Apple glut: what to do when your harvest piles up faster than you can use it

This autumn, many households across Latvia are facing an unusually abundant apple harvest. Even just a few trees can produce more fruit than a family can eat or process in time, leaving piles of fallen apples accumulating daily beneath the trees.

The question of what to do with surplus apples recently sparked a lively discussion in a gardening-focused Facebook group. Members offered a wide range of suggestions, covering both ways to process the fruit and ways to get rid of it responsibly.

Sorting comes first

Before deciding what to do with the apples, it's worth separating them into groups: fruit suitable for eating or processing, and those that are rotten or diseased. Even bruised or slightly damaged apples can often be saved by cutting away the damaged part and using the rest for juice, jam, or purée.

Ways to process a large harvest

For large quantities, pressing juice is one of the simplest solutions — many facilities can press the juice and even pasteurize and package it for longer storage. Drying is another popular method, turning several kilograms of fresh fruit into a small amount of snack-ready product. Other suggestions included making apple purée, freezing portions for later use, and classic preserves such as jam, compote, pies, and strudel. Those looking for something different were advised to try making apple cider vinegar.

When processing isn't an option

If there's no time or energy to process the harvest, good apples can simply be given away — for example, by placing a box by the fence or posting in a local community group. Damaged fruit can go into a compost pile mixed with other garden material, or into a separate pit dug specifically for spoiled produce. Whole apples can also be offered to owners of poultry or livestock, though rotten fruit should not be fed to animals.

Importantly, unusable fruit should never be dumped in a forest or on someone else's land, even though it is biodegradable. When in doubt, residents can check with their municipality or waste management provider about garden waste collection options.