Melon pears are harvested when they are ripe, because only then is their taste optimally developed. Unripe fruits, on the other hand, can be described as inedible. But what to do if some specimens have to be removed from the bush before their due date, for example because frost is approaching?

Unripe melon pears ripen after a short time

Late harvest time can overlap with frost

Around 90 days after flowering, it's time to start harvesting. During late summer, melon pears are harvested one after the other according to their degree of ripeness. But a not so favorable summer can postpone the harvest time. So it may be that some unripe fruits are still hanging on the plant while it is getting uncomfortable for them outside.

Weather-related end of the harvest season

The melon pear, also called twisted pear melon or pepino, is not hardy, so it cannot overwinter outside. There are then only two options:

  • Cultivate the plant as an annual
  • Plant bright and overwinter indoors at 5-10 °C

Allow harvested fruit to ripen

You should not sacrifice the fruits of annual cultivated plants to frost. Pick all the fruit in good time. Even those who are still immature. At room temperature, they will ripen within a few days while developing their typical aroma.

tips

If you want to speed up the ripening, then put a few apples next to the melon pears. These emit the ripening gas ethylene, which also allows the melon pears to ripen faster.

Natural after-ripening on the bush

If the shrub is lucky enough to get a place to hibernate from you, it can keep its unripe fruits for the time being. They are allowed to ripen on it in the winter quarters until they also show the following characteristics:

  • a sweet scent
  • changed shell color
  • softer flesh that yields under pressure

extend shelf life

If the fruits have ripened sufficiently, which you can easily check using the ripeness characteristics mentioned above, they should be used up promptly. Alternatively, you can store them in the fridge for a maximum of 2-3 weeks.

You can also put the unripe fruit straight into the fridge and gradually take out as many as you need and let them ripen.

Category:

Vegetable garden