Picking The Right Time To Pick The Pears | The Seattle Times

Q: How do I know when to harvest my pears? Last year I waited for them to ripen on the tree, but when they finally turned soft, the inside was rotten.

A: I assume you’re asking about European pears. Asian pears ripen on the tree, and they’re ready to harvest and eat when you bite into one and the juice runs down your chin.

Almost all European pears, on the other hand, should be picked before they ripen on the tree, or as you discovered, they tend to rot from the inside out. A pear is ready to pick when it has sized up and changed color but is still hard to the touch. Cup your hand under the pear and lift up. If the stem breaks, the pear is ready to pick.

Those that are ready to pick by early September, such as “Rescue,” “Ubileen” and “Orcas,” can be placed directly on the counter and will ripen in a matter of days.

Most Read Life Stories

• Longs Pass avalanche: What happened in WA ski accident that killed 2
• Commencement Bay winter kayaking makes for a serene experience
• T&T Supermarket is overwhelming. Our food writer breaks it down
• How T&T’s Bellevue food court became our writer’s office for a year
• Seattle's Renee Erickson reopens Bateau under new name and concept

Pears ready to pick in late September and October need to be stored in a refrigerator for at least a month before bringing them out to ripen on the counter.

By the way, if your friend has an extra fridge and offers to store your pears for you, don’t wait too long to retrieve them. If he tries one and finds out how delicious they are, you might be out of luck.

Q: I’d like to save seed from my garden, but I’ve been told not to do it if I plant cucumbers, pumpkins or squash in the same bed. Will cucumber cross with my zucchini?

A: To start, cucumbers can cross with each other, but it’s scientifically impossible for cucumber to cross with any type of squash.

Summer squash will cross with each other, acorn squash and most types of pumpkins. Winter squash can cross with each other, but won’t cross with summer squash or pumpkins used to make jack-o-lanterns.

Unfortunately there’s no way to know if a cross occurred by looking at the seed. You’ll know next summer when the plant grown from the saved seed produces bizarre-looking, inedible fruit. Don’t even try to eat it. If you want to save seed from summer or winter squash, grow only one type of each and forego planting pumpkins or acorn squash in your garden. Otherwise you’re likely to find your garden full of zucchapumpikins next year, and if you think it’s hard to give away oversized zucchinis, wait until you try to get someone to take these frankencchinis off your hands!

Q: I’m getting ready to order spring-flowering bulbs, but I’ve had problems with squirrels eating the tulips and crocus bulbs. Are there any spring-flowering bulbs that squirrels won’t eat?

A: There’s no doubt that it’s practically impossible to grow tulips and crocus in areas with thriving squirrel populations, so plant spring-blooming bulbs that those fuzzy little troublemakers don’t like.

Daffodils and all types of Narcissus are easy to grow and all have poison bulbs that squirrels won’t touch. The bulb of the popular spring-blooming hyacinth also contains toxins that keep the squirrels away.

A real charmer that squirrels leave alone is Chionodoxa (glory of the snow). It’s easy to grow and although the attractive blue flowers are small, they often reseed to form gorgeous colonies over time.

A longtime favorite of mine is Fritillaria. These unique and colorful bloomers are not quite as easy to grow, and each of the many varieties available must have the conditions they prefer to proliferate.

Squirrels won’t touch the poisonous bulbs, and the flowers, on F. imperialis “Corona Imperial” produce a vile odor that actually repels squirrels (and in some cases humans as well).

Two other spring-blooming bulbs are easy to grow and totally squirrel proof, but I don’t recommend them. Muscari (grape hyacinth) and Scilla (blue bells) are both so invasive, you’ll beg the squirrels to eat them.

Ciscoe Morris: [email protected]; “Gardening with Ciscoe” airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING-TV.