ALCS Marks 21 Years Planting Fruit and Nut Trees
October 10, 2024
“Everyone Can Be a Johnny Appleseed, Even You”
The inspiring legend of Johnny Appleseed is true, and we can have the same positive effect that he did in our own natural surroundings.
Through sheer persistence, orchardist John Chapman directly planted hundreds of thousands of apple seeds and trees across the over-cut, hunted-out American Northeast and Midwest landscapes in the early to mid 1800s, and earned his place in history. Today, with abundant fruit and nut trees available to many Americans, anyone who has an interest in planting these useful trees can easily do so.
“All it takes for you to be a modern day Johnny Appleseed is a small bit of your precious time and kitchen waste you might otherwise compost or discard,” says Josh First, president of ALCS.
“For over twenty years now, ever since starting our small real estate company that is focused on land and forest management, every summer and Fall I have been gathering, stockpiling, and planting fruit and nut tree seeds into the winter,” says First.
First also shares his seeds with friends, contractors, and colleagues.
“It is really easy. The biggest source of fruit and nut tree seeds are late summer fruits that I buy or grow myself, including peaches and different varieties of apples. A neighbor has two pear trees that we pick from. When we eat or process our peaches, pears, or apples, we put the fruit cores in buckets and bags, and after a few days or a week we get them spread around in areas that really need to grow wildlife food and ecological diversity. Targeted areas include land that has been recently logged, farm field margins, deer exclosures, and little out-of-the-way nooks on private and public land where a fruit or nut tree can grow without interference from humans or deer. This includes suburban back yards and remote hillsides during hunting season.”
Sources of nut tree fruits include black walnuts and Chinese chestnuts that often line public roads and drop their fruits onto the public way.
“Black walnut is probably Pennsylvania’s most valuable hardwood, and the large green seeds are easily found all over public roads and street margins everywhere I drive. Chestnuts are found all over and similarly hang over public streets. All a would-be Johnny Appleseed has to do is safely pull over, pick up or pull down and gather as many walnuts or chestnut burrs as you want, and get back into your vehicle. After that, planting them in various spots, including your own back yard, is easy,” says First.
The benefits of fruit and nut trees are enormous, and include a single tree feeding humans and wildlife alike for decades. Walnut tree lumber is beautiful and valuable, although a walnut tree requires at least fifty years to reach a commercially useful diameter.
“This year we focused heavily on planting pears, peaches, and apples,” says First.
“The chestnuts came late this year, and the squirrels came for them early and in huge swarms, so we planted what we could most easily obtain, which were seeds from our own fruit harvests and barters. If you are inspired by taking a very small step to leave the legacy of a fruit or nut tree, we encourage you to save your apple and pear cores, peach pits, and find natural places to plant them as they are,” says First.
