Question
QUESTION: Tom-
This weekend I picked some apples off a tree that is next to the road ditch about a 1/2 mile from my parent's house out in the country. They tasted great but the one thing I noticed was that there was very little insect/worm damage to the fruit. If I don't spray my trees at home the apples look terrible. Some of these had a few holes but most (70%) looked great for a tree that mostly ignored. In talking to the guy who owns the land on the other side of the fence it has been there for many years, but he did not plant it and does not know what variety it is. Most of the apples are about the size of a slightly flattened baseball, red with some "blush" streaks and are ripe (dropping to the ground now 9/7/08). Would you know what variety this is from the description? I live in North Central Iowa if that helps. If you don't, is there way to find out? If I plant a few of the apples and they germinate how many years do you think it would take to get apples 10? 15? 20?
Thank you,
Jim

ANSWER: Hi Jim,
Thanx for your question.  Infrequently, I get questions from folks about heirloom or possibly heirloom trees, flowers, etc. and the truth be told, it is one of my interests but I am by no means an expert at heirlooms, especially fruit trees.  With that said, you are lucky to be living in North Central Iowa because at the town of Decorah is located the Seed Savers Exchange which is dedicated to the preservation of heirloom/heritage/open pollinated fruits, vegetables and flowers.  They should be able to help you identify the tree.

Planting the seed of your apples will require a cold process.  You can do this two ways.  You can plant the seed about an inch deep in pots and leave them outdoors for the winter or you can place the seed in a damp paper towel and seal them inside a plastic baggie and keep them in the refrigerator for 60-90 days (which duplicates winter cold action) and then plant them an inch deep in a pot and germinate them indoors.  The cold action is required to keep the seed from germinating at the wrong time of the year.  The cold insures the seed stays dormant, then, once the warm period (spring) arrives, the warmth triggers hormonal action which causes the embryo in the seed to begin development and germination.  It will take 5-7 years for the production of fruit from growing from seed.  I hope this helps and here is a link to the Seed Savers Exchange.
Tom
http://www.seedsavers.org/



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Would burying the apples in my yard this fall work just as good? Of course I would dig a hole and fill with good dirt from my garden. How deep should I place them? There are plenty of apples on the ground so planting several to see if any come up is no big deal.
Thank you,
Jim

P.S. My mom gets the SSE catalog and I enjoy looking through it but have not ordered anything yet.

Answer
Hi Jim,
Thanx for the additional information.  The thing about apples, peaches, pears, etc. is if the fruit isn't rotted away from the seed it inhibits germination.  This is true with most fruit (of course there are some exceptions like citrus).  To get sure-fire results, you'll need to harvest seed as recommended in my previous posting.  Burying apples or leaving them to nature's hand could result in years before you had anything.  

I just joined Seed Savers this year although I have been getting the catologue a few years and have bought seed from them.  They are a bit pricey on some stuff but considering what they do, the price is worth it.

Good luck with your apples, Jim.  I hope you find out what kind they are and if you do, drop me a line and let me know how everything went with growing some new trees.

I hope this helps.
Tom