I had not planned to preserve figs this year. But I am getting too many to eat fresh.
Since I’m still trying to eat only healthy foods, I decided against adding a ton of sugar to them to make fig preserves. Instead, I simply dehydrated today’s harvest. That way I can enjoy them, healthy as fresh, at my leisure.
There are still quite a few figs on this tree. My other fig tree has a lot of them, too, but they are larger and are still green.
If we were not planning to travel this winter, I would put in a fall garden. I do miss having a garden and growing things.
I am hoping that next year, with a good irrigation system in place, I can combine square foot gardening and RVing.
Tinycamper's Blog 
Bill
/ July 30, 2012Figs are so wonderful! My mother (passed away) would send me a box of figs every year for Christmas. so ymmmmy! The heat has been so oppresive. I had not even thought of winter camping! But would like to try it! Throw a heater in the camper van and go for it. I would think that a hot pot of coffee on a winter morning fire would be heaven!
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tinycamper
/ July 30, 2012Bill, my mother-in-law used to send me fig cookies for Christmas. Hadn’t thought of that in a lot of years. I really looked forward to getting them!
I love winter camping as long as it’s not brutally cold. I had a couple of portable propane heaters that I used when I had the Aliner–a Mr. Heater Buddy and a Coleman Black Cat. The Coleman Black Cat (adjustable 1500 and 3000 BTU) was definitely my favorite. When I got the Casita with the furnace, I gave the Black Cat to my sister to use in her van when she doesn’t have hookups. They don’t produce carbon monoxide, but they do use up oxygen, so you have to make sure to leave a vent or a window cracked when you use them. (That also helps vent the condensation.)
If you have hookups, one of those little electric cube heaters works great.
A hot cup of coffee on a winter morning IS heavenly, and heating the water is enough to warm up a small van or trailer. Also, I don’t bother with campfires in the summer, but when it’s cold out, a campfire is magic. When I don’t have to pay for firewood, I like to keep one going morning, afternoon and evening!
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kathy nik
/ July 31, 2012Those figs look delicious! It’s SO difficult find products without added sugar, so this is a great solution.
It’s always fascinating to hear about the world of camping and all the equipment needed and solutions to problems, summer and winter. Watch out for bears, though! I’m not kidding that a couple of black bears have been ‘visiting’ a shopping mall here in Pittsburgh! One even got into Sears!! There is a wooded area nearby so it’s not a total mystery, but they are showing up more and more in the suburbs, poor things! One was sitting on a Guy’s porch!
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tinycamper
/ July 31, 2012Kathy, I am concerned about bears. Some people have a Bambi-eye view of them. I don’t. I’ve read those stories about the bears visiting the shopping mall — also one about a family of bears getting inside and damaging a house, the same house, several times. I’ve also seen videos of bears breaking into vehicles and it’s not pretty! It’s so dangerous when they get habituated to human food and become scavengers. They are really doomed then.
We do plan to camp in bear country later, only because we would have to stay away from the NC mountains to avoid them. We plan to keep a clean camp. I haven’t read of bears causing problems in that campground, but you never know.
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Lynne
/ July 31, 2012What a pretty picture of figs! Are they the brown turkey kind? I have one small bush that has given me lots of treats this year.
There are bears in the North Carolina campgrounds but they only cause problems when people leave their coolers out or don’t clean up after grilling.
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tinycamper
/ July 31, 2012Lynne, I don’t know what kind they are. They probably are the brown turkey figs. They are small fruits. If I leave them on the tree until they are fully ripe, they ooze drops of honey sweetness. I’m afraid to leave them on till they get to that stage though as too many other critters find them irresistible.
Glad to hear that you are enjoying your own harvest of them this year!
I thought that was probably the case with the bears, but I am still a little leery of them. I have even thought of leaving the grill at home. Guess I will just make sure it stays as clean as we can get it, then put it and the cooler in the truck cab at night — hidden from sight under a tarp.
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Elizabeth in NC
/ July 31, 2012With all the drought this year, some seem to think whatever food is available will be quite expensive…so sounds very wise to me to preserve whatever you can!!
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tinycamper
/ July 31, 2012Elizabeth, that’s my main motivation for planning a garden for next spring. A couple of years (several years ago), I grew all the veggies we could eat and canned enough to last through the winter from my square foot gardens and Earth Boxes. I plan to make it a priority next spring. Will still plan camping trips, but will keep them short enough that the irrigation system will keep them going while we are away.
I had never heard of water restrictions including vegetable gardens, but our last big drought even that was forbidden. If that happens again, I plan to divert gray water from our kitchen sink and shower for garden use. It shouldn’t be a problem in our rural area.
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