When to Pick Pomegranates

Views: 17589 | Last Update: 2009-02-04
When to Pick Pomegranates - Provided by eHow
Pomegranates should be picked when they turn a rich red color, but still have a touch of yellow and when they are firm but a bit spongy, as well. Harvest pomegranates at just the right time with help from a sustainable gardener in this free video series... View Video Transcript

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Yolanda Vanveen

Video Transcript

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment, we're going to talk about how to pick pomegranates. Now, pomegranates are wonderful fruit, and they're a wonderful fruit tree. So how do you know when they're ready to pick? So the easiest way to know when they're ready to pick is when they've turned a nice red but they still have a little bit of yellow in them, and when you tap them, it almost sounds like there's metal inside. It's almost a metallic sound. It sounds like there's metal or it's hard but it's still soft, but it's still kind of a little bit spongey because they've ripened, but they're not really hard as a rock. But yet, when you tap them, it sounds like there's almost metal underneath. It's got a cover on it. And so you can feel that it's a little bit soft but not mushy, and when they're rock hard, they're not ready yet. And when you pick them, it's better not to just pull them out of the tree. Either cut them or another trick is if you can get up tall enough is actually hold the stem and pull the fruit right off of the stem. And that way, you're not doing much damage and you'll get lots of fruit the next year. And once you've picked them, they'll store for a month, two, three months even. You can keep them in the refrigerator, a root cellar, or the garage -- anywhere where it's cool and not too warm, and yet not freezing. And then that way, you can enjoy your pomegranates for a month to two months in the future.