Friday, March 20, 2009

I Fought the Mold, and the Mold Won

I was afraid that this would happen, but of the 72 apple seeds I planted, only two sprouted. The rest turned into big balls of mold in their trays. One of the seedlings wasn't able to break out of its seed completely, so that leaves only one healthy apple sprout. Well, it's a start. I'll collect more seeds this fall and try again. I think I'll also keep track of their sources, since I have no idea which seed produced this sprout.

4 comments:

Tracy said...

Mel - you know you have that song stuck in my head now :) (that you based the title on) LOL

Trial and error - that's how we all live and learn. Hope your next batch works better for you.

Mel, Foxtail Farm said...

Yeah, it's stuck in my head, too.

Mary Cate said...

Yeah, I've caught the earworm too.

Anyway, I just want to express admiration and appreciation for what you are doing with the apples, especially after reading, "Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan. Sorry it didn't work out this year. Keep up the good work!

Mel, Foxtail Farm said...

Botany of Desire was the book that first inspired me to grow apples from seed. It's such a fascinating plant, and I've only scratched the surface of information about it.

Once I've mastered starting them from seed, I'd love to go to the orchard mentioned in the book (can't remember the name) to deepen my genetic pool. It would be so cool to have trees that are only a few generations removed from true wild apples.