A little while back, I came across this video that showed me how to start a magnificent fruit tree from a tiny seed. I really can't even remember which one it was, because frankly, there's a million of them. I thought to myself looking at my nearly rotten avocado pits sitting in water, could it really be that easy? I go through literally 5 pounds of apples a week (one food that wee man will actually eat), and a bag of organic apples at $7 a pop is, well, crazy expensive to say the least. And in reality, I was really (REALLY) hoping that this wasn't just one of those things that pops up on Pinterest, and then I become a victim of the "nailed it" memes.Here I was again, on a mission.
It worked. I seriously can't believe it. I have little baby apple trees.
So then, I began trying to start pretty much every seed I could think of...
like mango...
So I think that everyone needs to know the easy way to start seeds. I know how expensive organic fresh fruit is, and even though these won't produce for a couple of years, it's worth it to me.
So. First step. Take whatever fruit you want (I'm using oranges) and extract the seeds. This can be done by cutting, peeling, and/or eating to the core.I cut mine (the orange),
kind of zig-zag through the middle.
I just scooped out the seed that I could see and layed them out on the counter/cutting board. Not all oranges will have seeds.
Next is the most important part. The seeds are encapsulated by a thick, hard exterior. You could just take the seed and plant it and it might germinate, it might not. The key is, this outer layer will have to literally rot first, and then the seed inside will germinate (which could take a while). So.
if you turn the seed on it's side, you will notice a little line that goes along the outer layer. With your fingernail, or a small knife (PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!! SEEDS ARE VERY SLIPPERY) make a slit along this line, making sure not to cut the seed inside. It doesn't need to be very big, just enough to peel.
Once you have a little part pulled away from the seed, pull the entire outer shell off. Repeat for all of the other seeds.
Then you will have a bunch of little naked baby orange seeds.Line the seeds up along a wet paper towel. I like to give them a little bit of space, just to make sure they don't clump together and grow mold.
Then, I just label a zippy bag with a marker and put them in. I try to make sure the fold-side of the paper towel is down, you know, so the seeds don't fall out to check them. Once they are in the bag, I tape them to a window. I know, this is a little weird, but I have littles. Littles mean little hands, and not to mention a great dane that loves to eat paper towels, especially fruit-laden ones.
Now is just a waiting game. Some germinate faster than others, and I don't even think this is fruit-specific. Check on them once and a while. I always suggest germinating as many as possible for a couple of reasons. 1. They might not germinate (saving time) and 2. Most fruit (as many as I can think of) require a partner tree in order to even spawn fruit. So that means if you want apples, mangoes, papaya, whatever, you need 2 trees. Even if this isn't entire true for the most part, I don't want you going through all of this time and trouble just to realize you needed 2 trees the whole time in order to get fruit.
Anyway, when your little bugger has germinated, like this guy over here,
it's time to transfer to some soil. It's super easy. I always save my little plastic trays when I buy annuals (when I buy them) or tomatoes at the beginning of the season, so just add some soil, and plant (roots down).I keep them on shelf near a window (little hands and giant dog) and they just grow away.
I will transplant them when they get bigger and stronger, and I just water them when they look dry.
That's it.
Easiest. Thing. Ever.
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