NORMAN Delandre and his brother Matthew didn't know the faintest thing about figs until they planted a tree on Boxing Day, 2007 and hoped for the best.

Ten years later, the pair have established a successful crop of 1000 healthy trees on their Lyndhurst Lane property in Warwick.

Until recently, figs were something of a forgotten fruit of biblical tales and ancient mythology.

"A lot of people don't know what a fig is but they are becoming more and more popular," Mr Delandre said.

"You see them a lot more on cooking shows, used in deserts and cheese platters. Some ladies buy them for jam."

The first and only commercial fig farmers in Warwick, the Delandre brothers of Darling Downs Quality Figs have just harvested their first fruits for the year.

And now they are sending them to markets and grocery stores in Brisbane and around the Southern Downs.

Granite Belt winery Castle Glen has even made fig wine and fig liqueur from Mr Delandre's fruit.

Growing up on a property just outside Warwick, Norman and Matthew developed a flair for farming.

"My brother and I have a passion for growing stuff on the land and originally we were going to grow limes or avocados but soil didn't suit," Norman said.

Figs were next on the list, and the squishy crop hit a soft spot with the brothers.

Furry in texture and filled with spongy, magenta flesh, figs are a delicate fruit that demand a gentle touch.

Each fruit is picked individually, wiped with a cloth and packed into trays with individual casing.

They are then kept in a cold room to sell locally or transported to markets further afield.

"They can be quite delicate to handle, they are very easy to bruise so you have to be quite gentle with them."

Figs are sold for a premium in supermarkets, but Mr Delandre said buying straight from the farmer gave locals better value for money.

But while the demand is high and the profits good, farming figs hasn't always been a picnic in the park.

Like many fruit crops, figs are sensitive to the weather and require a lot of water.

This year's harvest has began particularly early compared with previous seasons due to the fruit ripening more quickly in the hot summer conditions.

Fighting off birds is another task for Mr Delandre, who has to keep nets all around his crops to stop the fruit from being eaten.

The ups and downs of farming really hit hard when a hail storm wiped out Mr Delandre's entire crop a couple of years ago.

"I watched a hailstorm come in one day and pretty much destroy everything," he said. "Basically I got in my car and drove back to Brisbane... I couldn't look at it, I was devastated."

But the hardy trees have bounced back and produced a lot of good quality fruit over the past couple of years.

Mr Delandre expects to produce between 3000 and 5000 trays, each containing 40 figs between now and the end of the season, when the first frost hits the trees.

Winter offers a period of respite for the Delandre family after a full year of pruning, weeding and picking.

But until then it will be all hands on deck down at the farm, as fruit need to be picked every day.