Apple Tree From Seed

After eating an apple about a while back I decided to save the seeds and grow a tree. I know that almost all apple tree's are grafted nowdays. So if I use seeds from one of these apple's, I will most likely not get the same type of apple tree as the apple that I got the seed from.

However, there is a really, really old orchard on our place from the original homestead. I enjoy these apples and I think that they should produce the same tree if I take the seeds from these.

Unfortunately, there are no apples on the tree at the moment and anything on the ground is covered in a few feet of snow. So for my experiment, I am just going to use some fuji apples that I got form Azure Standard. Later I will get some of the old orchard apples and use them.

So, after researching the best way to sprout the seeds on the internet, I decided to try three different approaches.

1. I planted 12 of the seeds in some potting soil after letting them soak for about two weeks.
2. I placed 12 seeds in a wet paper towell in the refridgerator.
3. I placed a bunch of seeds in a glass of water and let soak until sprouted.

Some of these seeds in each method were dried out for a few weeks first. Unfotunatley, I mixed them with one's that were not dried out first and now I'm not sure which were which.

I did not have any luck with the first two methods. But, by allowing the seeds to soak in water I was able to finally get a few of them to sprout. I had been changing the water in the glass whenever it would get really dark. I'm not sure if this helps or hurts the process.

Once I had two seeds that were sprouting well (I think they had a sprout about 1/8 of an inch), I planted them in potting soil. I added some water and then left them alone. After a few days, I noticed that one of them was actually coming up. So, it looks like I may actually be able to grow this thing. I will keep updating this little project.

Unfortunately by growing a tree this way, I will have to wait quite a few years to see any fruit. But it is more about gaining the knowledge and having the experience. And hopefully I will be able to enjoy some nice apples some day.

Sprouting Wheat and Growing Wheat Grass

I will go more in depth in future posts about how useful these skills can be. For now, enjoy these two videos from Karen Knowler.

Sprouting Wheat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WZpVKfEHaM&eurl=http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=41155

Growing Wheat Grass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOczBVR7vX4&feature=related