Old Grabenstein apple tree (forum)

Tellmemore411 starts with ...
I recently bought my grandmothers old house. This Apple tree has been around longer than I have. I moved away and through the years the trees were severely neglected. They need a lot of love I may need to take this one down. I was considering doing that after this harvest.
For the last five years we've had to prop the branches up with 4 x 4 posts because the fruit was too heavy. It didn't produce much but they are sooo good. if you couldn't tell by the pictures the tree properly pruned or maintained much. This year it's producing like crazy.
Anyway my question is what can I do about all of the apples on the tree. They are breaking the branches can I thin them without upsetting growth of the rest of the apples? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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Time: 26th May 2016 10:01am

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About the Author Tellmemore411
Oregon coast
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GG says...
Hi,
There is no problem with thinning the amount of fruit. As a matter of fact it may improve the quality of the remaining fruit.
If the fruit is that good, I personally would prop up the branches with a permanent scaffold style setup. That way you: keep all the fruit; support the old branches; have a scaffold you can climb to get to the fruit easily; and if you have kids in the family it gives them somewhere to play. Win win win.

Time: 31st May 2016 4:00pm

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About the Author GG
Lindfield
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