If you maintain your apple tree with the right pruning and a balanced water and nutrient supply, you can usually harvest enough tasty apples for fresh consumption and storage.

A good apple harvest is only possible with the right pollination

Not only the tree size and apple variety are decisive for the expected harvest quantity from an apple tree, but also the pollination rate of the apple blossoms on the tree. You can increase this by either planting different apple trees in the same location or making the tree a self-pollinating apple tree by grafting on a second variety. Last but not least, it also helps with a good apple harvest if insects needed for pollination find enough nesting and feeding places in a garden.

Harvest different types of apples according to their intended use

Among the apple trees there are not only varieties for fresh consumption, but also special cider apples and apples for storage over the winter. While cider apples on orchards can simply be shaken off the tree and then put into the juicer for further processing, other apples should not get bruises if possible. Therefore, you should prefer the more laborious task of setting up a ladder for the harvest and detaching the ripe apples from the branches with a gentle twisting motion. Setting up the ladder at various points around the treetop can also be used twice if you simultaneously remove the water shoots at the upper end of the treetop as part of the summer pruning.

The right time and the right tools

Shortly before most apple varieties ripen in August and September, you should check your ladder for stability and security. Sometimes it can also be worth using a special apple picker for picking from the ground. With this, the apples are plucked from the tree with a jagged metal wreath before they are caught in a fabric bag without pressure points. As a reward for the hard work at harvest, the fruits can be used for the following purposes:

  • the fresh consumption
  • drying into delicious apple rings
  • processing in cakes and fruit salads
  • the pressing of juice
  • processing into apple cider

tips and tricks

The exact time for harvesting apples can actually only be decided after a taste test. If the apple tree is only partly in full sun, the apples can be harvested at different times depending on their degree of ripeness.

Category:

Trees