Four years ago we purchased various stone fruits from the grocery store and placed the seeds in the fridge to germinate them. We were renting it at the time, but we didn’t take care of the potted trees in the heat of the summer and in the movements of our plants. We also managed to plant some in the previous groceries row gardens and transplant them into new ones. Some of the original seedlings survived and were planted here and there when we moved.
I thought the tree we planted in the groceries yard was peach, but instead it was a nectarine. It is now about 20 feet tall and has small fruits all over.
This is the first batch we brought to the house:
They are not beautiful and a little small, but tasty.
This tree is very healthy and requires huge pruning to return it to the right size for the space. Last year we let it go, and this spring it was covered as it bloomed – and some flowers developed into fruit. Rachel was the first to realize that they weren’t fuzzy, like the fruits of two peach saplings.
Nectarines are puffy peaches and I had forgotten everything I had planted from the groceries.
What a wonderful surprise! Planting fruit trees from seeds is a lot of fun, especially if you can’t remember what you’ve planted.
I usually talk about food forests and gardening in Florida when I speak at Sunshine State, but in my next lecture at the end of this month I will talk about why seed-grown fruit trees are so special.
As I wrote in yesterday’s newsletter:
Covers tricks to ensure successful and rapid production of grafts, variety, hunting for genetic treasures, and germination.
Does it sound crazy? Certainly – many good ideas do. But I think you’ll love this presentation.
In addition to my talk, we sell great plant sales and several other food forest nursery, including excellent scrubrand farms. There are many other cool plants, including yum, witch hazel, sweet native plum, turmeric, comfrey, cassava and more. There are also other speakers and workshops, and there is also time to answer gardening questions.
If you are able to attend, please visit our website and sign up. (We also found out that Code Save20 will get 20% off.)
https://americanfarmsteadconvention.com/
Let’s meet there. And even if you can’t make it, try to plant at least some fruit tree seeds.
