I haven't noticed anise flavor in any yet. But I did have a well-ripened one earlier this week (10/23). It was one of the few apples I didn't bag. There were no bug bites, but it had some skin problems, bordering on ugly. It sized pretty well and tasted great. The brix ranged from 16.3 to 19.7, the highest I've seen this year from my Goldrush by quite a bit (next highest topped out at just under 16, 11 days earlier). There were definately 2 different flavors at work. The darker yellow/gold was sweeter and while interesting, didn't have the strong lemony flavor that the paler part had. Though they were different, I liked both parts quite a bit.

If the apples are falling off the tree then they're ripe. My parents keep theirs on a screen porch and it works great if you have something like that. My apples go into the fruit drawer in the fridge which works fairly well. The advice I read is to put a couple in a plastic bag with holes in it to keep some humidity in, but I haven't tried that. Do you know what kind of apple they are? Some apples taste better only after a few weeks of storage.

I've been eating apples right off the tree my entire life. For the past thirty years I've been living in a major apple growing area of Southern British Columbia here in Canada. When apples have a nice blush to them (besides fruit falling from the tree) that is the first sign they are ready for picking. Taste your fruit when they appear to be ripe, when you like what you are eating pick your fruit. Fruit on the tree will eventually ripen to the point of being mealy so don't leave the fruit hanging too long. As for those Coddling Moths try hanging sticky yellow cards in your trees. Yellow cards attract flying insects such as aphids and all sorts of other flying insects that can damage fruit and even ruin the tree over time. Here in Canada orchardists have been combating Coddling Moth by releasing sterile moths that help to reduce the overall population. Apple trees are lime lovers. They thrive in sweet soil. Add as much as two kilos of hydrated or dolomite lime as a top dressing around each tree right out to their drip lines. Another given with apples is water. Obviously with water restrictions in much of Australia watering your apple tree may be out of the question however with sufficient watering fruit will be bigger, juicier, with enough sunshine add wonderful sweetness! Oh yes! Don't forget, 'An Apple a Day . . . !'

Norkent still ranks on top for best eating and storing. The bottom pears in ziplock isn’t mine but all on top. These are Bernie’s pears..still a little early to say which would make the best of all Russian pears we have. I have a local Beedle Pear and seems a pretty good, without astringency but a bit of tough skin which works really good to keep pests away..most Russian pears fall off from stink bug attacks soon after flowering. This is Bernie with Dr. Evans