Loads of Fallen Apples - How to Pick up?

[andrewj]

Hi Andrew,

Just curious as to what type of trees you planted and what spacing you used.

Regards,

Wayne

Hi Wayne - I hope the original poster doesn't mind me wandering off course for a bit?

I have many different types of trees. I wish I had planted enterprise...but I have pristine, gibson golden, campbell red delicious, Goldrush, Grand gala, Royal Gala, arkanss black, granny smith, stayman winesap, liberty, what i believe to be fuji and some more...

spacing - I wanted to be able to drive in the orchard with a pickup truck, so i chose rows 20 feet apart, and apples 15 feet apart.

distance apart is mainly influenced by rootstock - all mine are either on M111 or Bud 118. both are semidwarf expected to reach 75% of the full size of a tree.

 

[Rara Avis]

I've got eight older full sized apple and pear trees in my yard and this year is the best/worst year for fruit that I can remember. The ground under the trees is almost totally covered with apples and pears. I've heard that you should keep it all cleaned up to cut down on disease, so I've been trying, but raking and shoveling is getting mighty old, and so am I. I get about six loader buckets full of fruit from the worst trees. It doesn't help that the ground under the trees is not a nice smooth lawn, but kind of uneven - the kind that makes you mutter #@@&*!! when your shovel snags in the dirt and grass instead of picking up a nice clean shovelful. It makes it pretty much impossible to scoop them up with the loader.

So, is there any hope that I could somehow do this all from the seat of a tractor, or am I stuck with manual labor? Anybody have a good trick up their sleeve for this? I have two grandsons, but they're about ten years away from being able to help. At least when I get really old I can turn to them.

Tom

If they pickup "horseapples"...they'll pickup you fruit...
Airlite Pasture Cleaner

 

[Glowplug]

If they pickup "horseapples"...they'll pickup you fruit...
Airlite Pasture Cleaner

Now THAT is your answer. It may be a little expensive but it should get the job done, no problem.

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

Paul - The Airlite Pasture Cleaner sounds like just the ticket, and maybe it won't cost thousands of dollars. I guess it's gonna come down to how badly I don't want to shovel up apples. Thanks for the link.

Tom

 

[Wesdor]

I may have missed it, but don't think that anyone has mentioned making Apple Cider. We have a cider press not too far from us. Don't take the rotten apples, but from what you describe you could get many gallons of fine apple cider from them.

My advice is to pick up the apples and then wash them. Once they are clean enough that you would eat them, get them to somewhere that has a cider press. If you don't have any press nearby, you can buy a hand crank apple press and do it yourself.

We love the apple cider we have made in the past. This year we didn't have any apples and so we didn't get any made.

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

I may have missed it, but don't think that anyone has mentioned making Apple Cider.

Another good idea. In fact I've been looking at cider presses and will probably get one if and when I can find a good deal. The downside is that I still have to pick up all the apples .

Tom

 

[bjcsc]

The pasture cleaner is cool, but I don't know about $4,000 worth of cool. Best bet is the landscape rake with gauge wheels, big pile, and loader. The rake is useful for lots of other things, too. (pasture cleaner may or may not be)...

 

[Timber]

Go to a driving range and ask if you can rent there golf ball collector

 

[HappyCPE]

On the golfball idea, someone on here a while back had made a walnut picker from a ball collector. I didn't save the picture... stupid me, as there are years I can't walk in the woods for all the green balls on the ground. Maybe someone else saved a pic or can find the thread?

 

[Rara Avis]

Driving Range Golf Ball Pickers

Ballpicker - robotic golf ball collector