In order to obtain the highest quality fruit, apples and pears must be harvested at the proper stage of maturity. Once harvested, proper storage is necessary to maximize storage life.

Harvest apples when the fruit is mature. There are several indicators of apple maturity. Mature apples are firm, crisp, juicy, well-colored and good flavored. Apples harvested too early are astringent, sour, starchy and poorly flavored. Apples harvested too late are soft and mealy.

When harvesting apples, pick and handle the fruit carefully to prevent unnecessary damage. Sort through the apples prior to storage. Remove bruised or cut apples and use promptly. Also, remove apples that exhibit insect and disease problems.

Once harvested and sorted, store the apples immediately. The temperature and relative humidity during storage are critical for maximum storage life.

Proper storage conditions for apples are a temperature near 32 degrees with a relative humidity between 90 and 95 percent. Apple varieties such as Jonathan and Red Delicious, may be stored up to 3 to 5 months under optimum storage conditions. The storage life of summer apples is only 1 to 3 weeks.

Small quantities of apples can be stored in the refrigerator in perforated plastic bags. Possible storage sites for large quantities include a second refrigerator, cellar, unheated outbuilding or garage. Place the apples in polyethylene bags or plastic-lined containers to maintain a high humidity.

Apples will freeze when temperatures drop below 30 degrees. During extremely cold weather, move the apples from unheated storage facilities if temperatures are likely to drop below 30 degrees.

Pears should not be allowed to ripen on the tree. If the fruit is left on the tree to ripen, stone cells develop in the fruit giving the pear a gritty texture. Tree-ripened fruit also will be poorly flavored.

Harvest pears when the color of the fruit changes from a deep green to yellow green. The fruit will still be firm, not soft, at harvest.

Pears should be ripened indoors at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees. The ripening process should take 7 to 10 days. To hasten ripening, place pears in a tightly sealed plastic bag. The fruit gives off ethylene gas which accumulates in the bag and promotes ripening.

To keep the pears for a longer period of time, refrigerate unripened at a temperature of 30 to 35 degrees. Pears may be stored for approximately 1 to 3 months. Remove stored fruit about 1 week prior to use.

Workshops scheduled

Each fall as we clean up our  yards and gardens there is always a large pile of leaves, grass and other material that needs to be removed.

Instead of throwing it away, recycle it.  One of the key components of good composting is brown or dried organic matter as well as green grass clippings.

Now is the time to utilize these materials in a compost pile or to find a place to store it and save it for later when you have green or fresh organic matter to mix with it.

Learn how to be successful with composting by attending one of the composting workshops this fall.  The workshops are sponsored by Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County and the City of Lincoln Recycling Office.

When you attend you will receive a free compost bin or composting thermometer.

Fall Workshops are held at 7:00 p.m. at the following locations:

Belmont Recreation Center (1234 Judson),   September 13.

Irving Recreation Center (2010 Van Dorn),  September 15.

Calvert Recreation Center (4500 Stockwell),  September 20.

UNL Extension Office (444 Cherrycreek Rd.), September 19.

Don Janssen is an extension educator for Lancaster County with the University of Nebraska. He can be reached by phone at (402) 441-7180; by mail at 444 Cherrycreek Rd., Lincoln, NE 68525 or by e-mail at djanssen2@unl.edu.