Picking fruit at the right moment is the difference between a harvest that tastes like the fruit should and one that disappoints. Pick too early and the fruit is sour, hard and flavourless; pick too late and it is soft, mealy or already on the ground being eaten by wasps. The difficulty is that ripeness is not a date on the calendar — it varies with the variety, the weather, the tree and the year — so the only reliable guide is the fruit itself: its colour, its feel, its smell, and how easily it comes away from the plant.
The other thing to know is that not all fruit ripens after picking. Apples, pears, peaches, plums and melons continue to ripen off the tree, so they can be picked a little early and finished indoors. Berries, cherries and grapes do not ripen after picking, so they must be picked when they are fully ripe — a strawberry picked pink will never turn sweet on the kitchen counter. That single distinction decides the whole harvest: pick berries and grapes ripe, and pick tree fruit when it is mature but not yet soft.
Harvest in the cool of the morning, when the fruit is firm and cool, and handle it gently — a bruise at picking time becomes a rot spot in storage. Pick into a shallow container rather than a deep bucket, where the weight of the fruit crushes the fruit at the bottom, and do not wash fruit until you are ready to eat it, because washing removes the natural protective bloom and invites rot. If you are unsure about a variety, a spray, or a diagnosis, check your local extension service — its advice is matched to your climate and soil.
Apples and pears: the lift-and-twist test
Apples are ready when the seeds inside are dark brown, the background colour under the red has changed from green to yellow, and the fruit comes away with a gentle lift and twist — if you have to pull hard, it is not ready. Taste one: a ripe apple is sweet with a little acidity still there, and a starchy, sour apple needs more time. Pick apples over several weeks, taking the ripest first, because the fruit on the sunny outside of the tree ripens before the fruit inside. Pears are the exception to the picking rule: they must be picked before they are ripe, while they are still firm, and ripened indoors, because a pear left to ripen on the tree goes mealy and rots from the inside. Pick a pear when it comes away with a lift and twist and the flesh at the stalk end gives slightly to gentle pressure, then ripen it in a cool room and check it daily. Our harvest date calculator can help you judge the window, and our growing guides for apples and pears cover the individual varieties.
Stone fruit: peaches, plums and cherries
Peaches are ready when the background colour has changed from green to yellow or cream, the fruit smells fragrant at the stalk, and it gives slightly to gentle pressure — a peach that is still hard and green will never ripen properly, and a peach that is soft on the tree is already overripe. Plums are ready when they are fully coloured, slightly soft, and come away with a gentle twist; taste one, because colour alone can mislead — some plums colour up weeks before they are sweet. Cherries must be picked fully ripe, because they do not ripen after picking: they should be dark, glossy, sweet and firm, and the stalk should come away with the fruit. Pick cherries with the stalk on, in the morning, and get them into the shade quickly — cherries left in a hot bucket soften within the hour. Stone fruit bruises easily, so pick into a shallow container and handle each fruit once, not twice.
Berries: pick ripe, pick often, pick dry
Strawberries are ready when they are fully red all over, including the tip, and smell sweet — a berry with a white or green tip is not ripe and will not ripen off the plant. Pick every two or three days in the season, in the morning when the berries are dry, and pinch the stalk rather than pulling the berry, which bruises it. Raspberries are ready when they are fully coloured, soft, and slip off the core with a gentle tug; if you have to pull, leave them another day. Blueberries ripen over several weeks: pick the berries that are fully blue with a dusty bloom, leaving the reddish ones for later, and taste one — a ripe blueberry is sweet, an unripe one is sharp. Blackberries are ready when they are fully black, soft and sweet, and they come away easily; a berry that resists is not ready. Currants are picked as whole trusses, cut with scissors, and stripped later. Pick berries dry, because wet berries rot quickly, and refrigerate them the same day.
Grapes, figs and melons: the hardest to judge
Grapes are ready when they taste sweet — colour is not enough, because some varieties colour up before they are sweet and some never colour fully at all. Taste a grape from the sunny side of the bunch and one from the shaded side; when both are sweet, cut the whole bunch with secateurs, leaving a short stalk. Figs are ready when they droop on the stalk, feel soft, and may split slightly at the base or exude a drop of syrup — a fig that is still upright and firm is not ready, and a fig left a day too long will be eaten by wasps or birds. Melons are the hardest fruit to judge: a ripe melon smells sweet at the stem end, the skin where it sat on the ground has turned from white to yellow, and the tendril nearest the fruit has dried and browned. Thump it if you like — a ripe melon sounds hollow — but smell and the tendril are the more reliable signs. Cut melons with a knife, leaving a short stalk, and eat them within a few days.
Picking without bruising, and handling the harvest
The way you pick matters as much as when you pick. Pick in the morning, into a shallow basket or a bucket lined with a cloth, and do not pile fruit deep — the weight crushes the fruit at the bottom. Handle each fruit once: pick it, lay it in the container, and do not tip it from container to container. For apples and pears, use the lift-and-twist motion rather than pulling straight down, which tears the spur and loses next year's fruit. For fruit you cannot reach, use a fruit picker with a basket rather than shaking the tree — shaken fruit bruises and will not store. Keep the harvest out of the sun and get it into the shade or a cool room as soon as you can, because warm fruit ripens and rots faster. Sort the harvest as you pick: perfect fruit for storage, bruised fruit for eating today, and damaged fruit for the compost or the birds, not the store.
Storing the harvest: what keeps and what does not
Apples and pears store best: keep them cool, dark and humid, in a single layer in a tray or wrapped individually in paper, and check them weekly — one rotting apple will spoil its neighbours, which is where the saying comes from. Late-ripening apples can keep for months in a cool shed or garage, while early apples are for eating fresh. Pears ripen indoors and are best eaten within a week or two of ripening. Stone fruit keeps for a few days in the fridge and is best eaten fresh or frozen, bottled or made into jam. Berries keep for a few days in the fridge, in a shallow container lined with paper, and they freeze well — spread them on a tray, freeze them, then bag them. Grapes keep for a week or two in the fridge. Melons keep for a week or two in a cool place once cut, and a few days once cut open. Label anything you store with the variety and the date, so you know what you have and when it was picked.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know when apples are ready to pick?
Lift and twist gently — a ripe apple comes away easily. The seeds inside should be dark brown and the background colour should have changed from green to yellow. Taste one before picking the whole tree.
Do strawberries ripen after picking?
No. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries and grapes do not ripen after picking, so they must be picked fully ripe. Apples, pears, peaches and plums do continue to ripen off the tree.
When should I pick pears?
Pick pears while they are still firm, before they are ripe, and ripen them indoors. A pear left to ripen on the tree goes mealy and rots from the inside.
How do I know when a melon is ripe?
It should smell sweet at the stem end, the patch where it sat on the ground should have turned yellow, and the tendril nearest the fruit should have dried and browned.
How long will my apples keep?
Late-ripening apples can keep for months in a cool, dark, humid place, stored in a single layer and checked weekly. Early apples are for eating fresh and keep for a few weeks at most.
Harvesting is the payoff for a year of care, so take your time with it: pick in the morning, handle the fruit gently, taste before you pick a whole tree, and store the best fruit carefully. Keep a note of when each variety ripened this year, and next year's harvest will be easier to judge. For the individual fruits, see the growing guides, and plan the harvest with the harvest date calculator.