I had two drops today so I picked the mature looking fruit.
22 Likes
Is that yellow an indicator of ripeness?
3 Likes
Not certain but I think it is one indicator. Some of them had a little give at the stem and they also easily detached from the tree. The taste test will be what matters the most.
3 Likes
Out here in my climate, that method outperforms the lift test so far this year.
2 Likes
Is it best to wait so long? I was under the impression that Harrow Sweet is better if ripening off the tree.
This is an important question for me because I have ~100 fruits waiting for me.
1 Like
The tilt test is not working on many pears this year because of higher insect pressure and unusual weather.
2 Likes
… in your location. The insect pressure on my pit & pome fruits has always been low and this year was no exception. I haven’t sprayed them since “winter”. The weather here - a long cooler than usual spring, in retrospect has been only fair for pit fruit production but excellent for the pomes. What it means for the lift test I’ve no idea as this is the first year I’ve tried it.
1 Like
Bill
Those look beautiful. My are mostly green with a bit of red blush.
Sometimes when I wait until they turn light yellow like yours, I have to eat them fast as they suffer internal rot in a short time.
2 Likes
What a different between soft and less soft. Ate one today that was a little soft and it was fantastic. The other one pictured was slightly soft and it still had a little off taste near the skin.
4 Likes
Judging from the seed color, it is bit on the not-quite-ripe side but that would prevent internal rot, I think.
2 Likes
I think you right. It wasn’t completely ripe.
1 Like
I would rather pick them a bit early than late.
I usually wait too long until they ripen. Those don’t keep long before they develop internal rot (even when refrigerated), in my experience.
2 Likes
I picked about 40 pounds of them last week, right before the big rain storm. I was a bit worried about the bending branch breaking and maybe even cracking (not sure if that is common with non-Asian pears).
Agreed- picking rotted pears isn’t fun or useful. It’s a lot easier to give them away firm and tell people to let them site for a few days. I’ve been giving most away, as there isn’t any way I want this many, especially with jujubes starting to ripen (just a trickle now, but it should really get going in the next week or two). Once that happens, I doubt I’ll want any pears, except maybe an occasional Korean Giant.
It wasn’t too easy to pick as it was, with yellow jackets & hornets buzzing around them and the tree pretty is tall. The fence in the above pic is on a retaining wall, which is about 8’ up, so the total tree height is about 14-15 feet. I actually used extension pruners to cut off one branch (while standing on the retaining wall), so I could pick the pears on it 
I did hedge my bets a bit and left a few (maybe 5 pounds) on the tree. But, once the yellow jackets start eating them and the brix is 16+, I figure they are ready for picking even if they are still hard.
5 Likes
I agree yellow jackets eating are a good guide. But not on all pears… I have a new one ripening this year, Louis Bonne does Avranches, and I just picked the first couple as I saw first damage but they are already mushy on the more ripe ones. Will start to pick that one a week earlier next year…
1 Like
OK, so yellow jackets aren’t always on top of things either. Maybe they were still finishing up your grapes or pluots
For me, they devoured 90%+ of my pluots. I don’t think I even lost that many to furry animals- most just buzzing ones.
1 Like
Today. I was checking my multi grafted Euro pears figuring out when to pick them.
I noticed that there were so many yellow jackets around those pears. Fortunately, all of them are in bags.(about 3 dozens). If without bags, I bet all would be ruined by those yellow jackets.
I have not seen them on pears before. I saw them on jujubes. Not happy to see them expand their appetite.
3 Likes
Made my first Harrow Sweet brix test today. It was 17 and sweet.
2 Likes
Bill,
You will have fun brixing everything. Don’t forget to have your grands brix watermelons.
3 Likes
That is such a good idea. My three Georgia grands are coming toward the end of the month and they will like using it.
2 Likes