August 7, 2010

Starting Apple Trees From Seed

Rudy's Uncle Clyne and Aunt Lorene (who gave us the wonderful old wagon) have a number of old apple trees on their property.   

Lorene says the apples are rather sour when eaten raw, but make delicious pies.  When Rudy brought home the wagon, he also brought home a couple of the apples for propagation. He wants some apples trees just like Lorene uses to make her pies.   Those apple pies were always one of Rudy's favorites and he's thinking that if we had a few of those trees maybe one day I could make some of those delicious pies.  I seriously doubt mine could compete with Aunt Lorene's, but I'm certainly willing to try to grow the trees.

I am so glad to be living in the age of the internet.  Thanks to Google, I was able to find lots of information on starting trees from seeds.


I cored the apples and dug out the seeds

I left them out to dry for a day or two, then put them in a moist paper towel

The paper towel and seeds were put in a baggie.  The baggie is in the refrigerator.  I'll leave them there for about a month where they will hopefully sprout.  They've been there about 2 weeks now.  They haven't yet sprouted, but hopefully, I'll see some action soon.  I read that it's best to have lots of seeds because not all will sprout.

After that, the sprouted seeds will be planted in a small container

When they are large enough to not be mistaken for a weed, they'll be transplanted outside (preferably in the spring once there's no chance of frost).  I'll need to be sure to water it weekly the first year.

With luck, I'll have apples within the next decade.  Ha.  That's OK.  I love the process.

Seeing how easy it is set me on the path to check into propagating more fruit trees and bushes.

A common sense tip for growing from seed - get the seeds from a fruit you found particularly tasty.
A common sense tip for growing from cuttings - get the cutting from a tree or bush that is growing well in your area.  It is likely to be suited to where you live and resistant from pests and diseases in your area.

A couple of days ago, Rudy brought home more apples from Clyne and Lorene.
These apples aren't picture perfect on the outside, but the insides were beautiful!


This time, the goal was apple pies. I had a recipe for Sour Cream Apple Pie from Posie Gets Cozy I have wanting to try since last Fall. 
By the way, I highly recommend using notebooks for saving your recipes.  It's one of the best things I've done in the kitchen.

The hardest part was waiting on it to cook!

This photo is from Pozie Gets Cozy - her out of the oven photo is much prettier than mine.

The pie was yummy.  Before he even tasted it, my picky hubby told me that he had wanted just a plain, old fashioned pie.  It's a good thing we have plenty more apples.  It looks like I'm going to be make some more apple pie.  By the way, even though this wasn't the pie he wanted, he had no trouble scarfing it down.

I have linked this posts to the following parties:
Saturday Soiree at A Little Lovely
Check Me Out Saturdays at I Am Only One Woman
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting with Laurie


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