Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance

Sparky

"sparky" wrote in message
...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

It may be they are too warm.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

sparky wrote in message ...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?


You're doing nothing wrong. (If you can keep them cool as
well as dry, they might last slightly longer) The ones in the
shops are
stored in special cool stores with controlled levels of
CO2 to prevent ripening. They ripen batches periodically
throughout the year by changing the atmosphere in the
stores. Obviously the Southern hemisphere Coxes are
6 months out of synch with our anyway.

I find that most Coxes from supermarkets taste very little
like real Coxes, but I don't know whether its the growing
conditions or the storage that makes the difference.

Other apples naturally have a different eating season.
http://www.btinternet.com/~treesandfruit/appl.htm

--
Anton

In message , anton
writes

sparky wrote in message ...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?


You're doing nothing wrong. (If you can keep them cool as
well as dry, they might last slightly longer) The ones in the
shops are
stored in special cool stores with controlled levels of
CO2 to prevent ripening.

You can store apples successfully in a fridge for some time. Put them
in some plastic bags with some holes in for ventilation, and store in
the bottom of the fridge. As with normal storage keep checking for mould
etc. on the stored apples.

And of course Bob Flowerdew recommends using old freezers (non-working)
as stores for fruit etc. as they can keep the temp quite stable.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

Just dont store them around anything else that you are trying to keep.
Apples put out a gas that speeds the ripening process, and it will effect
other produce as well.

That might very well contribute to your problem. I would try leaving one
unwrapped so the air could get to it. After 6 weeks try it and compare it
to the ones that were wrapped and compare the difference.

Good luck. Dwayne


"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...
In message , anton
writes

sparky wrote in message ...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the
following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they
are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?


You're doing nothing wrong. (If you can keep them cool as
well as dry, they might last slightly longer) The ones in the
shops are
stored in special cool stores with controlled levels of
CO2 to prevent ripening.

You can store apples successfully in a fridge for some time. Put them
in some plastic bags with some holes in for ventilation, and store in
the bottom of the fridge. As with normal storage keep checking for mould
etc. on the stored apples.

And of course Bob Flowerdew recommends using old freezers (non-working)
as stores for fruit etc. as they can keep the temp quite stable.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

"sparky" wrote:

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Yep. What you're doing wrong is not sousing them in fungicides,
insecticides, selective herbicides and any other -icides you can think
of, then failing to pick them when they're still underripe, not dipping
them in synthetic-chemical-containing waxes, storing them somewhere
other than a commercial cold store, then declining to force-ripen them
using ethylene gas and finally keeping them in a non-temperature-and-
humidity-controlled area like a fruit bowl.

Hope this helps. ;-)

In other words, what's happening to your apples is perfectly normal --
unlike just about everything inflicted upon them (and you, of course) by
the commercial fruit growing concerns and supermarkets.

Pick them slightly less than ripe, and store them somewhere as cool as
possible. Otherwise, you're pretty much doing the right thing anyway.


Jon
--
SPAM BLOCK IN USE! Replace 'deadspam' with 'green-lines' to reply in email.
Want a free solution to email spam? Try http://www.deadspam.com/
(Declaration of interest: I own/run the domain.)

"sparky" wrote in message
...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance

Sparky


Yes, you aren't keeping them in your large environmentally controlled cold
store at 4 degrees C.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove my socks before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups)

Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance

Sparky

It's possible to produce your own oxygen-free/CO2 rich environment where
ripening will be greatly slowed by placing the apples in an airtight container
with some corn or wheat seeds that have been soaked in water for a while. The
seeds start to germinate and use up the oxygen in the container which should
greatly slow the ripening process. I have to admit though that I've never
tried it myself. My parents always just stored apples in boxes in a cool dark
place and threw out any rotting ones from time to time to ensure the whole crop
wasn't lost.

I hope this helps, but it probably won't, and I'm sure someone'll disagree with
me, so I'll just go now.

Dave.

"sparky" wrote in message
...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance

Sparky


As suggested by others, a plastic bag in a fridge will keep them fresh for a
long time.
I have a 'spare' fridge in my garage and have managed to keep some Queen Cox
apples fresh for over 6 months there.
Worked well year before last; last year the bags got nudged up against the
cooling plate and froze, giving them the apple equivalent of frostbite and
gangrene - yuk.
I just pick and check the apples, then put four or five in a plastic carrier
bag with the top loosely knotted.
They seem to keep amazingly well.
HTH
Dave R

Many thanks for all the advice

Sparky
"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...

"sparky" wrote in message
...
Dear All

I wonder if any of you would be kind enough to help me with the
following
problem

I have a cox apple tree which crops well I pick the apples when they
are
ripe and wrap them individually and store them in the dry

After about 4 - 6 weeks they become a bit spongy

The ones I buy in the shops now are firm & in perfect condition

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance

Sparky


As suggested by others, a plastic bag in a fridge will keep them fresh for
a
long time.
I have a 'spare' fridge in my garage and have managed to keep some Queen
Cox
apples fresh for over 6 months there.
Worked well year before last; last year the bags got nudged up against the
cooling plate and froze, giving them the apple equivalent of frostbite and
gangrene - yuk.
I just pick and check the apples, then put four or five in a plastic
carrier
bag with the top loosely knotted.
They seem to keep amazingly well.
HTH
Dave R