Do I let my avocados ripen on the tree or wait until they drop off? ( Australia here) !?

Question

Do I let my avocados ripen on the tree or wait until they drop off? ( Australia here) !?

Answer 1

Hi

Treat them like a mango etc.

I'd say whatever way is the best to utilise the fruit.

But you can ripen the firm ones by putting them with bananas.

The gases given off by the bananas help the ripening process.

Cya

:)

Answer 2

How can I tell when my avocados are ripe?

Avocados do not "ripen" on the tree, that is, they do not get soft while on the tree.

Once you pick an avocado, it takes about 7 to 10 days for it to soften when left at room temperature.

You can speed the process up slightly by placing the avocado in a bag with some other ripe fruit (like an apple) or slow the process down by keeping the fruit in the refrigerator.

As far as knowing when it is ready to be picked, it is hard to tell from the outside when an avocado is mature. What the industry does is called a "dry weight" test which gives you an indirect measure of the oil content of the fruit. If the oil content is too low, the fruit is not ripe yet and will shrivel or stay rubbery insted of getting soft.

I suggest you pick a couple of fruit and try to ripen them. If the fruit shrivel up or seem rubbery insted of soft, they are not mature yet.

Keep picking fruit every few weeks. Note on the calendar when they soften insted of turning rubbery.

Also, note the taste of the fruit. The oil content of the fruit usually increases through the season and there will be a certain point when it tastes "just right."

That date will usually vary somewhat due to climate conditions... and some years will be better than others.

Some varieties can also reach a point where they have too much oil and some will turn rancid (although many types fall from the tree before reaching that point).

The Hass avocado typically ripens in February and is good through June or July. These dates depend a lot on where you live and climate conditions. Some years you can pick larger fruit as early as December and they will ripen up. Up in Ventura County, fruit can remain on the tree and still be good into August and September.

Varieties that ripen other times of the year (dates based on our plot in Irvine, Ca):

Reed: June - Sept

Pinkerton: Nov - Jan

Fuerte: Dec - March

Lamb-Hass: May - Aug

Answer 3

Hi. Take them off.

Avocados do not in fact ripen on the tree at all!  You would have no luck and fat possums if you tried.

They do not ripen until they fall on the ground.

The good news is that they ripen easily in a bowl.  If you want to speed this up throw in a banana, but this will shorten the life.