Harvesting
Tree fruit such as apple, pear and plum
Most fruit-picking injuries are falls from ladders. Use a stable tripod fruit ladder on firm ground or a long-arm picker, never overreach, and do not climb into the canopy. Leave high branches, large limbs or work in the tree itself to a professional.
- Where to get help
- 999 for a fall from a ladder where the person cannot get up, has hit their head or has a suspected break; NHS 111 otherwise. For work in the tree itself, an arboriculturist approved by the Arboricultural Association.
The clean twist test shows the fruit is mature and protects the fruiting spur for next year. Bruise-free fruit with stalks intact stores far longer. Plums do not ripen well off the tree, so pick them only when ready.
When
Late summer to autumn, by variety. Early apples in August, maincrop apples and pears September to October, plums July to September. Test ripeness rather than going by the calendar.
How
1. Cup the fruit in your palm, lift and gently twist; if ripe it parts with the stalk still attached. 2. If it needs a hard pull, leave it a little longer. 3. Place, do not drop, fruit into a padded basket. 4. Pick plums with the stalk on when they give slightly and come away easily. 5. Use a tripod fruit ladder or a long-arm picker for high branches, keeping both feet on the ladder. 6. Store only unblemished fruit, keeping varieties apart.
Notes
Apple, pear, plum, damson, gage, cherry. Commercial growers confirm apple picking maturity with the starch-iodine test. Plum, damson, cherry and apple stones and pips contain compounds that release cyanide if crushed and eaten, so never eat the stones.