chol hamoed

i have a quick question about apple picking with my family on chol hamoed. if i pick apples on chol hamoed at an apple orchard, do i have to use them all up on chol hamoed or the end of succos. ?or can i pick 20 apples, use 10 of them on yom tov and then have 10 more to eat or cook with after succos is all over. thank you very much

Generally speaking, picking fruit on Chol Hamoed involves one of the prohibited forms of labor, “kotzer”, reaping. However if the labor is done for the purpose of eating food on Chol Hamoed, it is permitted (Shulchan Aruch, OC 533:1).

Picking fruit on Chol HaMoed is only permitted, if the fruit is going to be eaten on Chol Hamoed. If the fruit is intended to be consumed after Yom Tov, it is prohibited to pick the fruit on Chol Hamoed. (OC 533:3).

Therefore, if someone goes apple picking on Chol Hamoed, they should only pick as many apples they can reasonably expect to consume during the rest of the holiday.

One doesn’t need to be precise in guessing the exact quantity of apples he plans to use. He may pick a generous amount even if ultimately not all the apples are consumed on the holiday (see OC 533:1)

If a person already has apples to use, and he doesn’t really need the apples he picks, then he is prohibited from picking apples on Chol Hamoed, even if he will make sure to actually eat those apples that he picked. However if the apples on the tree are superior in quality and taste, then he may pick these apples for use on the holiday, even though he has other apples available (Shemiras Shabbos K'Hilchasa, 60:11).