How To Tell When To Harvest Pineapple?

[sunworshiper]

My first home grown pineapple is starting to show a bit of yellow color in the skin - yah! Now, how do I tell when it is ripe so I know when to pick it? Please share your tips for identifying the optimal harvest time.

Here's a pic of what it looks like this morning.



Angela

[natsgarden123]

Not ready to pick

Wait until its yellow and very fragrant, the longer you wait the sweeter it will be.

[phantomcrab]

It appears that your pineapple is beginning to sunburn a little. The fruit should be upright so the crown gives it some shade.
Pineapples will form a callus (collar) at the junction of the stalk and the fruit. When ripe, a fruit will snap off at that point when you bend it over.

[sunworshiper]

Ah, so  that brown bit is sunburn. I was wondering about that. Thanks for the tips on how to tell when it is ripe. How long does it typically take to go from this stage to ripe? Weeks? Months?

[natsgarden123]

Ah, so  that brown bit is sunburn. I was wondering about that. Thanks for the tips on how to tell when it is ripe. How long does it typically take to go from this stage to ripe? Weeks? Months?

A few weeks at least until ripe

[Jack, Nipomo]

Just ate a "sugar Loaf" pineapple a couple of weeks ago (Thanks Ethan).  I wondered the same thing as the color was uniform and no green.  The greenhouse smelled strongly of the ripened pineapple so I cut the fruit off.  Wow, no tartness, even the core was sweet and edible.  Needless to say, I pulled all the pups off and dried and planted them.  This pineapple is far better than store-bought tops that are fruited.

[sunworshiper]

Thanks for the timeline estimate. Good to know that smell is the best indicator. Mine isn't fragrant yet, but can't wait!

I have had sugar loaf when I visited Hawaii once - it was superb! I'll keep an eye out for a plant start. This one is just a grocery store type.

[Mr. Clean]

Make sure a racoon doesn't attack your pineapple before you get it. 

[Mike T]

After you harvest leave the plant and remove the suckers and slips for planting out at your leisure.They fruit much faster than the pineapple tops that typically take 2 years or more to fruit.Cayenne is a variety which attracts much scorn in my area.It is widely planted for canning but has higher acid and a bigger core than the good dessert types.Some are protected by plant breeder rights and you rarely can purchase them with the tops still on.

[natsgarden123]

Make sure a racoon doesn't attack your pineapple before you get it.

 Interestingly- the raccoons here ( they are HUGE) don't like them- neither do the squirrels




This is a variegated plant-a pup ready to replant:

[sunworshiper]

Ooh that's a good looking pineapple! And good tip to watch out for raccoons. Today, mine is starting to have fragrance, and it is a bit more golden - can't wait! And I found someone local who is going to share a sugar loaf slip with me - yah!

So how long do the sucks and slips take to fruit? Fruiting this one from a top did take a long time.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Make sure a racoon doesn't attack your pineapple before you get it.

Make sure the yard guy next door doesn't raccoon attack your pineapple to!

Yard guys, and raccoons are the first to eat pineapples...its their God given right I guess...they really keep their noses in the dirt, and know where all the pineapples are.

[sunworshiper]

Mine ripened - and it was awesome! Thanks for the advise on how to tell when to harvest it!

[Central Floridave]

That looks good!     I've grow pineapple since I can remember.  (who hasn't???)

I pick them right when they show some yellowing.  I can't wait until all yellow due to rodents.   They ripen after being picked also.   If you want them to turn yellow, ripen them in the sun for a day and a half.  They will ripen faster in sunlight, but in an A/C kitchen counter a couple weeks.

If you want to get a ton of starters, go to your super market and ask the manager if you can have the tops from the sliced fruit section. 

I just got back from Costa Rica where pineapple is everywhere.  It was nice to come back yesterday and catch a pineapple in my yard right before the coons did!  I walked through the garden last night and saw the fruit was being scratched by an animal that was testing for ripeness.  Ha Ha...got it before the rodent did!   

[TNAndy]

I received a pineapple plant for Christmas.  It came with a fruit already growing.

Regarding the comments above about sunburn, should I cover my fruit (only, not the green top) with some shade cloth for best quality and sweetness?  Thanks.

[natsgarden123]

I received a pineapple plant for Christmas.  It came with a fruit already growing.

Regarding the comments above about sunburn, should I cover my fruit (only, not the green top) with some shade cloth for best quality and sweetness?  Thanks.

They like sun-in my opinion, no shade cloth.

[fruitlovers]

The weight of the fruit will make the plant topple over and then the fruit gets baked on one side facing the sun. That is why commercial plantings are in tight rows of 3 or 4. This way the plants interlock and they can't topple over, and then no baked fruits.