When to harvest apples: rules for different varieties

Apples are one of the most popular and favorite fruits in Ukraine. These juicy fruits are not only delicious, but also extremely healthy.

To get a good harvest that will be stored for a long time, you need not only to properly care for the tree, but also to pick apples on time. The Agriculture and Horticulture website explains how to tell if they are ripe or not.

There are many varieties of apples in the world and they all have their own characteristics, but they can be divided into three groups. Summer and winter apple varieties have different ripening and harvesting periods. The former ripen earlier (in August), have a more delicate texture, and are often eaten fresh or used to make juices and other products.

Winter varieties, on the other hand, ripen later and can be stored for a long time without losing their flavor and nutritional properties until spring. They are harvested from mid-September to early October. However, if the cold came too quickly, it is better to pick the apples unripe. Let them ripen indoors, otherwise the fruit will freeze and be stored worse.

There are also autumn varieties. They are harvested from mid-August to early September and stored for 4 months.

How do you know if apples are ripe?

As a rule, experienced gardeners can determine whether it's time to harvest by eye, but if you lack experience, then use proven methods.

Pressing the skin

If you press down on an apple and it leaves a small dent, it is already ripe. And if the fruit cracked or did not react to the pressure in any way, then it is either overripe or not yet ripe.

Appearance

You can tell that apples are ready to pick by their bright color, size, brown seeds, and white or creamy flesh.

Taste

If the apples have the flavor characteristic of their variety and are easy to bite, they are ripe.

Chemical experiment

Dissolve 1 g of iodine and 4 g of potassium iodide in 1 liter of distilled water. Dip a halved apple into the solution for 2 minutes and look at its color. If it is blue at the edges and yellow in the middle, the fruit is ripe. And if the whole apple is blue, it is still unripe.

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