ORGANIC: CHEMISTRY: relating or belonging to the class of chemical compounds having a carbon basis; "hydrocarbons are organic compounds" GEOLOGY: being or relating to or derived from or having properties characteristic of living organisms; "organic life"; "organic growth"; "organic remains found in rock" MEDICINE: involving or affecting physiology or bodily organs; "an organic disease" GARDENING: of or relating to foodstuff grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides or hormones; "organic eggs"; "organic vegetables"; "organic chicken" CULTURAL: simple and healthful and close to nature; "an organic lifestyle" In gardening, the definition of "synthetic" is pretty stretched (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_(food) ) and some truly nasty "natural" compounds can qualify, such as rotenone and 20% acetic acid and copper compounds. READ the labels and the MSDS of these things. "Harmless", "natural" pest controls like Bacillus thuringensis kill butterflies ... if you want butterflies you have to tolerate caterpillars. Also, some of the "certified organic" fertilizers and additives are shipped long distances, and have a big "carbon footprint". ******************* "Green" considers the environmental impact of producing and shipping and disposal of something, and does the minimum necessary to solve a problem: Maine kelp extract, green sand, or Italian dolomite powder might be fabulously organic and OMRI registered, but when shipped to Arizona they are definitely not "green" because of the shipping. The all-natural, locally produced Ironite (mined about 100 miles north of here) is a lot greener. The soil sulfur I use is a byproduct of the copper smelting operations 100 miles east of here (when they cleaned up their emissions, the found out they were collecting substances they could purify and sell for a profit!) My backyard compost is REALLY GREEN because it's converting waste that would be trucked away into fertilizer. It's not strictly organic, because I use small amounts of ammonium sulfate (by product of natural gas production and purification) to boost the nitrogen content, but it's local.

I have two fig trees. One I bought as a "brown turkey" however I am almost certain it is actually a Celeste. It's figs are awesome. I love them. They are small to medium and very sweet with a thin skin. My other fig I have no idea what it is. Taken from an offshoot of an old tree in my MOm's yard, which was probably planted in the early 70s. It has larger triangular fruit and open eye. It tastes quite different from my probably Celeste. I do not like the taste of this fig nearly as much as my probably Celeste. I have had some people tell me my mystery fig may be Brown Turkey. It's figs are triangular with a wide base. They are brownish tinged with green when ripe with pinkish flesh. The skin is thick and the flesh is not as sweet as the probably Celeste and there is something else about the flavor that is distinctive but hard to describe, but it is not a taste I like particularly. I think it may be a flavor coming from the thicker skin. So if this is BT, I'm not a big fan of the flavor. I vote for Celeste :) If anybody wants to see pictures of my mystery figs, you can see them here: https://picasaweb.google.com/shanc21/Figs?authuser=0amp;authkey=Gv1sRgCKiIrqux4KPkoQE&feat=directlink Fig 1 is the one sold as Brown Turkey that I think is really Celeste Fig 2 is the mystery fig that doesn't taste as good as fig 1. Thanks, Shannon Here is a link that might be useful: Shannon's Fig Pictures

Robert from Clinton Township, I'm in West Bloomfield. I have 3 kinds -- 'Hardy Chicago,' 'Brown Turkey', and an unknown, mystery one from a cutting from an Italian-American friend, whose father-in-law grew it in his garden in St. Clair Shores. For all intents and purposes, though, IMO, they're all the same, small, blackish/purplish figs with red on the inside. I don't see much difference between any of them. Gorgi, you're right about the latex, it is abundant in unripe figs. But, I did find a recipe on a site devoted to Greek cooking called "Mama's Taverna" for candied baby figs. They are slit open and boiled first, and the author recommends using an old pot you don't much care about, because of all of the latex which comes out of them. After that, once the latex is boiled away, they are candied in a sweet, spiced syrup. I posted this on the Harvest forum with a link to the recipe if anyone is interested. By the way, I was WRONG -- I got TWO, count 'em, folks, TWO ripe figs! WOWWY -- Living large now, eh, boys and girls? Oh well, better luck next year.

A few more notes on my fig trials..... Today I ate a few figs from a cultivar that was given to me as a "Southern" Brown Turkey.....not to be confused with the South Eastern Brown Turkey, nor the California Brown Turkey, nor the English Brown Turkey. The figs were good but not as rich tasting as its earlier figs. The person who gave me this fig told me that it is believed to be a bud sport of Celeste that was found growing in an old Celeste orchard. According to some collectors, the South Eastern Brown Turkey produces red eyed figs early in their development.....while a Celeste fig's eye does not turn red until perhaps just before ripening. In this supposedly "Southern" Brown Turkey strain the eye stays completely closed and non-colored. It looks just like a regular Celeste but tends to be more of an ever-bearing fig. This cultivar will be watched much more closely by me next year as I compare it to the many other Celeste and Brown Turkey stains that I am trialing. I can see where this story might have some merit. At one time there were many fig orchards in Louisiana to supply the needs of the canning and fig preserve business....most trees were Celeste. A fig tree in a Celeste orchard that produced more crops of figs than its other Celeste neighboring trees would attract the attention of the orchard owner and probably would be propagated. Time will tell if this southern cultivar is really something different or just a fluke of the weird weather.....more fun for me next year. Also, late ripening Smith figs are still very good to excellent tasting....sweet and rich tasting with a very deep red interior pulp. The figs ripening now have a thicker neck and the skin is tinged with purple/violet stripes. Dan