A question was asked on the other forum http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg010452397762.html?9 about hydroponics and whether or not it would work with figs. This made me think again of the Japanese methods of intensive fig growing in greenhouses. Here are some more links from Japanese sites that may answer some of the questions about growing figs using a hydroponic system. I have not had any experience with this myself, but find it interesting nonetheless. Again, many of these pages will need some translation help using either Google Translator or Babel web translator.
These methods are also being used in Korea as well and I think that I came across an article or two from Korea about their research.