Section

The sale of fruit before it shows signs of soundness is invalid when transacted with someone who does not own the tree, and the sale of crops before their grain has hardened is likewise invalid when made to someone who does not own the land. Once part of a given species in the orchard has ripened, that ripening counts for all of that species there. The indicator of ripeness for dates is that they turn red or yellow; for grapes, that they become filled with sweet juice; and for other fruits, that they taste good to eat and their maturity is clearly apparent. For produce that keeps re-appearing—such as Armenian cucumbers, eggplants, and cucumbers1—the criterion is that it has reached the stage at which people customarily eat it.

Whatever fruit perishes before it is gathered is at the seller’s liability, unless it was sold along with its tree, or the purchaser delays collecting it beyond the customary time.