If you want to eat the fresh coconut with a spoon, wait until you can hear water sloshing around but the sound is somewhat deadened as a result of the developing layer of nut meat. You can also tap on the outside of the coconut with your finger. If the tapping sounds hollow, the coconut is fully ripe.arvesting. In some cases, such as when the tree bends down toward the ground, you might simply be able to reach up and clip the coconuts from the tree. You can reach taller trees with a pole pruner, but even telescoping pole pruners have a limited reach, making it impossible to access coconuts from a 60-foot tree.