Less than 24 hours after mowing and the apples continue to fall. These are three of our four apple trees.
I found a method that seems to work: I use a garden hoe to "pull" all the apples into piles. Then I crouch down and toss the apples from the piles into a wheelbarrow. This method beats bending over to pick up apples one by one, and it's easier on my back. When the wheelbarrow is full, I roll it over to the compost pile to empty it. Apples make great compost. I'll be repeating this a few more times this year until all the apples have fallen.
I still think you should be making cider!
ReplyDeleteI wish I liked cider, but I prefer the juice of the grape.
DeleteI've been surprised at how few apples are falling from our trees. They are groaning under the weight, but hanging on to most of them.
ReplyDeleteWonder if it has to do with the variety?
DeleteKen, it very probably does...
Deletewe have two varieties here which are "late" apples...
one of which is known by the name of Winter Banana....
these types often need to be left on the tree until January...
one, local to this area, that you see in the shops in late Feb / March...
is Belchard... excellent flavoured eater...
but needs to be left over winter before picking...
or picked young and stored overwinter...
the big warehouse that O'Petit Verger had...
and was destroyed in their fire...
could duplicate winter conditions.
They could pick early, before the winter thrushes did their worst...
I've seen flocks of over two hundred mixed Fieldfares and Redwings up at their orchards in winter...
feasting on the fruit they decided wasn't worth picking.
Pauline, the oracle on all things fruit....
Deleteconfirmed my probably!
Winter Banana is for picking in March... like Belchard.
Yes ykushojld make great wine
ReplyDeleteActually, that's a good idea...
Deletemy Dad used to do an excellent apple wine....
if I remember rightly it was 25% Grape juice concentrate and 75% Apple juice...
and it tasted like wine, too.
I'll bet there'll be recipes on the interweb!
Apple sauce, apple butter, apple jelly, apple pie filling, dried apples, and.... and.... and....
ReplyDeleteCasse-museau! My favourite. Peel a big apple and core it with a corer, place the apple on a circle of pastry, fill the core with brown sugar / honey chopped nuts/raisins/what you will and a small knob of butter, close up the pastry and twist the top to seal it, and bake it in a moderate oven, till cooked right through. Serve hot or cold. That's an apple dumpling recipe, but casse-museau is effectivelly the same. P.
ReplyDeleteIt's heart breaking to see so many potential apple pies and crumbles go in the compost heap.....but in the circumstances I would probably do the same!
ReplyDeleteSo I guess to save the grass, tarps are out of the question? Or maybe get one of those street cleaner "spears" and you could make a game out of it. Or put a sign out front: "Pick your own fresh apples". If all else fails, make calvados.
ReplyDeleteSo many good ideas. There will be apple pie and applesauce later in the season when the apple ripen. Those falling on the ground now are not ripe. And making cider is too much work for me.
ReplyDelete