One of my most asked questions is “How do I know when apples/plums/ pears are ripe?” I remember wondering that too. The realisation that harvesting required as much knowledge as growing dawned the day I harvested a whole tree of apples in a rush of excitement because they were red. What a let down when I bit into one … sour … duh! They weren’t ripe yet.
Step one, my friends, is to have your eye on a ready date.
One of the most helpful things you can make yourself is a harvest calendar. In a perfect world, you do this at planning stage. This makes sure your fruit trees and berries arrive in a staggered fashion (ie not all at once!) throughout the year, dispersing your workload and bringing a beautiful steady supply to your kitchen table.
Romantic notions of harvesting basket loads of fruit aside – processing a tree load of fruit is a good-sized, if not rewarding mission.
Go to the sunny side of the tree (bathed in sunlight = first ones ready) and choose a ripe looking apple. Cup it in your hand and lift it up or sideways. If it’s perfectly ready it’ll separate easily from the tree with a lift – no pulling required!
Pulling can take off next years spurs and if you have to yank the apple off – it’s not ready to leave home.
Now slice your tester apple in half and check the pips out – brown pips = apples are ready. If the flesh oxidises and turns brown = not ready either. Sink your teeth into it … mmhmm … surely the best indicator of all.
Take a moment to sort your fruits. The bird pecked, black-spotted, stalkless and damaged into one crate – these will need to be eaten first or preserved. The perfect ones are for long term storage.