It's getting cold and I've got lots of figs at the pre ripe stage just sitting there for a couple months now at golf ball stage but still unripe. I'm trying to move things along. Latest experiment is putting a ripe banana peel in a organza bag and hanging it near the figs. Not sure if its really working, but one fig out of about 30 on the tree is finally changing.

Here's an old experiment discussing the effects of ethylene treatment on figs. http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/48/3/249.full.pdf

I figured banana peels probably have a lot of ethylene. Surprisingly, no ants were attracted to it.

What about the 'rubbing olive oil' trick? People have said it works.

Interesting experiment. Let us know how it turns out. Olive oil works but the figs don't taste as good. Its hard to get sweet tasting figs in this weather.

I thought it was apples that made other fruits ripen...

I went to check on the fig today.  It's an Atreano.  Usually, they turn yellow when ripe.   This one was green still, but soft.   I plucked it and it's the best fig of the year and I tasted a lot of them this year.  I just hope that the rest ripen soon.  More banana peels.   I just happen to have banana peels and you can sure smell them from several feet away when they are over ripe so I was hoping lots of ethylene gas.   Apparently, apples and bananas emit more ethylene than other fruits especially when ripe.  It's worth a try.    I thought the olive oil trick is when they are a week away.  These have been sitting on the tree for a while but don't look close to ripe.  I'll try the olive oil on one though to see what happens.

read about this sometime ago. what causes fruits and veggies to rot quicker in some cases. heard that ethylene causes it.

some fruits release ethylene gas more than others usually bananas are gassed with ethylene on the boat before they hit the shore to get them to ripen, apples give off ethylene so when in storage cool conditions help them keep longer as well as other treatments to keep ethylene from binding to their receptors and stop them from rotting for a certain period of time.

I have read about sycamore figs being sliced slightly while on the tree to produce ethylene and cause them to ripen but I can't remember when you would do it, if it's been pollinated already and if it would work on common figs.