View Proposal

• Fruits
  • figs

• Energy
  • solar energy
• Crop Production
  • high tunnels or hoop houses

• Production and Production Efficiency
  • Improved crop production and/or production efficiency

• Yes, this is a farm business that meets the eligibility requirements and I am the owner of the farm business.

Immigrants coming to the Northeast have long been enamored with growing fig trees brought from their native countries. Many have successfully harvested fruit from trees right in major cities like Philadelphia and New York.  Yet, for commercial fig production (and even nursery stock), the vast majority of fruit is still being shipped from California.  Currently, overwintering fig trees involves burying, wrapping, or storing 5- to 20-gallon pots in sheds or garages. 

A method of growing fig fruit, using the Japanese Espalier technique, may be more suitable to commercial fig production in the Northeast. Using this method, the Japanese have successfully established low cordons that can be easily overwintered. With yearly pruning to spurs, this technique appears to maximize fruit production.  However, little information is available on the use of this method in a commercial setting or on which method is best for overwintering the cordons (e.g., low tunnels, hay, or burying the cordons). 

This project proposes to explore the best methods for establishing these cordons, compare actual fruit harvests with traditionally pruned in-ground figs (bush form). We will also assess the results yielded by overwintering figs using low tunnels in an open fields, low tunnels inside of high tunnels, as well as comparing harvests when burying the fig cordons to leaving them unburied. 

I began farming 10 years ago to provide my family with better quality food. I have grown traditional vegetables on an acre parcel from my home in Yardley, PA. During college, I spent time in Israel, and I became interested in growing more exotic fruits. I bought my first fig tree in 2015, and established a small nursery to sell fig trees both retail and wholesale. As of November 2021, my gross sales have been approximately $8,000.  Until recently, my primary focus has been on growing trees, but I'm turning my attention to establishing a commercial orchard to sell fruit.  In 2020, I was awarded two high tunnels through the NRCS, and I will be establishing this orchard in those high tunnels as well as in open fields in Hopewell, NJ. 

Currently, I farm part time about 20 hours per week on my home's parcel. I rent a commercial greenhouse in Pennington, NJ.  I grow well over about 1,500 fig starts per year and plan to continue growing these starts from cuttings for retail and wholesale businesses.  This year,  I plan to hire a part-time employee to help with labor, marketing, and sales.    

In the future, I will explore growing other unique edibles like Pepino, Naranjilla, olives, and various citrus (cold hardy types). 

Figs were one of the very first cultivated fruit trees (1).  The tree and its fruit (or flower, rather) have inspired stories and cultures in both ancient and modern times.  Although figs have been successfully cultivated in the Northeast for many years in backyards both in-ground and pots, no commercial fig growing operations exist north of the Mason-Dixon line.  In fact, California produces 98% of the country's fresh and processed fig fruit (2). How do we build upon the success of backyard fig enthusiasts, who are indeed harvesting fig fruit consistently from pots and in-ground trees throughout the Northeast, and scale that into a commercial operation in which figs are produced, marketed, and sold locally? 

I’d like to apply new growing and overwintering techniques to Mediterranean fruit crops, starting with the fig, using high tunnels.  If we can learn to produce high-value crops like figs, which are typically grown on the West Coast and shipped across the continent, this will help reduce our carbon footprint.  This will also provide more people an opportunity to taste a locally produced, fresh fig versus one that is necessarily harvested early for extended transport. This is at odds with the fig's ephemeral quality; when picked and eaten at its peak of ripeness, it is beloved, and has inspired thousands of backyard growers.

Whereas some have reported success in growing figs and other unique crops like citrus throughout the tri-state area, the larger commercial market is unexplored.  The barriers to entry in growing Mediterranean crops are high, and the accessibility of information to enter the market is scarce.  If we can develop a more sustainable way to overwinter fig trees in zones 6 and 7, we can bring local fig fruit to retail and wholesale markets in the tri-state area, while minimizing fossil fuel expenditures. This in turn will produce more local jobs and grow the market share directly for figs and other Mediterranean-originated fruit grown and sold in the Northeast.   

Historically, the heating high tunnels used for growing figs has been inefficient. The entire tunnel is typically heated, using natural gas, propane, or fuel oil.  This method wastes both energy and space. Fig trees are unique, in that the fruit forms on new growth, not old growth. I propose using the Japanese Stepover Espalier technique (3), Using this method, permanent cordons are established slightly above or at ground level (at ground level, they can be mulched for an extra layer of protection).  Once the cordons are established, fruiting branches can be formed every 14 inches along the horizontal growth.  These vertical branches are then pruned back every year and new buds emerge the following year, forming new vertical branches on which fruit will form.   

To overwinter these cordons, I would use Eliot Coleman’s system (4) of floating row covers over the cordons inside the high tunnel. Coleman has used this method for years to grow cold-hardy crops without heat in Maine. According to Coleman, "Double coverage moves the covered area about three USDA zones to the 'south' "(5). During extremely cold nights or weeks, greenhouse plastic could also be added directly on top of this floating row cover. This method allows the soil to store the heat. Coleman commented, “When the outdoor temperature drops to –15˚F (–26˚C), the temperature under the inner layer of the cold house drops only to 15˚F  to 18°F above zero (–10˚C to –8°C) on average (5).” Cold-hardy fig trees will suffer no die back until the temperatures are consistently lower than 15˚F. An alternative source of income could be produced while the trees are dormant by planting cold-hardy crops under these row covers. 

Section: Problem and Solution

1. Duggan T. Curious about the origin of the fig? Its history is not cut and dried. South Florida Sun-Sentinel August 9, 2001. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-08-09-0108070377-story.html. Accessed November 11, 2021.
2. Agricultural Marketing Research Center. September 2021. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/fruits/figs. Accessed November 11, 2021.
3. Fig growing in other countries. Growables March 6, 2017 https://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/FigGrowingCountries.htm. Accessed November 11, 2021.
4. Culture of edible figs. US Patent Number 7,818,915 B1. US Patent and Trade Office October 26, 2010. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bf/6a/67/6e76e071c6e7fb/US7818915.pdf. Accessed November 12, 2021.
5. Coleman E. The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, Vermont. 2009.

Section: Previous Work

1. Raising fig trees in high tunnels in the Northeast. FNE11-727. Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Projects. December 31, 2012. https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fne11-727/. Accessed November 13, 2021.
2. Evaluation of hardy fig varieties in a northern New England high tunnel. FNE14-797. Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Projects December 31, 2017. https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fne14-797/. Accessed November 13, 2021.
3. Fruit walls: Urban farming in the 1600s. Low-Tech Magazine. December 24, 2021. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/fruit-walls-urban-farming.html. November 13, 2021.
4. Our climate battery greenhouse. Threefold Farm July 9, 2020. https://threefold.farm/. Accessed November 12, 2021.
5. 2021 Off the Beaten Path Nursery in ground fig orchard update. Off the Beaten Path Nursery September 12, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkzVnHjVXtY. Accessed November 13, 2021.
6. Off the Beaten Path Nursery 2020: Assortment of in ground fig trees still producing (10/19). Off the Beaten Path Nursery October 22, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cA2tNr4C9M. Accessed November 13, 2021.
7. Low tunnel materials for protection and phenological acceleration of figs. FNE21-973. Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Projects 2021. https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fne21-973/. Accessed November 12, 2021.
8. Coleman E. The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, Vermont. 2009.
9. Reich L. Growing Figs in Cold Climates: A Complete Guide. New Society Publishers. Gabriola, British Columbia. 2021.

Materials and Methods 

1. Roach, Margaret. How to Grow Figs in a Cold Climate. The New York Times October 6,2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/realestate/how-to-grow-figs-in-a-cold-climate.html. Accessed November 11, 2021.
2. Coleman E. The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, Vermont. 2009.

Other Resources 

1. De Decker K. Reinventing the greenhouse. Low Tech Magazine December 24, 2015.  https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/reinventing-the-greenhouse.html. Accessed November 11, 2021.
2. Cornell high tunnels. Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences  https://blogs.cornell.edu/hightunnels/structures/structure-and-equipment-sources/. Accessed November 10, 2021.
3. River Road Farms: An espaliered tree nursery tour. River Road Farms November 19, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjGNgLO9_Tk. Accessed November 10, 2021.
4. Figs farm II intensive method. Miauw Farm April 14, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKKj6lvaq7I&t=46s. Accessed November 10, 2021.
5. Training and pruning figs: Tree, bush, and espalier form (post). Fig Forum March 23, 2015. https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/11735-training-and-pruning-figs-tree-bush-and-espalier-form#post11735.
6. Step over figs (post). Growing Fruit October 19, 2015. https://growingfruit.org/t/step-over-figs/24611. Accessed November 10, 2021.

This project will contribute to an understanding of whether figs are a viable fruiting crop for retail and wholesale markets for distribution in the NE.  The main objectives of the project are: 

Primary

(1) Establish a fig orchard with low-cordon espalier using the Japanese Stepover method and (2) replicate the results of previous efforts in this area with improvements to determine if the above method is viable and scalable for fruit production.

Secondary

(1) Utilize high tunnels to extend the seasons on each end--both spring and fall and (2) use low tunnels with light mulching to further create a microclimate for cordons to survive the winter and consistently produce a fig crop.

My hope is to get one step closer to inaugurating a wave of northeastern commercial fig orchards, bringing this ancient and elusive fruit to our climate so that it can be shared and treasured regardless of socioeconomic status. If successful with figs, other Mediterranean fruits may also be grown similarly, on a commercial scale. If we can redefine local as meaning within 50 miles--not 500 miles--I believe we can make the lives of both farmers and consumers more gratifying. 

The first step in the process of establishing a Japanese Stepover Espalier is to plant fig trees in the high tunnel. My fig cuttings are started in cells during the winter; therefore, the trees will be about 1 foot tall when transplanted from their cells. At the time of planting, the apical bud will be pinched to induce branching. From this branching, two leaders will be chosen as the cordons.  A piece of wire will run 1 inch from the ground over the length of the row, and tomato clips will attach the cordon to the wire. 

The selected branches will be allowed to grow 2 1/2 feet vertically.  Once this growth is established, the lower 6 inches will be clipped to the guide wire. This will allow the apical bud to continue growing vertically (which is more vigorous than horizontal growth), while slowly training the cordon along the wire.  The bottom will need to be trained horizontally biweekly or whenever the horizontal growth is above 2 1/2 feet, encouraging cordon formation horizontally. Leaves will be trimmed from the cordon as it is attached to the wire. During this period, the trees will be fed a high nitrogen fertilizer via micro sprinklers.

The primary goal in 2022 is to establish healthy cordons and to gain optimal thickness. Thicker, more lignified fig wood survives lower temperatures better than thinner, non-lignified wood (1). To accomplish this, all suckers and fruit will be pruned in the first year until the desired length of the cordon is reached. Trees will be spaced 7 feet apart in each row, with 6 feet between rows, allowing for 52 trees in two 30 x 96 high tunnels, or a total of 104 trees.  

In late December 2022, when the trees have gone dormant, wood chip mulch will be spread 6 inches wide and 3 inches deep over the cordons. Eliot Coleman-style vole traps (non-baited mouse traps set inside of wooden boxes with small entrance holes) will be placed inside and outside the high tunnel (2).  Voles can do serious damage to a fruit orchard by girdling the bark and eating through the base of the plant. Vole traps will be checked and reset daily through the winter months. In addition to these traps, free-roaming predators (e.g., cats)  will be employed to further protect the high tunnels and plants. 

At this time, a wireless thermometer and humidity gauge will be placed directly in the center of the high tunnel, at 6 feet high. The thermometer will be connected via WiFi to a smart phone enabling easy monitoring of the temperature and humidity hourly. Once nightly high-tunnel temperatures begin to dip into the mid-20s for more than an hour or two a night (estimated, mid to late December), the low tunnels will be deployed, with floating row covers over the cordons. A second sensor will be placed on top of the mulch inside of the high tunnel, and a third sensor will be placed at the top  of the arch inside of the low tunnel. Both high and low temperature readings from these three resources will be recorded daily.  

Before planting the figs in the high tunnels, a support system greenhouse will be hung from the rafters of the high tunnel. S hooks will be attached to the support system, and Tomahooks will be used to establish the vertical fruiting branches from the cordon.  Starting in the later summer of 2022 or spring of 2023, buds will be allowed to form on the cordon every 14 inches. All other buds will be removed at first sight.  These buds will form the fruiting branches. The vertical branches will need to be pruned of suckers and trained with tomato clips weekly. Once fruit begins to form and reaches about 1 inch in diameter, the leaves will be pruned from the bottom of the plant moving up (like pruning low vegetative growth on greenhouse tomatoes to improve airflow). As figs are harvested, from the bottom of the verticals up, leaves will continue to be pruned to increase air flow. Starting in March of 2023, the trees will be fed a balanced fertilizer through the micro sprinklers to encourage vertical growth and fruiting. 

About 90 days is required for figs to progress from embryo formation to ripening. The emergence of fig embryos will be recorded for each variety. Since embryos can be rather small at first, we will define an embryo as the size of a small pea. The first embryo formation and ripening date of each individual tree will be recorded for each fruit. The amount of fruit harvested from each variety will be recorded along with the date of the last fig ripening. These results will be compared with those of an unprotected test plot of each variety planted in an adjacent open field in 2022, using landscape fabric for ground cover. If any figs remain on a tree at the end of the season, the amount of unripe fruit will be recorded. The end bud on each vertical branch will be pinched off around July 15th, because of the 90-day gestation and optimal growth in higher temperatures (any figs forming after this date are unlikely to ripen). Once the trees have gone dormant in the greenhouse, the vertical branches will be pruned back to 2 nodes. The cordon will be mulched in December and covered  with floating row cover. 

The same process should be repeated in 2024. As the cordons of the Japanese Stepover Espalier mature, this would provide an opportunity to compare fig production from year 1 (2023) to year 2 (2024). It is also important to allow two years of growth and data recording to account for varying winter temperatures: If the winter of 2022 is mild, we may not have a cold enough winter to determine if growing the trees in high tunnels with mulching and the low tunnel system has any real effect on production and overwinter versus unprotected growth in the ground. 

Interestingly, almost cult-like followings have developed around specific fig growers. Fig growers seem to congregate on 2 popular fig websites-- ourfigs.com and figbid.com (Ourfigs has about 6,000 members). In order to publicize this project, I will establish a YouTube channel, recording the steps of the process along the way. I will post a minimum of 1 video per week. I will also post the process and results on http://ourfigs.com.  My goal will be to reach 10,000 followers on YouTube by the time the fruit is ripening in the second year.  

In order to publicize the project locally, I will invite a group of 10 local chefs to the high tunnel in mid-September of 2023 and 2024. The chefs will be provided a tour of the high tunnel, and given the opportunity to ask any questions they have.  Fruit will be available to sample directly from the tree and a local artist will be hired to provide light entertainment. Cheese and wine will be served with the fig fruit so that chefs can taste the considerable differences between the unique fig varieties (berry, honey, sugar, caramel, banana, etc.). 

I will also plan a "Fig Fest" in September of 2023 and 2024, at which fig enthusiasts will be invited to tour the greenhouse.

Lastly, findings of this grant project will be presented at NOFA conferences throughout the tri-state area. 

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