Keeping Them Fresh
- I just had to lead with a picture of this bin of HoneyCrisp apples on its way to storage. Photo: W.Lord
Do you want to preserve that just picked flavor and crispness of your apples as long as possible?
Of all the factors that affect how well apples keep that fresh-picked flavor and crispness, temperature is the most important. How cold? For most varieties, storage at 32oF or nearly so is ideal.
Why so cold? Apples are alive. They consume oxygen and stored food to produce the energy needed for life. At lower temperatures, this process is slowed way down. As a result they live much longer.
Of course, there is more to it than temperature. High humidity is important too – around 90% relative humidity is ideal. If you are storing apples in a frost-free home refrigerator, placing them in a loosely folded, food-grade plastic bag will help.
- Bright red, crisp McIntosh fruits await harvest at a Concord Orchard. Photo: W.Lord
Apple quality this season appears to be especially good. Fruits are crisp and color is exceptional – those cool, clear New Hampshire nights and sunny, warmish days are just perfect for people and apples too.
Bill Lord, September 23, 2009
Posted: September 23rd, 2009 under Fruit Growers Journal.
Comments
Pingback from Seacoast Eat Local » Blog Archive » Keeping apples fresh
Time September 28, 2009 at 9:04 am
[...] The New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association has a great blog post on keeping your apples fresh – I had no idea they liked it so cold! “Of all the factors that affect how well apples keep that fresh-picked flavor and crispness, temperature is the most important. How cold? For most varieties, storage at 32oF or nearly so is ideal. [...]
Comment from Tom Kaye
Time October 1, 2009 at 8:16 am
We are trying to decide what would be the best way to keep deer out of our small orchard:
electric or tall fencing.
The orchard is about 150′ away from an electrical source. Too far? We would need protection during winter also. Would snow be a factor with an electric fence. I know it would be cheaper than metal/poly fencing but I’m not sure if an electric fence would work for us.
What do you think?
Thanks
Tom
Comment from Bill
Time October 2, 2009 at 8:48 am
Hi Tom,
As I noted in my last email, electric fence does not work well if deer pressure is very high. One key failure time is winter when snow levels are deep. It is not so much that the fence stops working as it is that deer will take the pain for the gain. If you go with electric (I do use a battery powered, electric charger for my veggies), try other deterrents along with it. For example, spread peanut butter on strips of aluminum foil and attach these to the fence. Deer will go for the peanut butter and get a good jolt. Try adding some oddly placed taut clear fishing mono-filament line to startle them. I string 20 lb test irregularly at about 30 inches off the ground outside my electric fence to catch them off guard.
But in the end, for an orchard, woven wire fencing is the only real solution. For just a few young trees, place stakes around the tree and attach a protective cylinder of welded wire 6 feet high around the trees. But as they age, a perimeter fence is the only real insurance.
There are numerous deer repellents on the market. Most use rotten egg as the base – these will give only minimal, temporary control. You may see garlic oil wicks, hot pepper sprays, etc touted – again, when deer are hungry, these are of little value.
Bill
Comment from Tom Kaye
Time November 9, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Do you do anything to prevent sun scald on the trunks of fruit trees? I’m concerned about using those white plastic wraps that tend to be used by insects for hiding places, plus trapping moisture. I’ve heard people paint the trunks of fruit trees white, but not sure if the paint is more of a problem thanthe sun. Is sun scald a big issue in NH?
Comment from Tom Kaye
Time November 23, 2009 at 10:24 am
We applied the white paint to the trunks of our free trees, installed hardware cloth around the trees, and have installed a 7.5′ deer fence–not only around the orchard–but completely around the entire garden.
Now if only diseases & insects were as easy to deal with!
Comment from Tom Kaye
Time November 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
Actually it should be FRUIT trees . . . not FREE trees. There was nothing “free” about them!
Comment from Tom Kaye
Time January 7, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Jim:
Haven’t seen any new posts lately. Hope things are OK for you. Snow is up a couple feet in our orchard but the hardware cloth is still visible and hopefully keeping those pesky rodents away from the trunks.
Stay warm!
Comment from Sara Zoe
Time September 27, 2009 at 9:05 am
Thank you for this post! I knew apples liked cold, but didn’t know just how cold, or why!