So we have a fig tree and no figs

One of the permaculture trees that we inherited is a single fig tree near the house.  We had a conversation with the previous owners where they mentioned that it hadn't fruited.  While they didn't explicitly state how old it is, I gathered it was a few years.

A few months later, there are still no fruits.  I've been doing some reading to see why that may be the case.

Here's what I've found:

A fig tree likes full sun.

Currently the tree is shaded by a smallish maple.  I already know that I need to do a good bit of pruning to it, but this adds more incentive to do so.

 It may be "immature."

From what I've read, most fruit trees need a few years to reach maturity to begin fruiting.  Some fig trees, apparently, can take as long as six years to reach maturity.  Considering we don't know what the variety is, we can't know about the maturity with this tree. 

There may be too much nitrogen.

I don't think this is the case because we haven't done any fertilizing of the tree.  Also, based on what we're finding with the house and yard, I strongly suspect the previous owners never fertilized, either.

There may be water stress

If the tree has too much or not enough water, it may not produce fruit.  The summer was very dry, so this could be the issue.

It may be the "wrong" kind of fig.

There are some varieties of fig tree that requires cross pollination by a special wasp to set the fruit.  If winter temps get low enough, the wasp can't survive the winters.  Without the wasp, there will be no fruit for that variety of fig tree.

In sandy soils, root-knot nematodes could cause problems with fruit production.

I don't think this is the case since it's in a raised bed and our soil trends toward clay, not sand.

So.....I think we're looking at a lack of sunshine and likely not enough water (could also explain the miniature peaches we had) at the minimum.  It could also be the "wrong" kind of fig as well as being an "immature" plant.

Since we're working on a plan for redoing the large bed in front of the house, it may serve us well to plant another fig in that location.  More to come regarding the developing plans for our front bed.