storing apples

[SpyderLady]

It's Harvesttime!
Here's some sound advice from our archives on how to store apples and pears:
Apples and pears should all be gathered early in October, and if of late-keeping varieties, pack them at once in barrels or boxes, and place them in a cool, dry cellar where the temperature will vary but little from 8 degrees above the freezing point of water. In such a place they should be kept until wanted for use, or for sale. To change the air or temperature will hasten decay, which is a fact that many of the past generation failed to learn. -"Farmer's Calendar," The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1900

Here's a modern approach to storing apples:

Apples keep well for about six months at temperatures between

freezing and 45 degrees F.

A Styrofoam chest or a double cardboard box in a cool mudroom

or cellar can approximate root cellar conditions.

Sincerely,
The Old Farmer's Almanac

[cenaub4]

Dear Ms. Spydie, this is good info. I have a flat of pears going over quick. Picked them up at Costco, and didn't plan well around them. Tried to cut them up for Christmas dinner baking, and found out they had been sitting there formenting.

One of the things not easily learned, is that pears require picking when full grown, they do NOT ripen on the tree, and its a guessing game to pick, harvest, cull, and process.

Now, these aren't considered stone fruit, are they??? Course, it could be another 6 months before I get back over here to read this!

Wish I HAD a cellar! Our water table is a bit high, I've seen running water directly under the floorboards on a wet year, here!

This is good info, though, Ms. Spydie!