ALCS Completes Annual Fruit and Nut Tree Seed Planting
October 15, 2022
Since beginning in the Fall of 2004, ALCS has annually done a fruit and nut tree seed planting, mostly on private properties in central and northcentral Pennsylvania.
“These are seeds from native trees that we encounter in our work and everyday life,” says ALCS’s Josh First. “Almost all of the chestnut burrs we collect come from trees either in public spaces or on private property open to the public. The apple cores come from my own family’s consumption of apples, especially in the late summer and early Fall, when we process large quantities of apples into dried fruit and applesauce. Just like the chestnut burrs, the walnuts come from any walnut tree source that drops its seeds where I can easily pick them up, or where friends bring them to me. Our black walnut seeds are probably the most diversely sourced from across central Pennsylvania.”
Seeds for fruit and nut trees are planted in locations where they are less likely to encounter severe deer browsing or human management.
“These seeds are planted for the long term. I am a bit of a Johnny Appleseed all summer and Fall, and no matter where I am working, hiking, walking, canoeing, or hunting, I will always take seeds along with me to plant in obscure locations where they have a chance to avoid both deer and humans. While field edge and right-of-way locations with more sunshine offer much better and faster growing conditions, they are also subject to more human interference. I have learned about this challenge the hard way. Many years ago I sold a parcel of land to a public agency, and along the access road on that land a native and highly productive American chestnut tree grew. We had gathered, distributed, and planted viable chestnut burrs from this surviving native tree for many years. But when the land changed hands, the land management staff at that agency could not help themselves. In their minds, any brush or trees growing too close to their newly acquired road required direct action, and the long producing American chestnut tree was cut down, which was a huge loss,” says First.
The fruits and nuts from any trees that might grow from this effort will feed both wildlife and humans for decades to come.
Seeds planted this year include about five gallons of peach pits, from a large residential peach tree harvest, black walnuts, Asian chestnuts, apple cores and seeds from a wide variety of apple trees, and red spruce.
The red spruce is a native tree that was grossly overharvested a hundred years ago because its wood has a high strength-to-weight ratio. When mature and 22-30 inches in diameter, or about 250 years old, red spruce is the top choice for wooden instruments like guitars, cellos, and violins. The Nature Conservancy has an aggressive, long-term red spruce reforestation program in West Virginia.
“To my knowledge, ALCS is the only organization widely replanting red spruce in Pennsylvania, and we target both private and public land,” says First
ALCS encourages every outdoors lover to take some seeds along on Fall hikes and walks, and plant them in out of the way spots.
