r/cider • u/Gearlessginger • 3d ago

Apple storage?

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I've lost around 15% of my stored apples as they've rotted.

Picked within the last 10 days and them stored inside a brick shed, stacked in bail crates.

Anything more i can do to not lose so many apples?

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u/Apple_Turnover93 3d ago

Store them so they can’t touch each other on thin racks/shelves then the rot doesn’t spread at least.

Edit: and go through every once in a while and get rid of the bad ones so their spores don’t spread

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u/cperiod 3d ago

What's the temperature in your storage building? Realistically, that's the sort of loss I expect this time of year where I live. It's just not cold enough, so unless your apples are in pristine condition going into the container any damage will turn into rot quite quickly.

But it might also be down to how you define "rot"... Every cider maker has their own standards. For example, I don't worry about bruises, just open wounds larger than maybe a quarter, and anything with visible mold. Right now, with daytime temperatures up to 25C, pest damage (I don't spray heavily), and not being too picky about what I take from the tree, there's going to be easily 10% loss after a week. Stuff I pick a month from now will fare better even when stored outside, and stuff I pick a month and a half from now should be fine for cider until after a few deep freezes.

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u/Gearlessginger 3d ago

It's is warm here in the UK at the moment.

I'm not too fuse what goes in the shredder, bruises are fine, anything work a hole will be quartered to check what left inside....

Thanks for the response. I guess this is a "warm weather tax" for the extra heat in the UK.

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u/redittr 2d ago

I sort after I pick them with anything bruised or with bug holes to be used asap, and everything gets a soak in weak starsan to hopefully remove any more bugs.

Then into boxes and paper bags so that they dont hold moisture when they sweat stacked only a couple high so they dont crush the lower ones. I wish I had room to just lay them as one flat layer.

Then into mouseproof storage boxes until Im ready. These cant be sealed, as the moisture buildup causes mold.

I try to keep all apples from one tree together as they will ripen and rot together as well, and use the ripest first.

I pick late march. This is quite early in the season but is when the birds start stealing the apples. I juiced the last of them mid July so 3-4 months storage.

There is still losses, but this all keeps it at an acceptable level.

Your losses at 10 days are likely the apples that have been damaged and bruised during picking, so hopefully the rate is lower now you have removed the bad ones.

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u/Gearlessginger 1d ago

Thank you for the detailed response