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Have you ever gone to pick your beautiful apple crop and found they’ve turned brown on the inside?
We think apples are one of the best backyard trees, but internal browning is one of the problems they can have, particularly heritage apple varieties, and it’s pretty gross.
When it’s as advanced as in the photo above, it makes the apples completely inedible.
Why do apples on the tree go brown inside?
It’s not that uncommon to see internal browning in apples that have been picked too ripe or stored for too long. In fact, it’s a known potential problem when storing apples in long-term cold storage.
It’s more unusual (and a bit yucky) to see it in apples that haven’t yet ripened.
When a heatwave happens at the wrong time, you might find internal browning inside an apple that’s still on the tree. This is most likely to happen in heritage varieties like Gravensteins.
Gravenstein apples are a very old heritage apple dating from the 17th Century. Its origins are unknown, but somewhere in Europe, where the conditions are very different from those in Australia. They start to ripen in mid-summer in our district.
Usually, the picking starts when the first fruit starts to ripen on the tree. At this stage, most of the fruit on the tree isn’t quite ripe yet, but the first apples are just starting to colour up, and the seeds are starting to go brown (an indicator of apple ripeness).
So it’s massively disappointing if you go to pick some delicious new-season apples at this stage, and instead find quite a lot of apples on the ground and many of them browned off inside.
Heatwaves can cause internal apple browning
Any time this has happened to us, the most likely culprit has been a heat wave — something we seem to be getting more of here in central Victoria.
A lot of fruit can handle extreme temperatures reasonably well, though they may need some extra care and attention.
However, Gravensteins (and other heritage apples) are not among them. This is possibly due to their European heritage and tendency to go soft quite quickly after picking.
Gravenstein is a lovely old-fashioned apple, with a stripey red blush over a green background. If the background colour has gone yellow, the fruit is likely to be overripe and floury.
This is what they look like in a good year:
Matching the variety to the climate
This variety has gone brown on the inside several times in past seasons. At times, it’s even had us questioning the wisdom of trying to grow apples that were bred hundreds of years ago in Europe in our very different climate here in Australia.
As our summers continue to increase in heat intensity due to climate change, this may become an ongoing problem. Eventually, it might even make the variety unviable in this growing area.
However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned over recent years, it’s that the climate is variable, and that different varieties suit different climates. In many seasons, the Gravenstein shines, possibly in conditions that don’t suit other varieties.
That’s the key to the biodiversity plan that has led us to grow a big collection of varieties. For the moment at least, the beautiful Gravenstein will continue to hold its place in the crazy biodiverse mix in our orchards.
Interested in growing apples and heritage varieties?
Luckily, we can help with that. Our family has been growing apples for three generations, and we have a growing collection of heritage apple trees on the farm.
🍎 Awesome apples: apple growing answers, from pruning to pests
🍎 What are those brown marks on my apples?
🍎 How to prune your apple tree
🍎 Discover heritage apple trees you’ve never heard of
🍎 How to grow apples — the organic way
🍎 7 reasons to grow heritage and heirloom apples
🍎 A visit to Petty’s heritage apple orchard
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I have stopped buying apples because they look good when buying but when cut are already brown inside . I have been paying $6-99 kg. for these apples at the local spar supermarket but will not buy any more. This must be damaging the apple industry as friends have told me the same story. I am 85 years old and have eaten apples all my life.
A sad but oh-so-common story Noel. Have you tried growing your own? That’s why a lot of our Grow Great Fruit members want to grow their own fruit, because it’s hard to buy good fruit from supermarkets. The other suggestion would be to try buying them from a Farmers Market if you have one nearby, because then you’re buying direct from the farmer and they;re usually much better quality.
I just bought some from the local supermarket the other day & found the same thing! I won’t be buying anymore! 9/29/21