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When to harvest

• To determine if the fruit is ready to be picked, place a cupped hand under the fruit, lift and gently twist. If the apple doesn't come away easily in your hand, then it's not ready to harvest.

Storage

What to store

• The length of time that apples can be stored varies depending on the variety.
• As a rule of thumb, apples that ripen later in the year will store for longer than the early varieties.
• Slight insect damage on the skin is harmless, but don't store any bruised fruit.

Where to store

• Apples need a cool, frost-free environment, where they can last for weeks, even months in winter. A garage or garden shed is perfect.

How to store

• Take a good look at each apple and give it a quick clean with a cloth.
• If any are bruised, take them into the kitchen and eat them now. They'll taste good, but they won't keep and if stored, may rot and infect other fruits.
• Wrap the apples loosely in newspaper, and sit them on a seed tray or shelf.
• Check them periodically over winter and remove any which show signs of rotting.

Future harvests

• Apply a grease band around the trunk of your apple tree to stop female winter moths from climbing the bark and laying their eggs in the tree.
• This small preventative measure will stop this pest from attacking any developing fruit and leaves next spring. Grease bands can be bought from most good garden centres.

Five to try

• 'Discovery' - a rosy red apple with a sharp taste
• 'James Grieve' - an early apple, ready from mid-summer onwards
• 'Lord Lambourne' - an older variety that produces delicious, thin-skinned green apples
• 'Katja' - a tasty apple that grows vigorously
• 'Bramley's Seedling' - a cooking apple which stores very well