Fig Ripening and Harvest
In cold climates, getting a fig tree through winter is only half the puzzle. The other challenge is giving the fruit enough heat and time to ripen before cool fall weather slows the process.
Choose early varieties, use warm microclimates, consider breba crops, and stretch the season at both ends. Then wait for a fig to become truly ripe before you pick it.
Why figs don't ripen in time
The tree started too late in spring.
The variety ripens too late for your growing season.
The site isn’t warm and sunny enough.
The plant is making lots of leafy growth at the expense of fruit.
Wait for a fig to become truly ripe before you pick it. With some perfectly ripe figs, a drop of “nectar” appears at the bottom.
Four ways to move harvest earlier
Choose early ripening varieties
Breba figs are the earliest crop. For main crop, choose varieties known to ripen early.
Start spring earlier
Waking a tree earlier can add valuable growing time, provided you can protect tender growth from frost.
Capture heat
Full sun, south-facing walls, masonry, warm driveways, temporary covers, and protected spots can all help.
Extend fall
A simple temporary cover or protected location can buy extra ripening time after cool weather arrives.
When is a fig ripe?
Don't judge ripeness by colour alone. A ripe fig softens, hangs or droops, and feels soft to the touch. The reward for waiting is a fig too delicate for long-distance shipping, which is one of the best reasons to grow your own.
Ready to go deeper?
Fig Camp & Fig Masterclass
Learn how to grow figs in pots or in the ground, ripen more fruit, and get your plants through winter.
Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t
My complete guide to growing figs in cold climates and pots, from choosing varieties to conquering winter.
REVISED SOFTCOVER EDITION COMING FALL 2026
The completely revised edition of Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t has grown from fewer than 100 pages to 320 full-colour pages. It draws on years of growing figs in Toronto and on ideas shared by inventive cold-climate and container fig growers around the world.
If you think figs are only for Mediterranean hillsides and sun-drenched patios, think again.
In Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t, horticulturist Steven Biggs shows how home gardeners are harvesting bowls of ripe, honey-sweet figs in places where winter routinely reaches freezing temperatures and colder.
This is a practical guide to growing figs in cold climates and small spaces. Whether you’re gardening in Ontario, Idaho, Pennsylvania, or anywhere with real winters, you’ll learn how to make figs work where they shouldn’t.
Along with the key concepts, you’ll get real-world strategies from growers who are doing this successfully.
The original edition of Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t won a Silver Award of Achievement from the Garden Writers Association, now GardenComm.