Good apple harvest despite moderate weather

The harvest time begins - also with apple farmer Martin Jost from Gaißach, the only fruit farmer in the district.

He is happy about a satisfactory harvest, even if a lower yield has become apparent.

Gaißach - “Contrary to expectations, this year's yield was almost average this year,” says Jost, who is positively surprised.

He had assumed a worse year because of the frost in the spring.

Even the sometimes rainy and cool summer months could not reduce the yield.

According to Jost, the poorer weather conditions have no influence on the quality and taste of the apples.

There were only differences in size due to the lack of sun.

“The apples are slightly smaller than usual,” explains the fruit grower.

Cool summer delays apple harvest

This is especially true for the warmth-loving variety Gala.

According to Jost, the difference is minimal, at two to three millimeters.

The moderate weather also delayed the start of the harvest.

"Because of the cooler summer, it's about a week later," says Jost.

The fruit farmer was only able to start harvesting his more than 3,300 apple trees on the Gaißacher Sunntrats last week.

More than a quarter of that has already been harvested.

Harvest does not end until the end of October

Jost grows a total of seven different varieties on his 1.5 hectare plantation.

The Elstar and Gala varieties, which are popular with customers, are currently ready for harvest.

It will take until the end of October until all trees are freed from their fruits.

Until then, the fruit and the apple juice made from it are sold in their own farm shop as usual.

The stem should be easy to detach from the branch

According to Jost, anyone who has an apple tree at home in the garden can easily determine whether the sweet fruit is already ripe.

From the outside, this can be seen, among other things, by the red color.

In addition, when picking the apple, the stem should be easy to detach from the branch.

When cutting open, you can make sure that the core is brown in color, explains Jost.

Further information

on the Internet at

www.apfel-gaissach.de