TIPS FOR PICKING FIGS

Figs are climacteric. That means they will continue to ripen after they are picked. First, you must recognize when they have reached the point so that they will continue to ripen. In figs, this is marked by the fruit pedicel -or stem- which can be very short, about ¼ inch or less. When the stem is straight, they will not ripen any further if picked. When the stem starts to bend, it will continue to ripen. Usually, the fruit will also begin to bend. Only in varieties with very short stems will this be difficult to see. Next, you will see a change in color: at first, a yellow cast, and in some varieties, like Brown Turkey, they will turn shades of brown. In the final stage of ripening, they will develop cracks in the skin. At this point, they are very, very sweet and are oozing sugar. The bees love the sugar and start lapping it up, making a wound that oozes more sugar, and before you know it, there is a whole that looks like a bird pecked the fig. When picking very ripe figs, I always give it a little bump to scare the bee away before I pick. You should try to pick the fig with the stem on it. If you tear it off, the life of the fig in the refrigerator is shortened greatly. Figs are best used the day you pick them or within a day or so, and you should refrigerate them as soon as possible. Picked properly, they will even ripen in the refrigerator. That is why you rarely see true southern figs in the store. They can not control the shelf life.

How to Pick Muscadines

You pick muscadines one at a time, unlike bunch grapes such as seedless Concords or Jacques. Muscadines are NOT climacteric, which means they will not ripen after they are picked. If you pick them green or sour, they will remain green and sour. You pick Muscadines one berry at a time. You do not pick clusters. The best way to pick a muscadine, bronze or black, is by softness. You need to look at the grape and judge by the color if it needs to be felt. Then feel the grape ... if it is hard, do not pick it. If you think it is a little soft, the next step is to do a taste test. Is it sweet??? Is the skin tender??? Repeat this process until you learn by feel what a ripe muscadine grape is. If you look at the end of the rows, you can see the names of the varieties in each row. The pollinating insects of muscadines, tiny green bees, move up and down rows but not across them, which is why there are two varieties in each row. The bottom line is: if you are using color to decide whether to feel a berry, you have to associate the color with the variety. This is not as difficult as it sounds... after a little bit, you will recognize that this vine is a little more bronze, or that this has a little pink, or that this is a little more yellow, so you know when to feel the grape. In no time at all you will become an experienced muscadine picker, and with such big berries, the bucket is filled very quickly.

Bring Your Own Buckets

We encourage you to bring your own containers for picking. Or alternatively, we welcome you to use our containers in the field for picking, then transfer the berries to your own containers to take home.

Recommendations for containers:
No bags. Bags do not work well as they crush the berries. Long and low containers work well for blackberries. Blackberries crush easily if you pile them too high. For blueberries, a bucket no bigger than 2 gallons works well. Containers deeper than 2 gallons will crush the blueberries.