Tips on How to Pick Peaches

Use picking containers that are less than 12 inches deep, such as a dishpan or large bowl. Fresh, ripe peaches stacked in deep containers will bruise and damage the fruit at the bottom of the container. Using shallow containers keeps the weight off the peaches.

Pick only ripe, or soon to be ripe, peaches. Overly ripe peaches do not keep long and will bruise and become damaged easily. The skin of the peach is a good indication of ripeness. If the color of the skin is 75 percent yellow, it is ready to be picked. At this stage, the peach will keep for one to two weeks in your refrigerator. Peaches with skin that has turned completely yellow or reddish are at the end of ripeness and will be very soft, bruise easily, and not last long. Scarring on the peach skin surface is acceptable because the underlying peach will still be good.

Grasp the peach on the tree using the sides of your fingers, not the tips, to avoid bruising the fruit. Pull the fruit directly down to release it from the tree. The peach should easily release from the tree. If it is hard to pull, it is not ripe yet. The flesh of a ripe peach will have a slight give to it, not feel hard and unyielding or soft and mushy.

Gently place the picked peach into the container; don't drop it into the container.

Spread out newspaper or a towel when you get home to sort the peaches. Place the peaches on the newspaper in a single layer. Look for damage or bruising -- these peaches should be used first. The other peaches can be stored in your refrigerator.