Do apples/pears ripen after picking?

[meanwhile]

Will apples or pears continue to ripen nicely after picking? We have loaded apple trees and for the first year one pear tree heavy with fruit. But! We also have a naughty male bear visiting the orchard every night. He is taking bites out of fruit and leaving the rest on the tree plus pooping everywhere. Last year, he finally broke off all the fruit.

If we go on and pick all the fruit we need, will it ripen in the house? Thank you.

[Use Less]

You can definitely pick fruit too green, and it won't ripen well, but, yes apples & pears will continue to ripen. Store them in a cool, dark place, neither too damp or too dry, but do not refrigerate until closer to ripe. Or if you happen to have a spare fridge, put the temp quite warm, like upper 40's, and store some in there. Pears should be picked while still fairly hard and green. They ripen from the inside out, so if you try to let them get nicely yellow (or red) on the tree, they will be mushy inside. Sue

[Use Less]

Oh- you can tell apples are getting ripe if you cut them open and the seeds are dark brown. White, tan or light brown seeds, the apples probably aren't ready. Anything you can stand to eat off the tree right now is OK, too. If it's SO sour, astringent or rock-hard you can't stand it, it's not. Except for the very hard varieties like "black" or "Arkansas black" which stay really hard for months after picking. Sue

[highlands]

Yes, they continue to ripen. In the presence of a gas, naturally produced by fruit, the ripening is accelerated. Xylene or something?

[meanwhile]

thank you -- I think we better pick some for us before that bear gets it all. He is funny but not that funny. He is biting off half an apple and leaving the other half just hanging there! He has broken off whole small plum trees at a neighbors house. Thank you - will pick some tomorrow.

[beaglebiz]

could you hang some noisy windchimes or pie tins to discourage him?? Worth a try

[Metagirrl]

Ethylene Gas....

[Common Tator]

It is bear season here. Is it bear season there?

[whodunit]

Pears ripen nicely and quickly sealed in a brown paper sack.

[meanwhile]

Hello - we have the bear in the orchard and now the Wild boar/pigs are in there too. We decided to pick half the fruit and let it ripen on the counter and try to hold off and let the rest ripen a bit more. The pigs are rooting at the base of the trees but the darn bear breaks the branches. We are setting off fire crackers tonight to see if that helps run 'em off.

[BaronsMom]

Wow, I admire you folks who have to deal with "big" critters like bears and such.

I'm not scared of a lot of things but dealing with a critter near my home that could decide I would make a nice entree to go with his apples off the tree...would NOT be cool!

Guess I chalk up another one on the plus side to living in SE Nebraska where I only have to scoot a few bull snakes out of the way and enjoy the soulful howls and yips of a coyote pack in the distance.