We (well, mostly Kim) have become obsessed with wild seedlings trees. It began with foraging for our fruit and discovering so many great varieties for cider that happen to be chance seedlings.
Did you know that EVERY apple seed makes a unique one of a kind tree? Unlike grafted trees, seedlings also tend to form tap roots and go deep into the ground. This makes them more drought tolerant, hardier by being able to access deeper nutrients in the soil and more resistant to climate change. To me, variety is the key to survival when climate patterns change; orchardists need to plan for erratic weather during bloom cycles, longer drought patterns and irrigation needs, and nutritional capabilities of their trees.
A little history… Because we don’t yet have a reliable tractor (but we do have an unreliable one!) we don’t get to turn our compost pile often. As it turns out our laziness has benefits! Some seedlings just popped up with the will to live, so Kim dug them up and added them to the nursery and stood by in wonder as different colors and characteristics emerged. This project led to the greater vision of The Seedling Orchard.
During harvest of 2018, we planted out about 9-10 acres into seedling apples. They are on a big grid of 60’x60′ to allow for future interplanting, animal grazing and elk trampling. For the seeds, we used select mash after processing fruit and took seeds from some of our favorite apple & pear varieties. We kept the process simple: scrape off the sod with a shovel, scoop in some mash (or just seeds), top with compost, and put a stake in as a marker with tree lineage (if known).
Now we wait for seedlings to emerge and then we’ll have to choose one for each hole (that will be the hardest part!) The next project includes fencing off each individual tree so we can bring back sheep and protect this area from our resident elk herd!
