A question or two about figs: this is the first year our tree is really bearing. If I leave them on the tree to ripen, the ants and the hornets get to them (and I’ve brushed off the insects and bit the other side of the fig - superb.) If I bring them inside before the bugs get them, they don’t ripen nearly as well, and some of them ferment and the fruit flies get them.
So what do you fig growers do?
In previous years we always had lots of hard green figs about now and I thought NJ summers just weren’t warm enough or long enough to ripen them. But this has been the wettest summer in fifteen years or so; the grass in the field is six feet high. So in future summers I will water the fig tree well if we don’t have as much rain, and see how that works out.
I have a friend who has a very prolific fig tree and she dehydrates them when they ripen on the tree.
Red Devil may be able to answer your question about figs. I myself have zero, zip, nada experience with figs.
I check fig trees every morning and pick the ripe figs everyday, early morning. While I am doing the picking I am checking (squeeze test) the figs that may be ready for picking the next day. Figs will not ripen after being picked so I check by giving each fig a light squeeze if it gives a little I pick it. I don’t go by color for checking ripeness just the slight softness during the squeeze test. But color can be an indicator of which fig to test.
To me ants on a fig mean test it and pick it if it is ready! So far I have not had problems with hornets or birds.
You can store your figs in the fridge for about 2-3 days before using them. Or you can freeze them. The frozen ones are good for jam making as they get soft after defrosting.