For the past thirteen years, allergies have prevented me from eating most raw tree fruits–apples, pears, cherries, mulberries, peaches, etc. But in the past several months, I’ve discovered that the symptoms have vanished, so I’ve been enjoying fresh fruit as often as I can get it.
A customer who purchased some garlic referred me to her blog, where she has instructions on how to start your own apple trees from seed. For the past seven days, I’ve been collecting different varieties of apple seeds and putting them in the fridge to stratify. I checked them today, and to my surprise, I found this:
What you see there are five seeds from an organic Honeycrisp apple that I wrapped in a damp napkin, stuck in a plastic sandwich bag, and put in a drawer in the fridge on October 15th. Already, the middle one on the right has split open and started to poke the tip of a root out. In a few days, it’ll be ready to plant in a container and to be put under lights for the winter.
I also have seeds from Gala and Yellow Delicious apples and Bartlett pears started. Whenever I get around to making a pie, I’ll have some Granny Smith seeds, too. I’m also thinking about sprouting some of these Black Walnuts I’ve been gathering, if for no other reason than so my great-grandchildren can harvest the wood.
Do you have any recommendations? What’s your favorite variety of apple? Are there any other fruits you’d be interested in a few years from now? Plums? Peaches? Nectarines? Cherries?
