Cultivating Flavor: Unveiling the Secrets of Figs with Steven Biggs
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 May 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, we're joined by horticulturist, journalist, and the award-winning host of Food Garden Life, Steven Biggs. Get ready for an insightful journey into the world of horticulture and a deep dive into the delicious realm of growing figs.
Biggs shares his childhood memories of only having dried figs and how a summer working at a UK nursery with a national fig collection transformed his perspective. Discover his excitement about growing figs and his dedication to teaching others the art of cultivating these delectable fruits.
Learn about the ins and outs of growing and enjoying figs as he discusses his work through blogging, podcasting, and teaching. He shares his expertise, passion, and tips for cultivating the perfect fig harvest.
Press play to unravel the mysteries of figs! You'll learn:
- The difference between figs and dates
- The fascinating process of reproducing figs through cuttings
- Optimal growing conditions for figs and the unique method of tipping a fig tree on its side to encourage growth in cold climates.
Eager to learn more? Check out Food Garden Life Show — Food Garden Life.
Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Forget frequently asked questions. |
| 0:02.2 | Common sense. |
| 0:03.1 | Common knowledge. |
| 0:04.1 | Or Google. |
| 0:04.7 | How about advice from a real genius? |
| 0:06.9 | 95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified in license. |
| 0:11.3 | 5% go above and beyond. |
| 0:13.1 | They become very good at what they do. |
| 0:14.8 | But only 0.1%. |
| 0:16.5 | A real geniuses. |
| 0:18.2 | Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you. |
| 0:22.2 | He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every field. |
| 0:25.1 | Sleep science, cancer, stem cells, ketogenic diets, and more. |
| 0:28.6 | Here come the geniuses. |
| 0:30.3 | This is the Finding Genius podcast with Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:37.5 | Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Finding Genius podcast. |
| 0:41.0 | My guest is Stephen Biggs. |
| 0:42.2 | He's a horticulturist, a journalist, host of the award-winning food garden life show, |
| 0:46.4 | and is a former horticulture instructor at George Brown College and at Durham College in Canada. |
| 0:50.8 | So we had to talk about his work in horticulture and particularly growing figs in the climate he's in. So welcome, Stephen. Thanks, Richard. Nice to be here. Yeah, I guess the figs are a pretty ancient crop. I guess they mentioned in the Bible and they've been growing for thousands of years. You know, how did you get into growing figs? Yeah, as a kid, the only things I ever had were the dried figs. And we had one neighbor who was from Malta, who always talked about as fig tree. So I was aware that people trying to grow them in cold climate. But then when I was a student studying horticulture, I spent a summer working at a nursery in the UK. And this nursery had the UK national collection of figs, if you can believe that there's such a thing. So that was my first real exposure to fresh figs, because we'd walk around the greenhouse and eat pigs, and there were all these different varieties of figs. So that got me excited about growing figs. That was my first exposures. I guess I know something funny if you dream about figs. There'll be figments of your imagination. |
| 1:45.0 | I love it. |
| 1:45.6 | Anyway, go ahead. |
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