Easy Peasy Apples

It may still be August and we are clinging onto summer with the same enthusiasm as a dog with a bone.  But September is just around the corner and the fall has already started.  I don’t mean Springfield is ablaze with orange and red leaves, but there is one tell tale sign.  Windfall apples.   The newly planted fruit trees present no challenge but the older varieties are just too tall to harvest properly (and safely), even with an apple picker on a pole.  So, the apples plummet to the ground, one by one and often in twos and threes.  I dodge them the best I can but yes, I have been attacked by these very effective missiles.

As if injury to my ‘bonce’ is not enough, the apples do need picking up every day, otherwise wasps move in permanently.  Last year was a good year for apples and this task took place over several weeks and this did not suit by back or my easily bored temperament.  I do leave quite a lot of the windfalls in the hedgerows for the wildlife to munch on but I lift those in the orchard.   I do sort them and give the better ones away and we still have some stewed apple in the freezer from last year.   But usually we have enough ‘good’ apples to give away anyway, so I barrow loads of windfalls to the compost heap. 

However, this year the task is not at all tedious or tiring.  A few weeks ago I came across an advertisement for an apple ‘pickerupper’.  (Actually it is called The Apple Wizard.)  Now, usually I avoid gadgets and this one seemed quite pricey at around £60 but the prospect of another aching back for several weeks, was a strong motivation to give it a go.  It looks strange.  There is a rugby ball shaped wire cage on the end of the pole and as you roll it round, the slight pressure opens the cage and the apples are scooped up.  I cannot say that everyone will find this piece of equipment perfect for the job, but it is perfect for the job I do.  I love it to bits and it even seems to cope with uneven terrain – where the rabbits and birds have scratted around.

The Apple Wizard has earned its place in prime position just inside the shed and I call it my apple hoover because that is just what it does.  It hoovers the apples up and when the cage is full I tip them into the barrow and carry on.  This leaves me with lots of energy to do other things.  I only wish other things included sitting on the bench and reading a book.