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When to pick pears?

3 years ago

Hey there, this will be the 3rd year in a row when my 3 pear trees are loaded and ready to bare. Large and still hard as baseballs but it won't be too long now, 2 Bartletts and 1 Keifer all in the 10-15 YO range. For any of you pear pickers out there what's the best clue to picking/timing and what's a good storage method? Last year I picked them Sept 10th when they seemed to be at that almost pre-ripening stage. We keep them in the fridge unwrapped and thin out the spoiled ones as time goes on. Most get made into pear sauce which is great mixed into pancake batter. Thanks for any pickin' tips.

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Comments (4)

Embothrium
3 years ago
Depends on the variety. 'Bartlett' for instance ripens on the tree, like an apple. Look the other up to see what it needs - a percentage of European pear cultivars do need to be picked before maturity and ripened in cold storage in order to "finish" successfully.
vgkg Z-7 Va thanked Embothrium
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
ALL pears should be harvested before they are fully ripe!! They ripen from the inside out, so when they feel ripe to the touch on the tree, they are already starting to deteriorate on the inside. And they do not need 'cold storage' either - just regular countertop temperatures.

You can tell when a pear is ready to be picked off the tree by judging size and firmness but also by holding the fruit in the palm of the hand and gently lifting. It should come away from the branch easily and without effort.
vgkg Z-7 Va thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Have never 'sprayed' a pear tree - they usually don't require much, in the way of care, to produce mostly usable fruits - and most will be virtually perfect. Now, as to when to pick them and how best to 'ripen' them - it may take years for you to figure it out fully. If you let them 'ripen on the tree', you'll find that they'll often be over-ripe internally - rotting from the inside out, as many refer to it. The European pears - Moonglow, Bartlett - need to be picked while still firm - but beginning to 'yield' to pressure at the base of the stem, then refrigerated (as close to 30 degrees as you can get them) until a few days before you'd like to eat them, then remove them from the fridge and allow them to ripen at room temp until they reach the state you prefer. Now, me - I want a firm, juicy, crunchy (and, yes, gritty!) pear - so the Kieffer is more to my liking. Do an internet search - and it has been discussed here on numerous occasions, so search this site first - for 'ripening pears' - you'll probably find enough conflicting info to make your head spin. It may just take you a few years to figure out when is the best time to pick them - and each variety will be different.
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>>RE: pears http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fruit/msg101057145319.html?2 clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by lucky_p z6 W.KY (My Page) on Fri, Oct 13, 06 at 13:03 From a friend of mine who's spent his life growing fruits and fruit trees, and used to operate one of the foremost fruit nurseries in the eastern US: "Most all European pears (exception is the new Green Jade), require post-picking chill to properly mature. Or, when fruit exhibit slight color changes, begin to test pressure (using your thumb) near the stem. When there is a slight "give", pick all the fruit, store at or near 35 degrees for 7 or more days. Then you can remove them as needed, allow them to sit at room temps for 2-4 days which allows them to ripen to peak flavor. Years ago, I got a letter from an older NAFEX fellow who told me that European types were very difficult to ripen due to varietal quirks or requirements in post harvest handling. He said "If you live long enough to learn how to properly ripen 10 varieties, you'll be lucky". I'm still working on it!!!"Hope this helps- M
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Each of my fruit trees generally has a harvest window of 2-5 weeks and thus as soon as you start to see ripe or over ripe fruit on a particular tree, get ready to pick the rest over the coming weeks. My last pineapple pear was picked last week, and despite using tulle drawstring bags around the pears i still lost a lot to birds and squirrels (next year will net the tree). The animals will start on the pears ~ 3 weeks before ripe, when ripe just a little lift up and twist and the stem breaks (like an apple) and the pear falls into your hand. They had ugly skin but had nice juicy, smooth , somewhat sweet with a hint of pineapple taste right off the tree. My Stark Honey Sweet pear semi dwarf fruited in it's seventh year and they were smaller than most pears, but fabulous... sweet, smooth, juicy, etc. and i finished picking them last weekend using the same methodology as the pineapple pear. Some that i pulled probably a week or two early (didn't want the creatures to get them) ripened at room temp in the kitchen in a week or two. You can smell when they start to get ripe or over ripe, but think i can start to feel a slight softness when squeezing the fruit when ripe as before it was hard as a rock.
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Comments (9)
It seems like I had a dialogue with a southern grower last spring who said that quite a number of pears he grows are good ripened on the tree where he was. I know there are some varietes that need to be picked early here but I've never seen a list about this for any region. All you ever read in the literature is how all pears need to be picked a week or two before ripening. I have some summer pears, like Tyson, that usally ripen well on the tree but I'm not sure about Aurora. I've never gotten around to pick it early because it doesn't get up enough sugar. The pears are worthless when tree ripened here (where I have it sited, anyway) because of the lack of sweetness, but I wonder if it might get sweeter if ripened indoors. Is early picking always about texture and avoiding internal rot or are some varieties sweeter when ripened indoors?
...See More
vgkg Z-7 Va
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Update -

Ok here's the scoop - the earlier ripening pears which I picked were about 60% infested with a boring critter in the center. These pears were mostly edible on the perimeter where the flesh was still good (not brownish). As pears fell off the trees, these pears were also ripening up a bit early, looked good on the outside, but again most of them had bad cores. The latest pears which hang on were mostly untouched by boring critters/ center rot and were/are very good, sweet, and very juicy, no rot present.

I have stored about 50 of the premo pears in the fridge so they'll ripen more slowly and hopefully be enjoyed up until Xmas time (similar timing for the persimmons). The last pears on the tree, if they haven't been bird pecked or bug bitten, are the best ones to be had as long as the don't over ripen. I don't spray these pears but they were so plentiful this season that it didn't matter.
PRO
Granite City Services
3 years ago
My pears ripen from the inside out so if I wait until the pear starts to soften noticably it's already way overripe. I've found when the tip of the pear just starts to soften thats the right time to pick.

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