Coming to the farm opened my eyes to a lot of things I never considered. First and foremost is the number of plants and animals that are in literal danger of extinction. I've tried to play a small part in helping them survive to the next generation, whether it is by planting heirloom tomatoes and saving the seeds in our market garden, or breeding heritage livestock like our registered Dexter cattle and pedigreed Silver Fox rabbits. (There are actually more Giant Pandas estimated to be alive today than these rabbits. I consider it a pretty big deal as well as great responsibility to have obtained several unrelated bloodlines!)
One sad and unbelievable fact is that we only have about 10% of the apple varieties grown in the United States that were available when George Washington was alive. Only one out of every 10 still exists. How sad is that?!? Apples are unlike tomatoes or peppers- if you plant the seed from an apple, it will not be like its parent tree. Even each seed in the same apple will produce a completely different tree and fruit. While it's true Johnny Appleseed planted seeds and not clones, at that time folks wanted apples primarily for fermenting into hard cider rather than ones that were delicious to eat. Apples (and many other fruits) are cloned by cutting branches and rooting them or, more commonly, grafting onto disease-resistant and/or dwarfing rootstock. They can survive as long as there is at least one tree, and one person with the desire and knowledge to make seedings from that tree to plant for the future.
For years, I've talked and dreamed about an orchard made from cuttings from old, local trees.
One sad and unbelievable fact is that we only have about 10% of the apple varieties grown in the United States that were available when George Washington was alive. Only one out of every 10 still exists. How sad is that?!? Apples are unlike tomatoes or peppers- if you plant the seed from an apple, it will not be like its parent tree. Even each seed in the same apple will produce a completely different tree and fruit. While it's true Johnny Appleseed planted seeds and not clones, at that time folks wanted apples primarily for fermenting into hard cider rather than ones that were delicious to eat. Apples (and many other fruits) are cloned by cutting branches and rooting them or, more commonly, grafting onto disease-resistant and/or dwarfing rootstock. They can survive as long as there is at least one tree, and one person with the desire and knowledge to make seedings from that tree to plant for the future.
For years, I've talked and dreamed about an orchard made from cuttings from old, local trees.