There is something deeply satisfying about filling a shed shelf with home-grown apples and pears, each one wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, knowing that the plastic-free store will keep you in fruit for months. In a good year, a single tree can produce more than you can eat fresh, and that glut is a gift — not a problem. With a little care, you can enjoy the harvest well into the new year, and leave the plastic behind.

Choose only sound, undamaged fruit

Successful storage begins at harvest. Only perfect fruit keeps. Any apple or pear with a bruise, a bird peck, a wasp nibble, or a patch of brown rot will spoil quickly and can turn a whole shelf mouldy. Pick by hand, cupping the fruit and lifting gently so the stalk stays attached. A fruit without its stalk is a fruit that will not store.

Timing matters too. Pick apples when they part easily from the branch and the pips are dark brown. Pears are different: they should be lifted and twisted gently, and will still be hard. If you wait until they are soft, they will turn to mush in storage. Early varieties such as Discovery or Beauty of Bath are best eaten fresh, whilst later kinds — Bramley, Cox's Orange Pippin, Egremont Russet, Conference and Comice — are the ones that will keep.

Handle every fruit as if it were an egg. Do not wash it. A natural bloom on the skin helps protect it. If fruit is dirty, wipe it with a dry cloth. Let any damp fruit dry in a single layer in a cool, airy place before wrapping.

Wrap each fruit in newspaper

Newspaper is the classic plastic-free wrapping. It cushions the fruit, absorbs slight moisture, and stops one rotten apple from touching its neighbours. Use plain newsprint or ordinary newspaper, avoiding glossy magazines with heavy ink. A single sheet per fruit is enough.

• Place the fruit on the paper, stalk facing you.
• Fold the corners over to make a neat parcel, twisting the ends gently.
• Do not wrap too tightly — air should still circulate.
• Write the variety and date on the outside if you like, using a pencil.

For pears, a slightly different approach works well. Wrap them and store them in a cool place, then bring a few into a warmer room a week or two before you want to eat them. They ripen from the inside out, so check the neck near the stalk for a little give.

Find the right cool, dark place

Apples and pears need cold, dark, moist air. A frost-free shed, garage, cellar, or unheated spare room is ideal. Aim for a temperature between 2°C and 5°C, with humidity around 80–90 per cent. A fridge is too dry and too small for a proper harvest, though it can hold a few precious fruits.

Slatted wooden shelves are perfect because air moves under and around the fruit. If you do not have slatted shelves, use shallow cardboard boxes or wooden crates lined with newspaper. Never stack fruit more than three deep. Keep apples and pears separate: apples give off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening in pears. Store them in different corners or on different shelves.

A layer of dry straw or crumpled newspaper between layers adds extra protection. Check that the space is safe from mice, rats, and squirrels. A simple wire mesh over air bricks or around shelves will do the job. Do not store fruit near onions, potatoes, or strong-smelling chemicals — they all taint the flavour.

Check regularly and use the ripe ones first

Once a week, go through your store. Remove any fruit that is soft, brown, or leaking. One rotten apple really can spoil the barrel. If you find a bad one, wipe the shelf and replace the newspaper beneath it. Rot spreads through contact, so act quickly.

Eat the smallest and earliest-ripening fruit first. Late-keeping apples such as Bramley can last until March if checked. Pears generally store for a shorter time — six to ten weeks for most varieties. Look for slight softening at the stalk end, then bring the fruit into the kitchen to finish ripening. A pear that is hard as a stone will never ripen properly on the shelf; it needs warmth.

If you notice a shrivelling skin, the air is too dry. Mist the floor of the shed lightly, or place a shallow tray of water nearby. If the fruit is sweating, the air is too warm or too still — open a vent or move the shelf.

Leave some for the hedgerow wildlife

No matter how carefully you store, there will be windfalls and damaged fruit. These are not waste. Blackbirds, thrushes, redwings, and fieldfares will feast on fallen apples in hard weather. Wasps, butterflies, and hoverflies sip the juice in autumn. Leave a few windfalls under the tree, away from your stored crop, and you will be rewarded with birdsong and beneficial insects next spring.

Hedgerow shrubs such as hawthorn, blackthorn, and elder also provide berries for wildlife. When you are out foraging for sloes, damsons, or crab apples, take only what you need and leave plenty for the birds. A good forager is a thoughtful one.

Storing apples and pears without plastic is simple, thrifty, and deeply satisfying. With newspaper, cool shelves, and a weekly check, your autumn harvest can become a winter larder — and the hedgerow will thank you too.