My Home made apple press

[GB2014]

I have two apple trees in my garden along with a pear tree all three are 3 years old.
Last year one of my apple trees was bursting with fruit the other had only a few on.
This year the tree that was bursting with fruit had hardly any fruit and the one last year with very few apples on was laden with fruit. The pear tree was doing well until a family of Migrant Squirrels moved in and ate the young fruit and left me with just three.

You could give them some fertiliser and bone meal etc. if you don't already for a greater annual yield.

 

[user 4004]

I seem to find that a lot of the apple trees around here do fruit like that, some thing I was reading said if you remove a lot of the crop on a glut year the tree will not use so much energy producing apples, so will not require the second year to recover, and there for will produce a more even crop every year.
But on the other hand my grand mother used to say if you remove all the small apples the remaining ones will get a lot bigger, so one contradicts the other, and I do not really have any advice on the subject.

What I will say with young trees is do not leave to many apples on the tree or you may end up with branches snapping, I can speak from experience of this as I had two trees do this, this year. Ah the joys of growing apples!!

 

[brumbrew]

A lot of fruit trees are bi anualr.

If you've got it so one fruits one year, then the other the next. You've got that perfect.

And an air rifle works good for the squirrels ;-)

 

[brumbrew]

I used to be a tree surgeon many moons ago. and Apple trees are a Bain when it comes to removing them.

Wasps, and branches that grow in 90 degree angles. :-( very hard to put through a chipper :-(

 

[ManseMasher]

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=280

The beauty of t'interweb!!

I have two apple trees in my garden along with a pear tree all three are 3 years old.
Last year one of my apple trees was bursting with fruit the other had only a few on.
This year the tree that was bursting with fruit had hardly any fruit and the one last year with very few apples on was laden with fruit. The pear tree was doing well until a family of Migrant Squirrels moved in and ate the young fruit and left me with just three.

 

[brumbrew]

A lot of fruit trees are bi anualr.

If you've got it so one fruits one year, then the other the next. You've got that perfect.

And an air rifle works good for the squirrels ;-)

So I was right apart from the terrible spelling. Bloody phone ;-)

Seems if you have two trees a year apart you sir are defiantly winning the game :-)

 

[tonyhibbett]

My old apple tree greatly benefited from the removal of old/crowded/unproductive branches and the application of lots of compost, particularly leaf mould. Since then it regularly produces 50 kilos every 2 years. I think they are a poor cousin of cox's orange pippin, ripening very late and don't taste as good. They make a pleasant but unremarkable cider and a very poor apple wine, unless combined with grape juice, elderflower extract and honey. I am quite content that the crop is biannual (biennial?) because it involves a lot of work for what I actually get out of them!

 

[jamesw]

I know this isnt going to be of too much help to everyone, but we have an abundance of perry pears (and apples) most years, and I suggest joining (if you area in the area, or nearby) the Welsh Perry and Cider society.
With this we get the use of a press and in return get to take away some of the juice (there is lots because these guys have industrial presses so get far more juice out of the same volume that you can.
you can even get volunteers to help pick up and press the apples, in return for a share of the juice.... worth thinking about!

 

[Rincon]

Will it clear? It's not quite what I was expecting, tastes good though. Starting gravity was 1054 so should be lethal.

I didn't realise how much work it was to squeeze the juice out.

Ive always found that cider starts to clear as soon as the yeast gets to work and then after the first racking it seems to clear right out!

Had the same thing with pear cider this year, looked like brown sewage to begin with but a week later its already clearing quite nicely.

 

[NCFCcrazy]

Ive always found that cider starts to clear as soon as the yeast gets to work and then after the first racking it seems to clear right out!

Had the same thing with pear cider this year, looked like brown sewage to begin with but a week later its already clearing quite nicely.

Thanks, it is looking better than it did, more of a golden colour so hopefully it will improve more.

 

[Rincon]

Thanks, it is looking better than it did, more of a golden colour so hopefully it will improve more.

Not sure if this helps but here are the photos of the pear cider I made last saturday and the clearer one taken today.

 

[NCFCcrazy]

Not sure if this helps but here are the photos of the pear cider I made last saturday and the clearer one taken today.

Mines looking a lot more appetising now.
View attachment uploadfromtaptalk1446290735661.jpg

 

[NCFCcrazy]

Update on the cider. It's finished fermenting already, but gravity is 0.995, will leave it in the bucket till next weekend to clear.