Nothing beats the flavor of home grown fruit picked right off the tree in your own yard. For great flavor, however, it's important to harvest fruit at the right time. Some fruit must ripen on the tree and won't ripen if you pick it early, while other fruit must be picked before it ripens, and stored properly in order to produce delicious flavor.
For instance, Asian pears ripen on the tree, and they're ready to harvest and eat when you bite into one and the juice runs down your chin. Almost all European pears, on the other hand, should be picked before they ripen on the tree, or they tend to rot from the inside out. A pear is ready to pick when it has sized up and changed color, but is still hard to the touch. Cup your hand under the pear and lift up. If the stem breaks, the pear is ready to pick. Those that are ready to pick by early September, such as 'Rescue', 'Ubileen,' and 'Orcas', can be placed directly on the counter and will ripen in a matter of days. Pears ready to pick in late September and October such as Bosc, Comice, and Highland, must be stored for at least 3 weeks in temperatures below 40 degrees before being brought out to ripen on the counter. These later ripening pears generally will keep well into January.
The easiest way to tell if apples are ripe is to taste them. However if you grow an unfamiliar variety and don't know what they are supposed to taste like, cut one or two open. If the seeds are brown it's time to get out the pie plate.
You can tell when plums are ripe when they change from green to fully colored and turn soft on the tree.
Nectarines can be harvested once they color up or when they turn soft.
They will ripen up if left on the counter in a warm room.
Figs are easy to grow in the Puget Sound region as long as you give them a warm sunny location. Most figs grow two crops, but the most reliable is the first crop that usually ripens in mid-July or early August. When the figs begin to droop, check regularly. They'll be ripe as soon as they soften up. Harvest right away. If the yellow Jackets, crows or raccoons discover them, they'll be the only ones to enjoy a Tuscan treat.
Fuzzy kiwis are highly nutritious and delicious, easy to grow, and disease and pest free, so it's not surprising that increasing numbers of home gardeners are growing their own. The trick is in knowing when to harvest, and how to store them for optimum flavor. Fuzzy kiwis are much sweeter if they are hit by 2 or 3 light frosts, but a hard freeze will ruin your kiwis, so be prepared to harvest if temperatures are expected to dip into the lower 20s. Pick by Thanksgiving even if no frost has occurred. Kept in a refrigerator or unheated garage, kiwis will store for up to 6 months in egg cartons or in boxes with newspaper between layers. After being stored for a couple of months, kiwis can be placed on the warm counter to ripen in about a week, but newly picked kiwis can take weeks to ripen on the kitchen counter. Put a few in a paper bag with a couple of apples and they will ripen in a week or two at the most. Then don your bib, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.