WHEN TO PICK FRUIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 300, 10 March 1928, Page 28

WHEN TO PICK FRUIT

Most fruits are best gathered when just ripe, but some, such as the early apples and pears, should be gathered a day or so before they are really ripe; they improve considerably in flavour if kept for two or three days before eating. The mid-season sorts should not be gathered until well ripened, while the late sorts ought to be left to hang as late as they will. Some of the late plums, too, like Coe’3 Golden Drop, are best left to hang late, since it is not until a slight shrivelling of the skin is apparent that they have attained their full flavour. Plums required for bottling or stewing are mostly picked when fully developed, but a little before they are ripe. When wanted for dessert purposes they must be just ripe. This means watching the trees closely and spreading the picking over several operations. To the experienced eye, colour is usually the first sign that harvesting cannot long be delayed. However, the inexperienced gardener often does not note this ripening change in hue until half the crop is on the ground, dead ripe. The safest plan, then, for such is to test the fruits occasionally. The best test is the following:

Testing Fruits For Ripeness.—Take an average fruit in the hand and raise it gently to a horizontal position. If it is ripe, it will part readily from the spur with but the slightest leverage. If a number of fruits on a. tree come away easily, it is advisable to start picking that tree straight away and also all trees of that variety.

There is a further test to make in the case of doubtful varieties of apples and pears: Cut open a few average fruits. If the pips have passed through the greenish-brown to the dark brown hue, the fruits are considered ready for gathering.