Do not throw away fallen apples

Apples fall from the trees. That is an unfortunate fact and also a bit of a problem because apples that have fallen down must be either consumed immediately or processed. They cannot be stored for more than couple days even if they seem to be ok. You don’t have to throw them away or put them in a composter but you need to use them as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are plenty uses that can help you the get the most out of your harvest.

Collect fallen apples every day

The longer apples are in contact with the soil, the more likely they will go bad and rot. The soil contains a lot of spores and living organisms that will shorten the life of apples quickly.The only solution is to check and pick fallen apples every day and eliminate the contact with soil as much as possible.Fallen apples still have some value so, do not worry that picking apples is waste of your time.

Photo: Pixabay

Composter?

Apples are great organic material and will add some nutrients to your compost, but you need to be careful, especially with rotten apples. You need to “treat” apples before you put them in a composter, because apples in compost may cause a small disaster. Firstly, apples will attract a lot of unwanted insects and secondly, they may be the source of an infection
. So, before you put apples in your composter you need to dig a large hole and throw rotten apples inside. Cover it with a layer of grass about twenty-centimetres thick and then with soil. This will keep unwanted insects out.

How to use this organic matter

Unfortunately, this type of compost is too acidic for many plants but you can mix it with another material especially, with “stuff” that is alkaline – for example, dolomite powder or wood ash. Another option is to plant nutrient-demanding crops right on top of the covered hole such as pumpkin or watermelon. You may do that in the next year.

Source: vkurselife.com

Preview photo: Pixabay