Fun at the Fig Farm

A fig tree? Me? You gotta be kidding! When I first started thinking about which small fruit tree to put in a container on my deck, figs were not even in the running. Anything that I have to move to overwinter is usually not at the top of my list. But I kept reading about gardeners who are growing them in the northeast – and it was time to rise to the overwintering challenge.

Encanto Nursery in California is known as one of the best places in the country to buy a fig tree, but when I contacted them, hoping to get one by mail order, I was referred to Bill Muzychko.


His fig tree nursery in Flemington, New Jersey, is not exactly around the corner, but is considered the best around. Bill started growing figs about 5 years ago and began selling them just a year ago. All the trees that have resulted were propogated from his original stock.


Here’s some photos of the greenhouse where he starts the cuttings in a mixture of perlite, sand and vermiculite.

He has varieties from 1-4 years old for sale and about 135 different varieties total.

This is a perfect example of why getting a plant from a local grower is so much nicer than buying mail order, where you’re at the mercy of whatever small bits of info about growing methods that you can glean from the catalog or even the small tag attached to it.

Since I have no fig-growing experience whatsoever, I was grateful that Bill was able to take some time on Saturday to explain the care of a fig tree to me, including his watering system – these self watering barrels. A five year old fig can drink several gallons a day.

This 1-year-old Brown Turkey variety has a few fruit on it already – that can be rare for a one-year-old tree.

This is the one I chose to come home with me.

Here are some fig growing tips from Bill. For northern climates like ours, Bill recommends keeping the trees in a potted container that can be moved inside for the winter.

1) Place the tree in a sunny location, outside after danger of frost has passed. If frost is predicted, cover the tree.

2) Use a self-watering container, like EasyCare to house your tree.

3) The tree can survive frost, but not freezing. Before Thanksgiving, bring it into the garage and water once a month, bringing it out again in the spring.

4) Trim branches back by 1/3 before bringing inside.

5) A fertilizer like Osmocote is good to use once a year. When potting, 10 cups of limestone will adjust the Ph factor. Figs like 7 - 7.5 ph.

6) Fruits are usually ready in August or September and can be picked with they start to feel soft.

There’s lots more info at this link: http://figs4fun.com/bills_figs.html. He also has fig growing classes and a "Fig Fest" in September.


Bill's Figs
329 Old York Road
Flemington, NJ 08822
Phone: 908-806-4887
Email:wmuzy@comcast.net