Stored apples going downhill

[Marb67]

Well, I collected a lot of apples fallen in Autumn that were perfectly fine. Stored in the shed on wooden racks with plenty of air able to get between them. So why atlre they now staring to go over by rorring or the whole apple going brown and soft. Gutted as I had enough to see me into next year.

[ameno]

I think the more important question is why are you surprised?

Apples don't store indefinitely, and how well they store is heavily dependant on variety and storing conditions. Some varieties store a lot better than others, and any variety will keep better the colder it is (as close to 0 as possible; they will not freeze at just 0) and the darker it is kept. This is why they are best kept in a windowless shed or similar. I see you are keeping yours right by a window.
Also, you said yourself these are windfalls, and windfalls never keep as well as they are almost always bruised. Even if the bruise is, to start with, small and slight enough that you cannot see it, it is almost always still there, and that bruise is an access point for rot to get in.

[Marb67]

Last year I stored in the loft (darkness) and the same happened. Light is not the issue.

[Nicos]

What variety are they marb?

My gut feeling is that they are not long keepers if that’s happened two years in a row.

And I agree …windfalls are only really fit for cooking down/ preserving as they share their ‘rotting spores’ with healthy apples nearby.

[Marb67]

I don't know as they are from 3 different trees. Some are huge which cook very nice. I am just coking down any good bits when they start to rot and having them in my porridge.

[ameno]

As a general rule, the later an apple is ready to pick, the better it keeps.
My Beauty of Bath, which is ready in early August, keeps for a few days at best before it dries out and becomes mealy.
My Sunset, which is ready in September, keeps for maybe 4-6 weeks in a cool place (longer in the fridge, but obviously space is an issue).
My Christmas Pippin, which is ready in late October to early November, keeps for months. In fact I can usually just leave them hanging on the tree until I need them (as long as I can keep the snails off them), as this variety does not drop off on its own.

Hard apples also keep better than soft ones. And any with even a small amount of damage (I notice several in that picture have either insect holes, scab, or bruises) cannot be expected to keep for any length of time, and should be use as soon as possible.