Hashed many times here: buy an old freezer on Craigslist for $100, buy a brewing thermostat, set the freezer (through the thermostat), at 38F. Enjoy apples until May at least. This is what I do. The thermostat, new, was $60, but surely it can be had for less. I also pre-bag the apples, so I get one bag at a time out of the freezer. Interestingly, the apples in the freezer did not freeze in my unheated garage during the Great Cold of 10 days ago (3 nights with outside temps below -13F). So the freezer really protects them against outside swings (the temp in the garage was around 14F). Usual disclaimers apply: store only unblemished apples. I have also a large ice chest in the garage where the selected blemished apples go. I just took the last bag of blemished apples out of the chest.

Carla: I can't give you any kind of exhaustive list; that would call for some research. But, in general, the apples that keep best through the winter are the latest to ripen. They are the harder, dense apples, and usually on the sweet side, though you could also call it a sweet/tart flavor. Of the 40 varieties I have grown here, the best keepers have been Fuji, Stark's Blushing Golden (very similar to Goldrush), Goldrush itself, and the very late Pink Lady. None of the midseason apples come even close to the keeping qualities of the really late varieties, though some of the late-midseason like Mutsu and Spigold do pretty well. For the early apples like Yellow Transparent, we figure about three weeks before they have to be turned into frozen applesauce and then they will keep more than a year. I don't know how your heat could be a factor in apple growing, but have noticed that Applenut seems to be able to grow just about anything in his very warm climate. Here in Northern Virginia, we can get into the mid-90's for several days running in July and August, but it's not Sacramento by any means. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I store mine in a spare freezer. I use a brewing thermostat that disconnects the power when the temp drops below 32, and turns it on when it reaches 38. You need to put a piece of cardboard or foam against the cooling elements to avoid freeze burns on the apples touching it. beyond that, you can store them without bags, with paper bags, or with plastic bags. I only have Northern Spy and Arkansas Black, and they both store well, the former into February (they run out by then), the second into May.

Have you ever heard of those "Debbie Meyer Green Bags" that are advertised on late-night infomercials? Believe it or not, those dumb things really do work very well, and keep produce fresh a lot longer. AND, they have now been copycatted by other brands and even as cheap knockoffs. I have been buying packages of them at the dollar store (generally 5 bags for a dollar), and those even work. I was able to keep Asian pears fresh a whole year in them. Apples (Ark Black, Red Delicious, Stayman Winesap) will keep into about June or July. The only drawback I've found to these is that, once you take the produce out of them, it does go downhill fast, like in a week. Overall, I think it's a really good product and it really helps. I put a link to them at the Ace Hardware site, just to show you the product, but you can buy them locally much cheaper than this. Most grocery stores and mass merchandisers carry some version of them now -- look in the section where they sell foil, plastic wrap, etc. Here is a link that might be useful: Green Bags at Ace Hardware