Question
I have recently bought 150 acres of land in Camden New York. I am 50 years old. I want to develop the land by covering it with fruit trees, maple, birch.. edible foodbearing trees and also flowering cherrys which I learned to love in Japan. I do not have enough money to buy trees. I therefore want to start from seeds. I tried first just planting all the seeds from the fruit I ate but it looks like that was a gross oversimplification. I guess I need an education. Do you know what I should read? I need to start the trees right away because of my age.

Answer
Hi Ray,
Thanx for your question.  If you use seed from the fruit you ate, the resulting trees will not resemble the parent because they are hybrids.  Most fruit trees are grafted onto hardy native stock.  Also, it will take about 7 years for the fruit trees to bear fruit and it will not be a full burst of fruit.  Also, the fruit may be of inferior quality.  I'm sorry if this disappoints you.  There are many discounters that sell fruit trees at a discount.  The National Arbor Day Foundation sells a variety of fruit trees for budget prices.  Do a search on Google.com for "fruit trees" you will find a wide range of prices.  Watch your local sales.  I recently purchase 5 dwarf peach trees for $10 each at Westlake Hardware.  End of season sales are often hotbeds for bargains.  This same Westlake was selling semi-dwarf plums for $10.  I hope this helps.
Tom