Picking Bramley apples

gardener · Picking Bramley apples

Hi - I can't remember when Bramley's should be picked Embarassed

and can anyone suggest a good way for storing them?

wayland

I have always picked Bramleys when they break off their strig when twisted slightly. They do store well if only the soundest fruit is selected. Cool and airy <sounds like me Laughing

> is the ideal conditions and the fruit should not touch each other. Any fruit that shows blemishes during the winter should be removed. They will dry out a bit and the skin may show signs of wrinkling but this is normal. Good Luck with then. I prefer to store them as Cider. Very Happy

blowin

As Wayland says , they are ready when they will come off in your hand with maybe just a slight twist but no tugging . Windfalls are a good indication and are well worth collecting , too .
We were picking from a mature tree a couple of weeks ago . Fruit from a younger one will be ready very soon . Wink

gardener

Thank you both - in that case I think mine are about ready to pick Smile

Should I wrap each apple seperately in newspaper?

wayland

I have known people who wrap their apples in tissue paper. I don't know if this helps at all. I am not sure that news paper is a good idea though. There are fruit store cabinets available and by the look of them they would be easy to make. You may be able to get those blue paper liners that line the fruit boxes from your local grocer. The ideal conditions would be to try and mimic the fruit stores of the great houses of the past. These had slatted racks, and the fruit was just placed on them. The store itself had a thatched roof that went down to ground level and one window. The window was covered with a couple of bales of straw if the weather warmed up a bit. Cool and frost free with a bit of ventilation. Good luck with them.

quarryman

I have seen them laid out on newspaper, in trays in an airy shed. This way they can be checked without having to unwrap them. Most of our eaters were eaten on the trees. I think birds made the inital pecks and the wasps opened them up. So no eaters this year.

chook

Here's a nice site on apple storage:
http://www.bund-lemgo.de/lagerung-von-aepfeln.html
It's in German but the pics are interesting in themselves.
The site belongs to the German Association for Enviromental Protection and Nature Conservation. They do some work on old traditional orchards (due to their high ecological value) and have developed a simple but effective looking storage box, said to be mouse proof.
As our apple harvests slowly increase year on year (24 varieties, planted 1997-2002 with a couple additions in 2006) I'll have to consider some kind of storage system. I like those ...

chook

Moonwaves

You could also give Seedsavers a ring. Was down there at their Apple Day yesterday and they certainly know their stuff about apples and are very friendly and helpful. www.irishseedsavers.ie is the web site.