Do you find a somewhat ripe figs gets a little riper after it is picked? (Not talking about unripe figs.)
i think they dont increase sugar amounts, from what ive read, but they can get softer and wetter. so i guess depends what you mean by ripe, typically that involves increasing sugars etc.
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I don’t usually pick them every day.. unless they are ripening really fast.
And.. some evenings when I do pick… I will get 15, 20, 25 figs from my one CH Fig tree.
I prep them… and we eat what we want… any left overs (occasionally go in the fridge).. but most often go in the dehydrator.
Dehydrated figs are very good.. and will last all winter .. and into the spring stored in a mason jar in the fridge.
This is what I mean by prepping them.
I slice them and inspect each slice for SWD.
They are pretty easy to find if you shine a bright flashlight on the fig slices.
TNHunter
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There is one called ‘Super Red Hybrid’ that is supposedly able to ripen after being picked.
Yes. I routinely age my figs on the kitchen counter for 12-36 hours before eating. If there were no pests (birds, hornets) I’d probably be able to achieve the same ripening on the tree. But I guess you could say that I pick the average fig a day or so before optimal ripeness.
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Yes, I meant do they get any sweeter as well as softer. I thought maybe they will dry up some off the vine and concentrate some sugars. It is hard to ripen fruit here. The ants find em. They are OK in morning, but by evening loaded with ants. Ants are very hard-working, relentless model commies. Same with bees, but bees are ‘honey’ helpers and not enemies.
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Is this what you mean?
In gardening and fruit growing, SWD stands for Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), an invasive fruit fly that attacks ripening and soft-skinned fruits, including figs, berries, and cherries. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Unlike ordinary fruit flies that only target rotting or overripe produce, female SWD flies have a sharp, saw-like egg-laying organ that cuts into fresh, ripening fruit to lay eggs. [1]
Signs of SWD on Figs
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Soft or sunken spots: Tiny scars left where the female punctured the skin to lay eggs.
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Squishy texture: The fig feels unusually soft, watery, or spoils prematurely on the tree.
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Larvae (maggots): Small, white-to-cream larvae hatch and feed inside the flesh of the fig. [1, 2]
How to Manage SWD in Fig Trees
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Sanitation: Promptly harvest ripe fruit and pick up any fallen, split, or spoiled figs so they do not become breeding grounds.
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Traps: Hang DIY or commercial traps baited with apple cider vinegar or a yeast-sugar-water mixture near the tree to catch adult flies.
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Pruning: Open up the canopy of the tree to increase sunlight and airflow, as SWD prefers cool, damp environments. [1, 2, 3]
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Does it hurt if you eat them or is it more for dehydration worries?
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SWD is the fruit fly that eats ripe food. Most eat rotted only fruit. They tend to rot fruit. No harm eating them just the gross factor. Once infected the fruit rots.
Here figs tend to rot from molds, then the ants come. In the fall the mold goes away and the figs can be left on longer. This time of year the start of harvest I remove figs before the ants come. Wait till the yellowjackets go for them. You aint seen nothing yet.
Ants are easy to take care of. Just use DE around the base of the plant. Or use ant traps. The yellowjackets are harder to control. Organza bags help but I just use an electrical racket to kill the wasps. Traps can be used too.
Here ants usually only go after rotting figs. So not an issue for me.
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Yes.. that is the SWD I am talking about.
If they are still around when your figs are ripening.. they will get in them.. especially those figs you let hang for best flavor.
That is what they look like .. that one was in a blackberry.
I prefer not to eat them… and my wife really dont want to eat them !!!
So I slice and inspect each one we eat.
Occasionally late fall we will get a temp like 36 or 38F… Then it warms back up… the figs continue to ripen… but the SWD are gone.
TNHunter
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SWD was bad here at one time but each year I see less of them. I’m thinking humming birds are eating them.
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The ant problem is real. Picking them slightly underripe first thing in the morning is the only way I’ve found to stay ahead of it. They do soften up reasonably well on the counter over a day or so.
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