Time to Pick Tennessee Pears

I'm about to pick Tennessee Pears. I compare the pears that are ready to be picked to the varieties that look ripe right now but are not quite ready to go. Note wile I don't go into the process on this video, European pears do not take on the buttery texture until they are allowed to get "soft ripe" in an airconditioned room. Some varieties don't get soft ripe until after they have been cured under refrigeration for a few months. However, most varieties are best for processing right after they get picked. Most pears will rot on the tree before really getting soft ripe. So if you have to pick pears while they still have a green texture, but for some varieties such as LeConte and Goldenboy the color turns way ahead of time. How do you know when to pick. I show you how in this video.

[Kel-lz]

I live in East Tennessee and came across this video when googling "when to pick pears in east Tennessee". Unfortunately, I'm not getting ANY good answers on when they could be ready. I have read mid summer to late fall. I live in the northern part of East Tennessee (Jefferson county) the issue being.. I have NO idea what type of pear I have. The property has been in our family since the 60s and I know I grew up eating them. I don't recall anyone ever mentioning what type they are. I have asked family members when to pick and they have all said they just waited until they realized they were falling off the trees all and before winter so no definite answers. Our tree seems to only produce well every other year. This year we have a tree FULL and I mean absolutely full even with the drought we have had this year. I am wondering if I should feed the tree some miracle grow or similar and maybe water daily as well. If anyone reads this and would know when I should start picking to test then please let me know. They are green and stay green and sometimes get some pinky color to spots of the skin. Some of them are itty bitty and some are quite big. They never reach the size of a lease purchased at a grocery store.. I am wanting to make sure to get them at their prime this year to make pear butter and jelly and bottle (can) some to have throughout the year. I also plan to donate some to the local food bank to give out since we have such a large amount this year. This tree is very very old and has always produced crazy amounts every other year. Any advice or help would be great. I also would like to try to figure out what type they are. I am just not sure on how I could find that out.

[FixItBuildItGrowIt]

Great looking pears, Marcus. I believe this is the first time I've seen someone demonstrate visually when a pear is ripe. This will help me pick my Shin Li later this year. Thanks for sharing!

[Juanelo]

Very informative! Your pears do look delish!

[KimAranda-te]

My Bartlett Pear tree is about 25 feet tall and every year they are ever only small and very hard. No edible at all. Whats the deal?