When to Harvest Peach and Nectarine

Overview

Peaches and nectarines are interchangeable fruits. Their only difference is that peaches are fuzzy and nectarines are smooth. They hit their peaks June through August, depending on region. They are one of the iconic summer fruits and can be canned for later use, made into sweet jelly or sliced and eaten fresh over your breakfast or dessert. Unlike pears and apples, peaches and nectarines do not ripen further once picked from the tree.

Step 1

Look for the fruit's ground color. The ground color is found by looking at the side of the fruit that faces the ground. Ripe peaches and nectarines have a yellow ground color. Green ground color is an indication that the fruit is not ready yet.

Step 2

Squeeze the fruit gently. Ripe peaches and nectarines give slightly when squeezed but are still firm. Hard fruit with no give is not ready for harvest.

Step 3

Smell and taste the fruit. Ripe fruit has a nice, fresh fragrance. Taste-test peaches and nectarines before harvesting, as they do not improve in sugar content once pulled from the tree. Tasting your fruit is the best way to ensure your fruit is ripe enough and has the sweetness or tartness you are looking for.

Step 4

Take a small skin sample from the fruit and use a penetrometer to confirm its ripeness. Remove an 18mm-thick piece from the fruit's skin, then probe the fruit with the penetrometer until 10mm deep. Record the pressure. Mature fruit pressure is 10 lb. Fruit that is ready to eat is 2 or 3 lb. pressure.