Thursday, June 27, 2013

Homegrown avocados

Homegrown almost-ready-to-eat avocados...Hurrah!

A "Simply" Extra
The fruit on our avocado tree are getting so big!  I went out to check today and was surprised by how large they'd become.  To my untrained eye they seemed almost ready to pick.

June 27, 2013 - Looking like the real deal! 

This is the first year the tree has produced fruit and it's exciting to think we might soon have our own homegrown, organic avocados to eat.  Except...I really don't know when to pick them.

May 25, 2013 - Getting big but not big enough to eat...

April 21, 2012 - Little baby avocados just starting to develop

I have done a bit of research and from what I can tell, the only way to know if an avocado is ripe is to pick one and wait a few days.  If it starts to get soft that means it was ready to pick.  If it wasn't ready, it will begin to rot, remain hard or turn rubbery.

Here's what the University of Florida IFAS Extension says on the subject of harvesting avocados:

The easiest way to determine if your avocados are ready to harvest is to harvest one large fruit and place it on your kitchen counter top. A mature fruit ripens in 3 to 8 days after it is picked. If the fruit does not ripen properly (e.g., shrivels, becomes rubbery or exhibits stem end rot), select another fruit (again larger fruit are generally more mature than smaller fruit at the beginning of the season) and repeat the test.

Hmm...not a very precise or scientific approach but since there doesn't seem to be a better option, I guess we'll give it a try.

2 comments:

  1. When I had a ton of avocado trees in my yard in Florida, the first sign was when one fell off ;)I was the one who, when a dinner party called, was the guac person, trying to use up all the avocados before they went off. You are so lucky; enjoy!

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    1. Thanks for that tip. Ralph thinks we'll be able to tell by noting a slight color change but i'm not so sure. From all i've read, avocados don't ripen on trees. Will know soon...

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