Q. This is my first year growing pomegranates. I harvested three. The first two I picked too early because the skin broke and I didn’t want something to go after them. I expected them to be red inside. They weren’t. They were an off-white color but they do taste good and sweet. Did I pick them to green? A. The best time to pick pomegranates are when they are sweet. We use visual indicators or a calendar to tell us when they are ripe. These visual indicators include fruit splitting. However, they can split early if they get irregular irrigations or after a rain. There are varieties of pomegranates which ripen in September and others we are more familiar with, like Wonderful, don’t ripen until about Halloween. Ambrosia pomegranate Some varieties like Utah Sweet don’t get red inside. They are the color you are describing but they are sweet. Others, like Wonderful, will be bright red inside. Pomegranates come in a wide variety of colors You were right in picking when the fruit splits. Even if it’s too early they will get destroyed by vermin or disease once they split. By picking it you prevented vermin from getting the arils or seeds. Great job! Mark your calendar for next year’s harvest.