Hang Time or the Susceptibility Window | Very Important Fig Tree Variety Trait

To read more about the hang time, check out the full article I wrote, here: www.figboss.co...
The susceptibility window. This is when figs are swelling and becoming softer up until the time we harvest, they are increasingly more susceptible to rain absorbing into the skin, so it's common sense to think about that susceptibility window as a priority.
Every fig variety ripens in that final ripening stage at a different rate and is therefore susceptible to the potential for rain hitting the skin of the fruit for different lengths of time. Fortunately that length of time is largely determined by the tree's metabolism, so if we as growers can take every step possible to keep the soil warm while the figs are ripening their crop, we'll see much better success.
The problem comes in the later stages of the growing season. It gets very cold for our fig trees very fast here in my yard around September 15th. During this time that susceptibility window can double or even triple. If we have a short susceptibility window of 1-4 days, we can pick our figs prior to the rain in most cases at a high quality. While the rain is occurring, our figs are not susceptible and then shortly after the rain, we can resume harvesting at a high quality.
If I were to rank each of these characteristics, the susceptibility window or the hang time would likely be the most important. If you can avoid the rain completely, would you still need the right skin quality? Would you still need the right shape? It would certainly help, but a fig that I really enjoy growing called Little Ruby ripens consistently here at a very high quality.
Even though it has an open eye, skin that acts like a sponge, and the wrong shape that often doesn't hang in the right way, it's only susceptible to rain in a 2-3 day window. It's able to pretty much avoid the rain completely.
Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia
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[@gardenofseeden]

Little Ruby giant eye and odd but ripens early and tastes great!

[@cmt6136]

two months for figs to ripe are the best. In Taiwan, it's over 30 degrees Celsius almost everyday in summer.

[@kwlweapons]

LSU Black is my shortest hang time fig, it’s a bífera workhorse that ripens breva in late may/early june. It’s my earliest and most productive fig at the moment

[@RossRaddi]

What's the hang time and where are you growing?

[@kwlweapons]

@@RossRaddi northeast mexio, hang time is around 3-5 days depending on how ripe you want them. They can dry on the tree too which is great

[@kwlweapons]

It’s also growing in part shade most of the day since it’s behind a south facing wall

[@artport7]

Hey Ross... great videos... I actually keep half of my fig trees under a clear plastic roof and control the water levels on them...You're right! It does help, especially for those inclined to split or burst after a lot of rain.. like the long yellow neck, black madeira, etc... Next year I plan to create another cover to protect the rest of my trees... I will catch the rain from the roof and use it in a controlled watering system... because no water does plants the good that rainwater does... It's pure magic!

[@ts9658]

I had thought about doing this for my container fig trees, but didn't know how to make it work. Could you tell me what materials you used, and the basic design?

[@artport7]

@@ts9658 WE have a raised bed garden system made out of concrete block... each bed is 4 ft apart and 4 ft in diameter... After a few years we decided that one of the beds was not necessary so my husband built me a small semi green house situation by creating a shed type frame using 2x4s and we covered it in corrugated plastic panels... It's open on the ends so we have plenty of air flow and it's about 6 ft wide by 32 ft long and about 8 ft tall which covers the foot print of the old raised bed.. I am able to place about 40 young fig trees inside but I now have 70 trees so next year, I want to build one twice as wide and the same length... It really works well and I am able to give my fig trees that early head start in spring by bringing them out of hibernation early.

[@ts9658]

@@artport7 Interesting! I might try something on a smaller scale since I only have a few trees. Thank you for the info!

[@mgfons]

The Cherry Cordial fig variety an has a very short hang time. Also, Exotica Strawberry Jam has a short hang time as well.

[@davecphotographyuk]

A hang time chart would be extremely usefull.