On the other hand, in years when the weather in a given season or seasons is cooler than average, your crop may be a bit slower to mature. If the weather is warmer than usual in spring, summer, or fall, your apples may ripen more quickly than estimates indicate, or than they have in past years. Weather conditions throughout the year can have an effect on when your fruit reach maturity, so this is an additional factor to consider when estimating when your crop will be ready. You can locate your local extension office via the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture directory. In addition to this, your local county extension may be able to provide more precise information on when different varieties usually reach maturity in your area.
Once you get to know your tree, you can make notes on actual ripening times, and then refer back to this information in subsequent years. Write this information in your gardening journal so that you have a handy reference available – especially if you plan to grow your own small orchard. When you purchase an apple tree, the vendor should provide information on its expected ripening season, letting you know whether your tree is very early, early, midseason, or late. Please note that the above ripening times may not be accurate for you if you live in a location where spring comes very late. Late season cultivars ripen October through November, and include ‘Cameo,’ ‘Fuji,’ ‘Golden Delicious,’ and ‘Granny Smith.’.These include ‘Gala,’ ‘Liberty,’ and ‘McIntosh.’ Midseason cultivars ripen September through October.Early cultivars ripen August through September, and include ‘Ginger Gold,’ ‘Paulared,’ and ‘Sansa.’.
I’m going to explain how to judge ripeness later in the article, but before your trees even set fruit, it will be helpful for you to have a harvest window in mind, a rough estimate of when a particular tree will be ready to pick from.