Need some gardening help: kiwis

[Bugbear]

Oh, ok. I thought you had started a whole bunch of them from seed; I misunderstood.

That article said they ripen in November, and it is from California. I'm guessing it will be somewhat similar for yours.

I'm sorry I can't help more.

Harvest: Ripening depends both on cultivar grown and local climatic conditions. Commercially, the fruit is harvested mature-ripe when its soluble sugars
reach 6.5brix on a refractometer. For the home grower it is best to wait for harvest until at least November1, but November15 would be preferable. Seed
inside should be fully black by this time. If available, a specifically designed fruit ripening bowl can be used to quickly ripen a few fruit to see if
the rest of the crop is ready to be picked. Once harvested, place the hard fruit into plastic bags and put into the refrigerator for keeping. When needed,
the fruit can be taken out of the refrigerator and ripened on the counter for a few days in a plastic bag. Well stored fruit can last for several months.

[CDNSushi]

Well, it looks like we really do have quite a bumper crop this year. According to the "seed test" the fruit should be alright to harvest any time, although the ideal sugar content is anyone's guess without a refractometer. I picked a couple fruit, sliced one open to see if the seeds were black (they were) and I'll try to ripen the other fruit for a taste test.

Thing is, I can't seem to get consistent information on how to best soften and ripen kiwi. One source says that they keep for several months in the fridge, and when you want to prepare some to eat, to put them on the counter until they are soft. Another source says that kiwi ripens much faster in a cool environment than a room-temperature one -- which is really confusing to me. Anyway, they sure LOOK good, even though they are still as hard as rocks and quite unpalatable. But hopefully I can remedy that soon.

Jim

[Pleater]

We regularly buy the 'ripen at home' kiwis.

They arrive rock hard and the same texture as yours, so we put all but one lot in the fridge. It takes some time, but eventually - after maybe a week sitting on top of the fridge the first ones will begin to soften.

Another box is removed from the fridge and put on top at intervals depending on how many fruits each box contains.

Don't squeeze too hard when testing, or they will develop fingertip sized gloopy craters.

I'd think that you could leave the fruit on the vine to ripen naturally, unless the weather turns cold and wet, when the quality would go down rather rapidly so they should be harvested and brought indoors either to cold storage or to ripen.

When sliced open a ripening kiwi will be more translucent in the centre, and gradually the alteration spreads outwards to the skin.

When fully ripe and cut in half the flesh will slide out of the skin under pressure, and can be bitten off the stalk or flower end. Useful for anyone who is slightly allergic to the skin - I can handle them, just not put the skin to my lips - unless I want to have a slightly goldfish look - of course, some people pay good money....

Anne the Pleater :ootd: