Fig question
- To: "Mediterranean Plants"
- Subject: Fig question
- From: C* B*
- Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 15:36:01 +0200
Hello to all,
A recent discussion made the distinction between the regular fig crop and the spring brebas (here spelt breva). Of the thirty-odd figtrees that I have on my property, there are four or five that produce them. A cruise around the property today with the old guy that farms vegetables on part of it revealed that these trees are producing almost none, despite an abundance of regular figs. The issue does not seem to be water because one of the trees does receive supplemental irrigation due to its position at the edge of a vegetable plot.
It's hard to say how long that has been the situation because I've only lived here since last September. But, I do recall there being lots of brevas during the eighties.
Climatically, the area is characterized by dry, hot summers and cold, wet winters. In this case, that means considerably more precipitation than most of the rest of Spain because of the north-south orientation of the mountains here and the clear run Atlantic air masses get up the Guadalquivir River valley from Cadiz. I'm located a few km's from its source (42ºN 3ºW, on the map). Overnight temp's regularly drop to -6 or -7º C in January and if it´s dry, frost can accumulate for days in shadows as the mountains block all but about three hours of direct sun to the property at that time of year. Summer temp´s sometimes are into the mid 40´s, but generally mid- to high-thirties. This year, if it makes a difference, there was almost no winter rain - the driest in 53 years - followed by an unseasonably cool, wet spring right through to the middle of May that almost made up for it.
There is no way that I can determine exactly what kind of figs I have. There are both dark and light varieties and, according to the 'hortelano', instances of both that grow brevas.
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
Charles Butler
Casa Rural 'Los Chorrillos del Este'
Crta. de la Sierra, s/n
La Iruela 23476
Jaén, Spain
Tfno. 636 12 75 88
c*@retemail.es
http://www.interlog.com/~chb/chorrill.html
