According to a Dietitian

Otherwise wait until olives fully ripen and mature depending on the olive variety it can be the beginning of winter. Discard any fruit that is not perfect. Ripening Olives Show Their True Colours Notes From A Tuscan Olive Grove Typically the olive picking season to eat start at the end of September. When to pick olives . Climate pays a big impact the picking season in the North of New Zealand is March and July in the South. Greener olives will usually have lighter nuttier flavor to black. When to pick olives off the tree will depend on how you want to use them. Pickling Fresh Olives Harvest the olives very carefully to avoid bruising them and begin the process as soon as possible. Since olives are picked for both eating and processing into oil the degree of ripeness matters. In about February - March some of the fruit begins to turn from plain green to purplish black. Olives are grown for eating and for production of olive oil. Although the bulk of the olive harve...