You check on the figs daily.  Then, literally overnight, you notice a fig has swollen up and is starting to slightly soften.  From that point, (for me) it's usually 2-3 days later when it's ready for picking.
How many days do you typically wait before you feel it's ready for picking?  I understand the variables such as weather and location, but just curious as to what everyone experiences in their yard.

When they get soft and droop, I tug.  Nothing happens, next day, I tug again.  But I will say, if they get too dried and droopy, the birds can have them!  I like a ripe, juicy fig.  So, if the fig still hangs on, and I see droop and wrinkles, I go commando!  I rip it from it's stem, and it works out just fine!

Not a fan of figs dried on the tree.

Suzi

Bumping this up to first page.

My new rule is to wait until the eye is pointing to the ground plus 1 day..... unless i am too impatient and pick it early lol.

Tyler

Hi,
I have a battery of tests :
I go tug-test and/or skin softness, by the color of the fig and by the aspect of the eye.
I like figs that don't look too ugly .
I check for damages from birds or ants as well :( .
And last, if they fell to the ground, I pick them up :) - that happened to me with my only breba of my "Sultane" fig-tree this year.
Here most of the time from the time they start to swell, I'll have to wait 5 days to 10 days for the fruit to be ready for harvest .

Tug test always seems to be the best for me. Whenever I get antsy and pick a fig that is still tightly attached, I am always disappointed. This morning I succumbed to wanting the first fig off my Unknown tree. It looked ripe, it was hanging directly downward. But I tugged and tugged. Still held fast. Finally I yanked and got it. But alas! It was still 2-3 days to early. I was sooo disappointed!

I've have got to learn to wait until one soft tug does it.