Sweeter apples ????

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but is it possible to do anything that will make my apples sweeter?? I have a three year old Braeburn apple tree which is in its second year of fruiting. I have just picked off the first apple but it is very bland tasting, nothing like bought Braeburns. So, I am wondering if I should try feeding something into the soil to improve production of sugar or are there any other things I could try.

The apples are perfectly formed, no worms or bugs, just rather tasteless, albeit with a hint of sharpness. As a last thought, am I picking them too early - I reside in the Greater London are.

Many thanks in advance of any ideas.

 

Not sure, but a good liquid feed certainly wouldn't hurt. Probably won't improve this years crop though.

Also give it a good mulch of well rotted manure over winter and maybe some blood, fish and bonemeal

 

Braeburn is not considered one of the best for the UK, it likes more heat.
Having said that, I think you need to leave them on the tree maybe another month.

Got the feeling it will be a late type here.

 

Cant tell you how to make them taste better. One thing that can be done with them, is use them for apple butter.

 

I recommend watering them with a sugar solution, twice a month, at a ratio of 1Tblsp of sugar per Ltr of water, Feb through to Sept.

 

Just to add, they are picking from the orchards where I work at the moment, they started four weeks ago with "discovery" and they move on through the different varieties when the "experts" say they are "ready", its all very scientific.
Their idea of "ready" and mine is totally different.
They are picking "worcester's" at the moment, they are like bullets, sour and tasteless.

But that's how the supermarkets want them, they call it "ripen at home", in other words leave them in a warm room for a couple of weeks and they might be edible.

When you grow your own its best to leave them on the tree as long as possible, they only get better, but of course once they start to drop you have to pick them.

 

They loaded up one of the cold stores today with loads of boxes of unripe "gala", I was told they wont see daylight again until next June.

 

Thank you one and all. I will leave them on tree until ready which I reckon is late October for Braeburns. It might be that all the "ripening action" occurs in the final few weeks. I will also feed tree from next spring.

 

One thought. I assume you do know how to tell if an apple is ready for picking?

 

Wait for first one to fall to the ground ?????

 

They are called windfalls. Apples can fall off the tree before they are ready to be picked. So the answer is no.

 

Yep.

As far as plants go, lots of things happen very suddenly. After months of no apparent activity, you get weeks or even days of intense activity.

Think about how an apple tree, or any tree, has evolved to survive as a species. The seeds are in the apple. The seed must be protected while it develops. The worst thing that can happen is if the seeds are lost before they are developed enough to stand a chance of germinating. So the protective surrounds, the fruit, in this case the apple, stays tough and bitter and generally not appetising. Often camouflaged too, taking on the same shade of green as the surrounding leaves. Then one day, the seed is developed enough to stand a chance. Hormones are released to indicate this, and now the clock is ticking. Other fruits in the area will also be about ready, so your apple tree must compete against them to have its seeds reach the soil first. So whereas prior to this point, the fruit was a protective case, now it needs to take on a different role, urgently. As quick as possible, it must now advertise the fruit to things that might eat it, exposing the seeds inside. Perhaps it will drop the fruit, so that even if nothing eats it, it can rot on the ground and release it's seeds. Natural pesticides will cease to be produced, and sugar production gets activated full tilt. The fruit softens. And one of the final stages, the tree stops feeding the fruit. Without green chlorophyll coursing through the skin of the fruit, it's natural pigments begin to reveal themselves, and the apple starts to turn red, or whatever colour it's going to be.