I always assume that if they drop, they are ripe. The seeds have to be colored up, if they are white then there is usually little flavor. Some people like them heavily wrinkled and others eat them with only a little bit. I'm not sure there are any hard and fast rules. My P. edulis is in full swing so right now that is what I am eating. The fruit comes in waves and there is enough to make a juice from or drizzle over fruit salad. I've got to figure out a way to grow a ton of these.
Thanks for the info - yeah, I went ahead and ate this one 2 days after it fell. It was....okay. I don't have enough experience eating these to really know what to expect.
I have 20 something fruits forming, so I will experiment and see what I can see.
I don't want to take this thread on a tangent, but how are you managing your
edulis? In a pot that you bring indoors? If so, what kind of setup do you have indoors?
I am starting to fear that
incarnata may not be worth growing for fruit......
edulis is so far superior, it seems.
If I had the resources, I would love to try to breed a great-tasting incarnata.
This "
Iridescence" vine is supposed to be just that, but I have not tasted yet. So far I am disappointed - the fruits are the smallest of all the vines I have growing - not much bigger than golf balls
P.S. I actually really like eating the maypop skin...it has the funkiest sweet/savory flavor, makes me think of sweet potato or parsnip chips.