When can I harvest my apples?

Total newbie - so please forgive !

My apple tree is dropping it's fruit quite a bit this last week. And when I shake a branch many tumble to the ground.
The apples near the top and red and look perfect, but some lower and under shady cover are still more green than red.....

Do I harvest the tree in one weekend? Or can I start plucking the nice looking ones now, and keep grabbing over the next few weeks?

And how can I store them? I will be making the usual pies and crumbles....so can process them, but I don't want to have a massive baking session! Haha!

Is a dark, dry place the best?

Please help! (I don't want to waste my harvest!)

 

I tried to store ours individually wrapped in paper in a box in the dark. They must be sound fruits though. They lasted till Jan or Feb but were a bit shrivelled. I had to check every so often that none had started rotting. I've just got a juicer for my food processor which has proved to be successful, and dh wants at least a gallon to make cider. You could core and slice them in rings and dry over a stick, or at about 80deg C in the oven. Apparently they are ready to harvest when you can hear the pips rattle. I tried bottling once which was an interesting experience, and apple and chilli jelly was very tasty

BBC - Food - Recipes : Chilli apple jelly


Liz

 

It's best to pick your apples when they come off in your hand easily. If your tree is quite big, your fruit will not all be ready at the same time so pick them selectively.

I tried the technique that Liz has mentioned but my apples shrivelled as well. I found it better to put the apples in plastic bags containing about a dozen in each. You seal the bags at the top but put a few holes in all round so a little air can circulate. Put the bags somewhere cool and dark and keep checking them each week. If rot starts, it'll spread quickly.

 

I think we need to know the variety, some apples store better than others, in fact, I believe some should actually be stored before eating, the so called late varieties.

I've picked a few cookers, (Arthur Turner), this morning bearing in mind the windy weather forecast, I'd have preferred to leave a bit longer but...

I just put them in an apple box and leave them outside in a shady place, if you want to store until Christmas or longer then that's another matter.