If you care for your apple tree with the right cuts and a balanced supply of water and nutrients, you can usually harvest enough tasty apples for fresh consumption and storage.
How do you harvest apples correctly?
The best way to harvest apples is to use a sturdy ladder to reach the fruit. Remove the ripe apples from the branches using gentle twisting movements to avoid bruises. The harvest time is usually between August and September and can be determined through taste tests.
You can only get a good apple harvest with the right pollination
The amount of harvest expected from an apple tree is determined not only by the size of the tree and the apple variety, but also by 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 by grafting a second variety into a self-pollinating apple tree. Last but not least, it also helps with a good apple harvest if the insects necessary for pollination find enough nesting and feeding places in a garden.
Harvest different types of apples depending on their intended use
There are not only varieties of apple trees for fresh consumption, but also special cider apples and apples for storage over the winter. While cider apples can simply be shaken from the tree and then put into the juicer for further processing, other apples should avoid any bruises if possible. That's why you should prefer the rather complex setup of a ladder for harvesting and remove the ripe apples from the branches with a gentle twisting movement. Setting up the ladder in different places around the treetop can also have double use if you simultaneously remove the water shoots at the top of the treetop as part of the summer pruning.
The right time and suitable tools
Shortly before most apple varieties ripen in August and September, you should check your ladder for stability and safety. Sometimes it may also be worthwhile to use a special apple picker for harvesting from the ground. In this case, the apples are plucked from the tree with a jagged metal ring before they are collected in a fabric bag without any bruises. As a reward for the effort involved in harvesting, the fruits can be used for the following purposes:
- fresh consumption
- drying into delicious apple rings
- processing in cakes and fruit salads
- pressing juice
- processing into apple cider
Tips & Tricks
The exact time for harvesting apples can actually only be decided after a taste test. If the apple tree is only partially in full sun, the apples can be harvested at intervals depending on their degree of ripeness.