The best apple picker tools for your garden
Retrieve ripe fruit easily from your fruit trees with our pick of apple pickers and harvesters.
There’s nothing quite like eating your own homegrown apples, but it can be tricky to harvest them, even on fairly small trees. So we’ve put together a selection of the best apple-picking tools that can help you gather in your delicious crop. These useful tools make harvesting both easier and safer, avoiding the need for stretching, bending and climbing ladders. And they can be used for other types of tree fruits too, such as pears. As well as long-handled or extendable pickers to reach high into the branches, there are tools that you roll across the grass to gather up fallen fruits, ideal if bending is a problem. We’ve also put together some tips on how to use long-handled pickers to help you make the most of your harvest.
To make sure your fruit stays in good condition once picked, check out our guide on how to store apples. You may also like our round-up of the best apple presses and best jam-making kits and equipment. And to ensure your future apple harvests are plentiful, see our essential apple care guide.
FIVE TIPS FOR HARVESTING APPLES
- Choose a dry day to harvest your apples – it’s not a good idea to store moist fruit, as it will encourage fungal diseases and they will spoil.
- Before picking, check apples are ripe and ready by cupping them in the palm of your hand and giving it a light twist - if it comes off the tree into your hand then you’re ready to go.
- Don’t be tempted to throw them into a basket once picked as they will bruise and go bad more quickly. Instead, place them in carefully.
- Sort through the apple harvest and remove any apples that have been nibbled by insects or show signs of disease.
- Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage and keep them in a cool place after picking to increase shelf life.
The best apple picker tools in 2024
Kent & Stowe telescopic fruit picker
This telescopic apple picker has a lightweight aluminium handle that extends to 2.4m making it easier to lift up and pick hard to reach fruit. The wire head grips fruit securely and a foam cushion liner prevents bruising and damage to the fruit. It comes with a five year warranty.
Price: £34.99
Buy Kent & Stowe Telescopic Fruit Picker from Amazon
Wolf-Garten RGM Multi-Change adjustable fruit picker
This adjustable apple picker is part of the multi range from Wolf-Garten and attaches to your choice of handle. A built in blade plucks fruit from the branch and there's a gentle pull action to nudge fruit into the collection bag. The head can also be angled to access hard to reach fruit. It comes with an impressive 35-year guarantee.
Price: £29.99
Buy Wolf-Garten RGM Multi-Change Adjustable Fruit Picker from Amazon.
Price: Handles from £15.99
Buy Wolf-Garten Multi-Change Handles from Tooled Up.
Darlac telescopic fruit grabber
This aluminium fruit picker features an extendable handle that reaches from1.8m to 3m so you can pick fruit from the safety of the ground and it's lightweight at just over 1kg. The soft “fingers” of the grippers enclose the fruit to bring it carefully back down from the tree, all yu need to do is position them over the fruit and gently squeeze the trigger.
Price: £59.99
Buy Darlac Telescopic Fruit Picker from Amazon
Burgon and Ball wooden handled apple picker
With a sturdy FSC certified wooden handle that's 146cm long there's no need for a ladder to reach fruit at the top of the tree. The wire fingers form a protective cage around the fruit and are shaped to hook them off the tree and the foam liner prevents damage to the fruit while working.
Price: £17.99
Buy Burgon and Ball Wooden Handled Apple Picker at Amazon.
Ground fruit harvester
This handy tool collects several apples in a single roll without the need to constantly bend down and pick them up. It works on both flat and uneven ground, providing the grass isn’t overgrown and can also be used to collect pine cones from the lawn to prevent them damaging the mower.
Price: £49.99
Buy Ground Fruit Harvester at Marshalls
Telescopic apple picker with bucket clip
This rolling apple picker gathers fallen fruit on the ground and can hold up to ten apples. The included bucket clip opens the wire rods to release fruit into a bucket so there's no need to bend down at all with this tool.The lightweight telescopic handle also extends from 1m to 1.44m to suit your need.
Price: £29.99
Buy Rolling Apple and Fruit Picker at Garden Selections
Fiskars QuickFit fruit picker
This apple picker head attaches to QuickFit telescopic handles 228-400cm and easily collects fruit from trees without needing a ladder. The head is adjustable to help reach every fruit and is reinforced with durable fibreglass. The cotton collection bag is also washable.
Price: £36.67
Buy Fiskars QuickFit Fruit Picker at Amazon
Gardena combisystem fruit collector
This barrel cage fruit collector collects windfall fruit of various sizes from 4cm to 9cm, so it can pick up walnuts as well as apples. There's no need to bend over as the shovel spout on the side allows you to scoop up fruit at the base of trees and walls and you simply pour the fruit out through the spout and into your collecting bucket or basket when it's full. It's compatible with all handles in the Gardena combisystem (bought separately) and comes with a 25-year warranty.
Price: £34.95
Buy Gardena combisystem fruit collector at Amazon
How to use a long-handled apple picker
These tools usually comprise a padded basket on a long or extendable handle. There’s a bit of a knack to using them, but just follow these simple steps:
- Positioning: Choose a branch with several ripe apples, so you can collect a few in one go. Stand under it, then place the picker’s basket beneath one of the apples, adjusting the position or extending the handle if necessary to make sure it surrounds the entire fruit.
- Twisting: Use a twisting motion to detach the apple from the tree. Try not to tug on the fruit, as this could damage both the tree and the apple. It should come away fairly easily if it’s ripe.
- Collecting: Keep the basket as close to the apple as possible, so it falls gently into the padded basket, without any bruising.
- Emptying: Regularly empty the picker’s basket into a garden trug or bucket, to avoid overfilling it and dropping any fruit. Unload the apples carefully, so they don’t get damaged.
How to use a rolling fruit collector
Ideal for picking up windfalls without the need to bend over, these have a head made of wire rods and are very simple to use:
- Positioning: Place the basket firmly on the ground near the fruit you wish to collect
- Collecting: Simply roll the basket along the ground and over each piece of fruit and the flexible wires will open to allow the fruit to roll in without bruising.
- Emptying: When the basket is full it can be emptied either by pushing down on the included bracket or clip, tipping the fruit out of the side or opening the wires by hand.
This product guide was last updated in October 2024. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.
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