Growing behind our 100 year old chicken coop is an epic fig tree we give love to in the winter with pruning and mulching with chicken manure and compost. This year it has rewarded our efforts with lush, rampant growth and the season's first sticky-sweet, ripe figs. They're amazing, of course, but hard to glean. Here's a photo of the shenanigans we had this morning in the name of good fruit, rigging up a pulley system to shift the limbs downward while I stood anxiously on the roof of the chicken coop (with questionable integrity) and gathered figs. I'm holding a perfectly ripe one in my hand, and the folks holding the tree limb within my reach via 100 feet of rope and a brick are Ben and Bethany, our two new WWOOFers. They'll be here for the next two weeks or so, sharing in our adventures before starting their own farm in Alabama. Couldn't have done this without them...
Figs have extremely flexible branches that are easily bent to gather fruit, but this tall, tall branch required the leverage of both Ben and Bethany.
A belt looped through the handle of a bucket gives a two-handed advantage. Note: Standing on roofs of decaying 100 year old buildings not recommended or endorsed by Elliott, Arianne, or any of the chickens at Hope Grows.
Ben and Bethany holding down the tree. Aren't they cute? We can't get enough of young farmers in the making.
--Arianne
Your figs were awesome. Yumyumyum. Thanks for showing the effort that went into picking them.
ReplyDeleteI've been jonesing for some figs. Anyway to send a pick up north?
ReplyDelete