How do you know when to pick apples?

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

I understand apples do not ripen much off the three. If so, how do you know when to pick em?

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1737

Apples vary a lot according to variety. Early apples, such as the Yellow Delicious, Grimes Golden, and Lodi, turn from green to yellow and soften to where they will noticeably dent easily with a fingernail when ripe. When in doubt, take a bite of one, which will assure you if it is ripe or not.

Color is the easiest guide, but if you have a good sense of smell, the fragrance of the fruit on the tree gets stronger and sweeter.

The tart "Pie" or summer apples ripen next, and are often red striped with green when ripe. The Fall apples, such as Jonathan, Winesap, and Red Delicious, turn full red when ripe, and can be picked for winter storage a bit before full ripe, to get longer storage life. One favorite of mine for cider and fresh eating is Northern Spy, an old variety, that turns a deep red, almost purple when ripe, and has a very short fresh life, going soft within a week or two, so cider or jelly is the answer for that.

All apples emit a gas of some sort that hastens decay in storage. This can be dealt with, according to Organic Gardening Magazine many years ago, by packing fall apples in boxes with dry oak leaves that absorb this gas. I tried it, and it does help. We have stored Winesaps this way in a root cellar for the winter, and had some good ones yet in January.

Bottom line, look for the appropriate color,and taste it. Pick them when they are still a bit tart and crunchy for good storage life.

If you have a heavy, breaking-down the-branches crop, you would do well to thin them about now, by up to half of what is on the tree, if they are really loaded. The rest of the crop will grow much larger, and you will prevent damage to trees. This can be a worse problem if the tree has not been trimmed and has grown thick with small new wood. (Prune that in the fall, after frost.) Large old trees are more apt to have this problem.

In my case, I can tell when the apples are ripe by the gathering of large brown and yellow striped wasps, or hornets(?) doing their best to eat them all! I takes some nerve and a long handled apple picking tool to get past those guys...
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jato

Great timing! I just picked and ate my first "Anna" apple from my baby tree today. It was good. There are some other apples on the tree that are not quite ripe.
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WisJim

Patience explained it well. We still have some last fall's Northwestern Greenings in our refrigerator, maybe half a bushel, and I should use them up, make apple crisp or something. They are a good cooking apple but not my favorite eating apple, but I eat all my favorites up earlier in the winter so I really don't know how long they might store.

Technically, an apple is ripe when the seeds are mature, which usually means the seeds are dark brown or black. A ripe apple should be a bit easier to pick, to get the stem loose from the branch, than an unripe tree. Experience will make a big difference.

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

Thanks for all the help.

How do the pros keep apples so long? I bought some locally grown storage apples and they were good for a couple of weeks and then they shriveled up.

frankthetank

I have a total of...2...apples on my trees Smile

They dropped the rest. I guess they are too young. I'm hoping i choose the timing right on picking mine. I think its a McIntosh so it won't be until later in the fall. McIntosh is by far my favorite apple!
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WisJim

To store apples a long time, you need to choose a storage (usually a late season) variety, pick it when ripe but not overripe, cool it quickly, and keep it as close to freezing but not frozen as possible.
This site has some useful info on apple storage. We store ours in ice chests/ picnic coolers but I have written of that elsewhere.

Narz

Fruits are like women, when they yield to easily you, falling into your hands with even the slightest brush, then they are ready. If you have to force them out of the branches they are not ready & you will not get to enjoy their full lusciousness.

Smile

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seldom_seen · Fission Joined: Apr 12, 2005 Posts: 2062