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ENLARGE
Steve Renquist
Each year I look forward to tasting the first crisp, juicy apples and luscious, ripe pears from my orchard after a long year eating fruit from commercial storage.
Many people in Douglas County enjoy growing their own apples and pears, but find it difficult to gauge the best harvest time. Harvest timing is tricky with pears since there are both summer pears, like Bartlett, that will ripen on the tree and winter pears, like Anjou and Comice, that ripen off the tree.
To harvest a Bartlett pear at the best time for holding in your refrigerator, pick the fruit when it's full sized and just starting to change color from green to slightly yellow. This usually occurs during the last half of August in our area. If you allow the fruit to ripen all the way to a bright yellow on the tree, you will often have some core darkening and excessive softening if you try to store them. Bartlett pears should be cooled two to three days in the refrigerator before leaving out to enhance the ripening process.
To harvest an Anjou or Comice pear at the proper time becomes a little more challenging. You need to know when the fruit has reached full size. Knowing when commercial pear producers are picking in our area can be a tip-off. In most years Anjou pears are picked during late September to the first half of October and Comice pears in mid- to the last half of October. Another tip is to lift a pear horizontally while it's still attached to the tree. If it separates easily from the spur it is mature. A final step to check maturity is to cut a pear in half and look at the seeds. If the seeds are hard and brown, the fruit is ready. Once you have picked your winter pears, put them in cold storage for two to six weeks before trying to set them out to ripen. If you have ever had a pear from the store that shriveled, or turned brown in the center and got mushy or gritty, it may not have had enough cold storage time to help the ripening process. Once you take pears out of cold storage it takes about five to seven days at room temperature for them to ripen. The longer pears are in cold storage, the shorter time it takes for them to ripen when removed.
When preparing for apple harvest, focus on a couple of clues. Know the proper color and approximate size your apple variety should reach, then do seed and taste tests. If you cut an apple in half and look at the seeds, they will be brown and hard when the apple is mature. Since apples ripen on the tree, you can also do a taste test to verify the fruit has reached the desired maturity. If healthy apples start to fall from your tree, it is probably time to pick. Visit the extension office for literature showing the average harvest dates for apple varieties in western Oregon.
Steve Renquist is the Horticulture Extension agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. He can be reached by e-mail @steve.renquist@oregonstate.edu or phone at 672-4461.
Many people in Douglas County enjoy growing their own apples and pears, but find it difficult to gauge the best harvest time. Harvest timing is tricky with pears since there are both summer pears, like Bartlett, that will ripen on the tree and winter pears, like Anjou and Comice, that ripen off the tree.
To harvest a Bartlett pear at the best time for holding in your refrigerator, pick the fruit when it's full sized and just starting to change color from green to slightly yellow. This usually occurs during the last half of August in our area. If you allow the fruit to ripen all the way to a bright yellow on the tree, you will often have some core darkening and excessive softening if you try to store them. Bartlett pears should be cooled two to three days in the refrigerator before leaving out to enhance the ripening process.
To harvest an Anjou or Comice pear at the proper time becomes a little more challenging. You need to know when the fruit has reached full size. Knowing when commercial pear producers are picking in our area can be a tip-off. In most years Anjou pears are picked during late September to the first half of October and Comice pears in mid- to the last half of October. Another tip is to lift a pear horizontally while it's still attached to the tree. If it separates easily from the spur it is mature. A final step to check maturity is to cut a pear in half and look at the seeds. If the seeds are hard and brown, the fruit is ready. Once you have picked your winter pears, put them in cold storage for two to six weeks before trying to set them out to ripen. If you have ever had a pear from the store that shriveled, or turned brown in the center and got mushy or gritty, it may not have had enough cold storage time to help the ripening process. Once you take pears out of cold storage it takes about five to seven days at room temperature for them to ripen. The longer pears are in cold storage, the shorter time it takes for them to ripen when removed.
When preparing for apple harvest, focus on a couple of clues. Know the proper color and approximate size your apple variety should reach, then do seed and taste tests. If you cut an apple in half and look at the seeds, they will be brown and hard when the apple is mature. Since apples ripen on the tree, you can also do a taste test to verify the fruit has reached the desired maturity. If healthy apples start to fall from your tree, it is probably time to pick. Visit the extension office for literature showing the average harvest dates for apple varieties in western Oregon.
Steve Renquist is the Horticulture Extension agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. He can be reached by e-mail @steve.renquist@oregonstate.edu or phone at 672-4461.
