Avocado is a delicious and nutritious fruit, but when is the perfect time to pick it from the tree? It can be tricky to harvest avocados at just the right time; an unripe avocado is no fun to eat, and a ripe avocado can quickly turn brown and become rancid. Learning when to pick an avocado is an acquired skill; with a little knowledge and practice, you can develop the ability to spot an avocado ready for picking.
When selecting an avocado to pick, look for one with a firm skin. Thin-skinned varieties tend to ripen faster than thicker-skinned varieties. An avocado is ripe when its skin just begins to turn from green to brown. The avocado should also yield to light pressure. Squeezing an avocado too hard can cause bruising. Equally important is the color of the fruit’s flesh; it should be creamy, not too light and not too dark.
An important note about harvesting avocados: allow a couple of days for the picked avocado to fully ripen. To do this, keep it at room temperature and check it every day. Ideally, it should be ripe and ready to eat a couple of days after it is picked. If it needs a few more days, put it into a paper bag or newspaper to help it along.
It is also possible to make a determination of when the avocado is ready to be picked by examining the tree. Certain conditions may be indicative of a mature, ripening fruit. This includes looking for root growth around the base of the tree and changes in color of the fruit’s skin ©as previously mentioned. Softer fruits that are showing signs of splitting or with stems that are beginning to loosen as they do just before they fall, may also be ready to be picked.
Additionally, an experienced grower can determine when an avocado is ready for picking by examining the leaves. If the tree has previously borne fruit, then leaves of previous years can be an indication of when the tree may bear fruit again. If the leaves of a particular branch are turning yellow and some have fallen off, then it can usually be assumed that a mature avocado is in the vicinity of that branch.
Although there is no definite answer for when to pick an avocado because of the many variables involved when growing the tree, the tips discussed in this article can be used as a guide for picking an avocado that is just ripe before it becomes overripe. With a little practice, anyone will be able to pick an avocado at exactly the right time.
Excavating Avocados
Anesthetizing an avocado requires a bit of forethought. Ripe avocados must be picked, otherwise they will over-ripen quickly. Harvesting requires pruning the avocado tree correctly, so that the ripe avocados can be found easily. Harvesting with a long pole and a sickle is the traditional method, but handsaws, pruning hooks and even electrical saws are now used.
Harvesting early in the morning is the ideal time, as this is when the avocados will be firmest and the center of gravity of the fruit will be at its lowest. It is much easier to pull them from the tree when they are still fresh. Ripe avocados will move with a little pressure, while an unripe one will not. Once they are harvested, they should be handled with care, as they can be bruised easily.
After the avocados are harvested, it is important to transport them correctly for storage and sale. They should be kept cool, preferably refrigerated in a cool, dark place. Storing them in direct sunlight will cause them to over-ripen and turn rancid in a very short time.
Preparing to Pick
Knowing when to pick an avocado from a tree goes beyond just referring to the methods of harvesting mentioned in the article. There are even more preparatory steps intended to make the process more efficient.
One key point to consider when planning to pick your avocados is to ensure that you have enough staff and the right kinds of equipment on hand. You will need people to scour the tree for ripe avocados and to pull it off the branches, and you will need proper tools like pruning sheers or a pole with a sickle to reach the taller branches.
Additionally, it is important to ensure that the right containers are on hand to transport the avocados. You can buy special agricultural containers that are designed to keep airflow around the fruit, or you could find large crates and fill them with packing cushions or similar material that provide buffer between the avocados.
Educating Yourself
Finding out when an avocado is ready for picking is a learned skill. It takes time to become an expert in this, so if you have the desire to do so, take the time to educate yourself about the process. There are many resources available on the internet and in books that have detailed information about best practices for harvesting avocados. With the help of these resources, you can quickly become an expert in the art of avocado harvesting.
Having the knowledge to correctly pick an avocado when it is ready has its advantages. Not only will you be able to pick fruit that is ripe and perfect for eating, but you will also make sure that fruit that is not ripe will stay on the tree and ripen. This will help to ensure that you are getting the most out of your harvest.
Another advantage to knowing when to pick an avocado is that it may reduce the amount of damage done to the tree as well. Over-ripe avocados that remain on the tree can weigh down and break branches and can quickly become a liability. Therefore, knowing when to pick the fruit is a convenient way to keep the tree healthy and help it bear more fruit.
Alas, No Surefire Method
Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire method for knowing when exactly to pick an avocado from the tree, as a lot of it comes from experience and skill. But, there are certain indicators that can help you along the way. Asking questions from other growers who are more experienced is also a great way to pick up valuable tips on how to know when to pick an avocado.
Learning to spot a ripe avocado will take some practice, but it can be done. With a little patience and attention to detail, you will be able to pick avocados just in time and enjoy fresh, delicious guacamole whenever the craving calls.
Protect the Fruit
Knowing when to pick an avocado is also important to prevent damage to the fruit. Avocados are fragile and can be easily bruised when they are not handled properly. The trick is to use the right tool like a pruning sheers to lightly grasp the fruit and remove it from the tree without squeezing it too hard.
In addition to picking avocados carefully, it is important to protect the fruit during transport to prevent bruising. Once the fruit has been harvested, make sure to transport it carefully using the proper container that is lined with cushioning material to reduce the risk of bruising.
It is also important to refrigerate the fruit as soon as possible; if kept at room temperature, the fruit may begin to over-ripen in a couple of days, depending on the variety.
Be Careful
Make sure that the avocado tree that is being harvested is not too old; when the tree is too old, it may be more fragile than younger trees and picking its fruit could be detrimental to the tree.
Furthermore, it is important to be careful when pulling the avocados off the tree. If the fruit is pulled using too much force, then there is a greater chance that it could split open or become damaged in some way. It may also cause damage to the tree branches, which could eventually lead to the death of the tree.
Productivity is also an important factor in harvesting avocados. It can be risky to keep picking the same tree, week after week, as this can make it difficult to distinguish between ripe and unripe fruits. This can lead to unripe avocados being harvested, which will go to waste.
Harvest the Fruit in Time
Once the knowledge and skill of knowing when to pick an avocado has been acquired, it is important to harvest the fruit in time. If waiting too long, the avocado can rot and be wasted. Similarly, harvesting an avocado too early will mean a disappointingly crunchy, unripe fruit.
The time an avocado takes to achieve the perfect ripeness is dependent on the variety being grown, the climatic conditions and the nutrients available to the tree. An experienced grower, however, should be able to get a good idea of when their avocados will be ready for picking.
In the end, picking avocados must be done with some skill and experience. With a little practice, patience, and knowledge, anyone can learn to pick an avocado at exactly the right time.
