Trees from Seed

[Pullstart 62,846]

I have a propagating thread.  Time for a starting from seed thread?  I soaked these Norway Spruce seeds in a cup of water for about 48 hours, then placed the, in a wet paper towel for a month or so in the fridge.  They are starting to sprout!  There are 50, but I don’t expect them all to germinate.

 

 

[Pullstart 62,846]

I’ve been drinking K-cup coffee for a while, collecting little starters. They have a drain hole and are perfect size for starting seeds!

[wallfish 16,995]

37 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

I’ve been drinking K-cup coffee for a while, collecting little starters

 

These type of plastic drink pods would be A LOT more fun! But you might not remember what you saved them for!

BLACK+DECKER™ Bev Cocktail Maker

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-5985829/blackdecker-bev-cocktail-maker.jsp?skuid=65859119&ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=SMALL ELECTRICS&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=bing&CID=shopping20&utm_campaignid=401561977&utm_adgroupid=1235851302938522&msclkid=06aadf125f4c1ec6bda3bb0281935fa0&gclid=06aadf125f4c1ec6bda3bb0281935fa0&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

I bought one of these and a "blank load" of drink pods for our family Christmas party last year. It was a huge hit and lots of fun. No one else knew they even existed. 

[ri702bill 8,318]

Coffee trees ???  You may want to wash them out well and only try a few at first to see if there are any issues.....

Startin' a Christmas Tree Farm there, Kev??

[Pullstart 62,846]

2 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Coffee trees ???  You may want to wash them out well and only try a few at first to see if there are any issues.....

Startin' a Christmas Tree Farm there, Kev??

Deer sleeping farm, preferably.  I have been thinking though, I’d love to make my property into a nursery once I get a handle on what I’m doing.  Pretty good money in trees if you’ve got the time and patience for nature to do it’s thing!

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

I think he fell off his flip flops and swallowed a rhinestone. He is hoping a diamond will appear.

[Pullstart 62,846]

Here’s 30-35 started.  Many more are in the basement and will get a cheap LED grow light on a timer.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

Just don't plant any bamboo seeds. 

[Pullstart 62,846]

Anyone ever eaten a paw paw fruit?  They are known as the Michigan Banana?

 

 

[stevasaurus 22,725]

We had a Norway Pine that my Dad planted back in the 1950's.  It was a beautiful tree for decades.  We finally had to cut it down around 2008...it was 4 stories high and was filling up the space between both houses.  The guys we had cut it down said it was the largest Norway Pine they had ever seen...like 4' diameter at the base.  This is the kind of tree that they cut down for trees for the "Christmas Tree" in downtown in Chicago and some towns in the suburbs.  

   I replant Maples and Oak saplings that start growing in my yard.  I've been doing that for years along bike paths and such.  It is great to spend a day and take a look at how they are doing.  

 

"Trees" (1913)

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.^[

 

Made this from one of the cookies from that Pine...

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by stevasaurus

[Pullstart 62,846]

Just now, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

Just don't plant any bamboo seeds. 

We’ve done that before, at the lake. I cut it all down once and poured over 5 gallons of old gas from derby cars on it.  Then lit it.  Then landed on my back.  Then watched the 40’+ tall mushroom cloud grow.  I didn’t realize “old gas” was that flammable back then!  

[Pullstart 62,846]

I did a count.  20 in the basement on an LED light and a timer, 34 upstairs near a NORTHERN window for indirect light exposure.  Most likely, there are 15+ still in the fridge.  Not bad for 50 seeds in a pack!

[Racinbob 11,065]

As I sit here reading this with my coffee from the Keurig I'm liking your idea. Dating back to when I was a kid my Dad purchased about 1000 white pines from the state to fill up several of his acres. They are past their maturity now but the ones still standing are 40-50' tall. For many years I would order trees from the state. It always seemed that I would order more than I would want to plant and I would end up giving some away. The past few years I've gotten into planting seeds from whatever I find. I would just wander around poking holes in the ground and dropping a seed in. Most recently catalpa and tulip popular. I gather in the fall, let them sit in the garage over the winter and plant in the spring. There's a small area directly behind the house that I decided over the winter that I want trees. Trees from the state are usually ordered in the fall for shipping or pick up in the spring. On a whim I got on the state site and checked their inventory. They had a few left in the fields with 200 of them Norway Spruce. They are somewhat deer resistant which I really need and I'll also give them a shot of deer repellant about once a month. I probably only need about 20 for the spot but I ordered the minimum of 100 so I'll be wandering the property again once I pick them up. 

 

I'm sure I'll find some more seeds of whatever and next spring I may be wandering again and popping little seedlings from K-cups. 

[953 nut 55,211]

1 hour ago, Racinbob said:

when I was a kid my Dad purchased about 1000 white pines from the state

We planted White Pines as a wind break in upstate NY when I was in 4H. Nearly seventy years later they are doing fine. Our county agricultural agent got 1,000 and I think we took about 100. The ones that weren't used in the wind break we potted and a few years later when they were about 4 or 5 feet tall we put red foil around the pots and sold them as live Christmas Trees at the farmers' market. People from the city thought they had struck gold buying a live tree for half the price of a cut tree.

[Racinbob 11,065]

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:

We planted White Pines as a wind break in upstate NY when I was in 4H. Nearly seventy years later they are doing fine. Our county agricultural agent got 1,000 and I think we took about 100. The ones that weren't used in the wind break we potted and a few years later when they were about 4 or 5 feet tall we put red foil around the pots and sold them as live Christmas Trees at the farmers' market. People from the city thought they had struck gold buying a live tree for half the price of a cut tree.

 That brought back a memory. We usually had artificial trees because of my wifes allergies. Before we moved to Florida in 2000 I picked up a live Blue Spruce for Christmas. I only did it one year because it was a pain to dig buckets of dirt before the ground froze, bring it inside to keep it from freezing then planting the tree afterwards but it was fun with the kids that year. Out of curiosity I just did a Google Earth search to see if I could see it. Sure can. 

 

[varosd 1,185]

Wow!

just had a flashback to the 70's when we were young and did the same thing with "other seeds"

off the album cover......LOL

 

[Pullstart 62,846]

29 minutes ago, varosd said:

Wow!

just had a flashback to the 70's when we were young and did the same thing with "other seeds"

off the album cover......LOL

 

Well some states that is legal now.  

[Pullstart 62,846]

 

[Pullstart 62,846]

The Norway Spruce seedlings, for the most part, are doing quite well!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,846]

I also managed to get the Paw Paw seeds in some dirt.

 

 

[Rick3478 428]

On 3/14/2023 at 5:20 PM, Pullstart said:

Anyone ever eaten a paw paw fruit?  They are known as the Michigan Banana?

 

 

 

Ohio's largest native fruit (little-known factoid).  They grow wild here.  Banana-Mango flavored pulp is edible.  Wife bakes cookies and breads from time to time.  Pioneer lore was that seeds would only sprout in their home soil.  As a practical matter, the seeds may just be a little picky about soil chemistry.  In the wild, the fruit falls to the ground and rots and the seeds sprout from the rotted fruit where it fell, so you tend to get dense "paw-paw patches".

[Pullstart 62,846]

1 minute ago, Rick3478 said:

 

Ohio's largest native fruit (little-known factoid).  They grow wild here.  Banana-Mango flavored pulp is edible.  Wife bakes cookies and breads from time to time.  Pioneer lore was that seeds would only sprout in their home soil.  As a practical matter, the seeds may just be a little picky about soil chemistry.  In the wild, the fruit falls to the ground and rots and the seeds sprout from the rotted fruit where it fell, so you tend to get dense "paw-paw patches".

If you ever get the hankering to collect the seeds from your wife’s cookin’s, and we ever meet, feel free to bring ‘em along!  

[Rick3478 428]

16 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

If you ever get the hankering to collect the seeds from your wife’s cookin’s, and we ever meet, feel free to bring ‘em along!  

 

I'll keep you in mind.  There will be fruit in the Fall, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

[Pullstart 62,846]

23 minutes ago, Rick3478 said:

 

I'll keep you in mind.  There will be fruit in the Fall, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

*Creek   they were some ruthless Natives of the land.  Can’t much blame ‘em!  

 

 

[Pullstart 62,846]

@Rick3478

 

I all but gave up on the seeds you sent me, and even began using the pots for other seeds.  Looky looky!

 

Here they are!  Good, and strong, and healthy!