Figgy next year I am sure.
Beautiful combination of red and green long beans. Great to grow them in the backyard as they can be very expensive buying it.
Hello Ray,
Long beans are easy to grow and because they are a type of pole beans, do not require a lot of apace a few bamboo sticks tied together for the vine to climb and they are happy. I have not seen the red long beans at the market where I am.
Your figs are stunning and I’m so glad you got to them before all the critters. And it’s so lovely that you share them with friends and neighbours. The long beans looks great too as does the tomato xx
Hello Charlie,
Always happy to share with family and friends makes them happy too.
I love Brandywine tomatoes but I found that the majority of ours this year have been splitting, not much to the point of being unusable but always a little split. Maybe it’s the year of the splits. I am so jealous of those figs!
Hello Pamela,
I am surprised that you are not growing a fig tree on your “farm”.
figs !! you rock!!
Hello RRB,
Yep, I agree.
I’ve never grown long beans, but they look interesting. I’m going to have to add them to my list of new things to try! I’m envious of your figs. I love them but I’m a failure at growing them (so far).
Good luck with your wildlife issues. We’ve had major damage this year from deer and now we’re under attack by groundhogs! It would be so much easier to grow food if the wildlife would just stay out of our gardens…
Hello Bill,
Chinese long beans are very easy to grow, you will enjoy growing and eating them. Figs are also easy to grow, do give them another try.
Your long purple beans look very long & yummy! Those figs look over ripe! Great for a chutney or freshly sliced on some decent rye bread with butter!
Hello Sophie,
The figs were ripe all right and they were sweet as honey.