How do I grow apples?

We inherited an old apple tree when we moved into Mum's house last year. We had eaten the apples in the past but last year we were so busy we left them to fall and they fed the birds all winter.
Today I noticed a couple of nice red apples on the ground so I thought I may as well pick some but when I reached up to pick them they were all holes, some bigger than others. There were also small holes with sooty marks around them. The birds will get another winter feed.
I realise I am too late to do anything this year but what should I do to get a crop of useable apples next year?

 

Firstly, don't leave the fruit lying under the tree. If the birds are to have them, make sure they're well away! In October, or whenever the leaves drop, clear them all up so there's no chance of insects and fungus diseases spreading. Put a grease band round the trunk, about 18" from the soil, in late October. Some folks spray the dormant tree with a soap/oil/water mix to try to get rid of any overwintering pests. In early spring, hang a codling-moth pheromone trap in the tree. In theory, it's just to indicate whether they're present, but it's also pretty effective at limiting damage. There are other pests like wasps and blackbirds that damage the fruit, but an old net curtain, while not pretty, deters them quite well

 

Would a Neem oil mix do for this?

 

I've never used it personally. It does seem to have it's fans and supposedly breaks the life-cycle of pests if used at regular intervals. The commercial products here contain colza oil, so the principle is any oil will suffocate the insects.

 

Sprayed my grape vines with some diluted jayes fluid a couple of times last winter. They definitely grew away stronger this year, with less of a pest problem.
It was the old original kind, not sure if the newer one would have a similar effect.

 

With my apple tree, it took me a couple of years of it cropping to realise I had an early variety. I thought I was being all good and patient waiting til mid September to harvest my soft, bug eaten apples.

As soon as I accepted mine is an early cropper, I've had an abundance of big juicy red apples for the last three summers.

I guess the moral of the story is, know when your apples, in their specific microclimate, and their specific variety, are ready.

The birds and the bugs always get a few. I doubt there's anything you can do about that. If there was there'd be no such thing as apple sauce in the shops. It wouldn't be commercially sensible to use flawless apples fit for the fruit isle to stew down into cheap apple sauce. Even the commercial growers with all their resources and expertise end up with an abundance of class 2s.

 

I believe there are three different varieties grafted on the tree though they all just look like Crab apples to me. I believe the tree has been in the best part of 70 years.
This was it in the Spring.



The fence is 6ft tall.

 

It might help if you provide a picture of your tree. They can have lots of issues, from not being pruned to several kinds of infections and diseases.

In my experience, apple harvest is different every year. Some years there are almost none and others you fear for the integrity of the tree because it's filled to the brim with apples.
Maybe the internal clock of your tree just wanted to skip this year and the next will be awesome. Which, by the way, is a reason why there are so many myths on how to make them grow well. Dance around them naked while playing on a goat-skin drum and "voila - let there be apples" works 50% of the time

 

I think if they still look like crab apples at this time of the year then they probably are crab apples.

 

I've always fancied participating in a wassailing ceremony. I just haven't got round to it yet, mostly because they seem to only happen in the south west, and with me being in the north east there'd be some expense and planning involved just to go for a walk and get drunk.

It looks good though. They all march through the streets to the orchard, then there's stick tapping and songs and dancing, throw some of last year's cider at the tree to ward off evil spirits, then march to the pub to drink scrumpy. Sounds awesome. Definitely works, although that depends on the criteria you choose for defining success.

 

Some images taken today.
The first shows the tree (the tall tree behind is in someone else's garden).



The next two show the fruit.





One of the damaged apples.



And the windfall under the tree.

 

Best you stick to dwile flonking, you'll hardly notice the difference!!

 

I thought you said they look like crab apples??

They look pretty good to me, just need a bit of pest protection during the growing season, some thinning might help after the June drop.

 

Easy way to tell whether it's bird damage (which it looks like) or codling moth......the latter usually leaves frass (brown sawdust-like residue) around the hole. It's good practice to clear up fallen fruit anyway, though One excellent reason for not growing fruit trees in a mixed border!

 

The mixed border is what I want, the fruit tree was just there when we moved in. We will never remove it as my wife's father planted it. Personally, I can take or leave apples, but it would be nice if they were usable.