Growing and Sharing Figs in a Community Fig Orchard
Jack Spruill at the Spruill Farm Community Fig Orchard
In this interview that first broadcast live on the Food Garden Life Radio Show in 2018, we chat with Jack Spruill in North Carolina about the community fig orchard on his family farm and about his work developing a conservation project to protect the farm from future development.
Community Fig Orchard
Spruill explains that the farm grows very good figs. They were an important crop for his grandparents, who bought the farm in 1914.
But by the time his father took over the farm, things were starting to change. The figs still grew well…but they were no longer a money-making crop.
So his father started to let people come to pick figs for free. Along with fresh eating, there is a local tradition of making fresh figs into fig conserve.
The fig orchard was a community fig orchard even before he started to call it such.
Spruill says that these days, some people come to pick a few figs for fresh eating—and some still come for figs to make fig conserve.
Want More Information About Growing Figs?
This book will help you apply creative “fig thinking” in your garden and harvest fresh figs even if you have a short summer or cold winters. With some fig thinking, you can harvest figs in areas where they don’t normally survive the winter! In this book, I share many of the questions I have been asked about growing figs in temperate climates, along with my responses.
Didn’t think you can grow your own figs in a cold climate? Here’s all you need to know to grow exotic fresh figs, even if you live somewhere with cold winters. Find out about choosing the right location, watering, pruning—and how to conquer winter. You’ll also learn about varieties, dealing with pests, and get tips from cold-climate fig experts.