Farmington Couple Buys Land For Fig Farm

— A young couple in Farmington hopes to use their new fig farm to show people that a lot of food can be grown on a small plot of land.

Ultimately, the couple, Chad and Valerie Sisco, would like to be able to quit their full-time jobs and sell enough starter plants to make a living. Even now, they are mailing off these starter plants all over the country through their website.

Chad’s brother, Daniel Sisco, also is part of their business, called The Amercan Fig Company, and serves as technology director.

Chad works as a horticulturist for the city of Springdale and Valerie is a fourth- grade teacher in Fayetteville. Daniel works for Fayetteville Police Department.

The couple started their hobby in their front and back yards in Farmington, outgrew that and began looking for land out in the county to expand. They purchased about 1.5 acres off Hale Mountain Road last year and have cleared the land and are planting on the land. So far, they’ve only used about 10% of the available capacity.

“We’re passionate about showing people how much food they can grow in an urban area,” said Chad, who is a 2011 graduate of Fayetteville High School and attended the University of Arkansas, stopping just short of getting his degree in greenhouse management.

“I realized at a certain point that I didn’t need a degree for this,” said Chad Sisco, with his wife, a 2012 Farmington graduate, noting he’s found other outlets for knowledge and is willing to put in all kinds of work to learn about anything.

Chad said more people are becoming interested in growing their own food and they want to be a part of that process.

According to its website, the company has a simple vision statement: “Bring the hard-to-find cold hardy plants to the mainstream market at an affordable price.”

Chad’s blog, called Plant Fanatics, gives advice on how to grow fruit in backyards, such as honeyberries, grapes and pawpaws, a type of mango-banana fruit, and other plants.

Chad’s interest in fruit started many years ago when he decided to grow a lemon tree. He still has that first lemon tree.

He started college studying for a career in engineering and then took a plant class.

“It changed everything from there,” Chad said.

Chad said they are most interested in fruit trees and he’s especially fascinated by fig trees, the foundation of their company, The American Fig Company.

“They are biblical,” Chad said, referring to passages in the Bible about fig trees.

“Something about the fruit intrigues me. It has an exotic appeal to me and people don’t know you can grow it here. We wanted something a little more exotic, more rare.”

Chad said many fig varieties are not great for colder climates like Arkansas. He and Valerie are planting varieties that are cold hardy and are self-pollinating, not ones that need a fig wasp for pollination.

When people think of figs, they think of just one taste. There actually are many varieties, Valerie said, including a honey tasting fig, a berry tasting fig and a melon tasting fig. Some of the varieties they’ve planted are Texas Everbearing, Unknown Asbury Black and Black Maderia.

Daniel Sisco noted that figs really do taste good but most people haven’t had a good fig.

The new fig farm has about 50 different varieties of fig trees so far. Many of the varieties have not been commercialized yet and the Siscos are trying to make them mainstream so they will not be lost.

They ship cuttings in the winter when the plant is dormant. Fig trees produce in late summer but don’t ripen all at once so fruits are available for several months. After every growing season, the fig trees at the Sisco’s farm will be pruned back to the ground for the next year, Chad said.

Along with their fig orchard, they are planting many other varieties of plants, including honey berries, pawpaws, elderberries, Goji berries and mulberries. Their property includes a chicken coop and Valerie sells most of the organic eggs to her teacher friends. Another plan is a flower garden so customers can stop by and purchase fresh cuttings.

Valerie said both of them agree that every bit of their story is God leading them on this path.

While he’s only around 29 years old, Chad is an old soul of sorts in that he’s interested in “Old World” varieties of plants and collects old horticulture literature from the 1700s and 1800s.

The couple also is using the old way of farming, everything by hand. Their main tools are backyard tools, such as a shovel and a pickax. Lots of mulch is used to help protect the plants.

Backyard garden tools work best for small gardens, Valerie said, because purchasing equipment is costly and can create debt. Purchasing large parcels of land also creates debt, she said.

“You have to start small,” Valerie noted, with Chad adding, “I think farms will become more localized in the future.”

Their farm has a nursery license and they are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state of Arkansas to propagate and sell plants, plant cuttings and bare roots.

Their intent is not to sell fruits but fruits are a byproduct of what they do.

“We don’t want to waste anything,” Valerie said.

As they produce more fruit, she said one idea might be to sell at a farmers market.

Chad Sisco’s vision is that the farm will be first a local destination and then a national destination with rare varieties of fruits.

“We want this to be a fun farm,” Chad said.

Valerie added, “Anyone is welcome to come and look at this.”

To learn more, go to their website, theamericanfigcompany.com.

PHOTOS BY LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Chad Sisco, his wife Valerie, and his brother, Daniel Sisco, stand behind a fig tree planted on their new fig farm near Morrow. The plant will grow to be 10-12 feet tall but then will be pruned back to the ground after its growing season for next year. The Siscos have The Great American Fig Company and sell starter plants and roots of fig trees and other fruit through their website.

This photo shows kale in the foreground and fig trees next to the house. Chad and Valerie Sisco of Farmington, along with Daniel Sisco, have a business called the American Fig Company. They hope to show people that it doesn’t take a lot of space to grow fruits and vegetables.

Chad and Valerie Sisco of Farmington are growing many varieties of fruit trees, including this cherry tree in their front yard.

Chad and Valerie did a lot of work on their plants in their yard during the covid-19 pandemic. This walkway includes pollinators and edible plants.

A new fig farm near Morrow has more than 50 varieties of fig trees, many of them rare varieties.