We have a couple of apple trees in our garden; a green apple which is a Granny Smith plus a red variety which is a Jonathon. So far we have had a fairly good harvest of apples this year. The Jonathon apples were ready in late February and it was great eating them straight from the tree on a summers evening. They are all gone now!
The Granny Smith (green apple) matures a bit later so that tree is loaded with fruit at the moment. We have had it covered with bird netting for the last few weeks because the birds started eating the apples long before they were ready!
I was checking the tree the other day and started wondering about the best way to tell when the green apples are really ready. They are not like a red apple that changes color when it’s ready! And because apples don’t ripen any further after they are picked it is important to know how to tell when a green apple is ripe.
As it turns out there are some helpful hints available to help you tell when a green apple is ripe.
4 Easy Ways to Test If Your Green Apple Is Ripe
- Check how easy it is to pick the apple; give it an upwards twist and if it separates easily it is ready. You will never have to cut a ripe apple from the tree.
- Check the seed color; the seeds in an apple will general turn brown then the apple is ripe.
- Do a taste test; try an apple – if it is sweet and juicy it is ripe but if it is tastes starchy then you probably need to wait a little longer.
- Look for fallen apples; if some apples have fallen off (not rotten or bad ones) then it is a good sign that the apples are ripe.
Predicting When You Green Apples Will Be Ripe
You can also predict ahead of time when your green apples will be ripe by knowing how long it takes from bloom to fruit ripening. Granny Smith apples take 170 – 180 days from bloom to harvest so if you know when the tree bloomed you can calculate when you should harvest.
If you use this link to put in the date of when your tree blooms and ask it to add 170 days you will know when to start checking your fruit.
Luckily I took a photo of our green apple tree blossom so I had a record of the date and was able to predict the harvest time – which is about now!
A few years ago we had a large green apple harvest and I think we left the apples on the tree for a bit too long. The apples didn’t store very well and that was probably because they were over ripe.
I think that our apples are about ready now so this year I am going to make sure that we pick them at the correct time!
For more information on harvesting and storing apples take a look at the following link:
University of Wisconsin Extension: Garden Facts, When are apples ripe?
Hi, I'm Kaylene, and I'm a keen gardener,budding baker and wannabe DIYer!
Great, informative post! We check pairs the same way, by giving them an upward twist. If it snaps, they are ready to be picked. We have apple trees, but we don’t have any green apple trees!
Thanks Kathy, our Granny Smith apple tree is only small but it is loaded with apples this year. I want to make sure I harvest them at the right time so that I can enjoy lots of apple desserts over the next few weeks!
Thank you that help
Glad it was helpful Ursula!
Our apples, grannie smith, are being eaten by squirrels. Help, we haven’t had apples for three years. We have tried everything and every morning we have less and less.
Hi Camille, I am very sorry to hear that the squirrels are getting your apples! I live in Australia and we don’t have squirrels here so I can’t give you any first hand advice. We do have possums here and they too can be a problem around fruit trees. I’m not sure what you have already tried but you could try netting your tree or adding a wide collar around the trunk so they can’t climb up. Also there are garlic or chili type sprays that you can spray on the trunk, limbs, and/or foliage to deter them. Maybe you could ask for advice at a plant nursery in your area that sells fruit trees, they might be able to give you better advice than me. I hope you are able to claim your apple tree back soon and enjoy your apples!
I have a rare “Japanese Apple” tree that produces green apples. Its more of a winter tree, it blossoms in winter then in late spring they are ready to be picked. It hasnt had any apples in years, this year i have them and its time to pick them, June 2024.