Apple seed from cider grindings?

[Catscratch]

I have a source for pomace left over from cider making. I want the seed out of it. It was mentioned in a different thread that apples could be thrown into a bucket, left for the winter, then will sprout/germinate.

Does anyone know if I can just leave this stuff in a bucket for the winter, or will I have to separate seed out and store it clean?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I'll offer this - other guys on here have said they separate their apple or crab seeds so they don't rot / mold. I think Sandbur does the seed separation thing when he wants to plant seeds for his apples and crabs. I believe guys put them in zip-lock bags with slightly damp paper towels, put in the frig until they start to sprout root radicles before planting. I think that's the process. I hope others will correct me if I'm wrong on that. I just think a glob of apple pomace in a bucket would rot & mold?

 

[sandbur]

I clean seeds and dry them . Then plant under 1/4 inch of sand and let our Minnesota winters stratify the seed.

One year I just dumped the pomace and in the spring had a hundred or 500? Seedlings emerge. I did not try to nurse any along.

Cat, if your winters are cold enough to stratify the seed, you could probably just spread the pomace over the ground. The more care the better.

I would till the ground underneath. Scatter the pomace, maybe cover with a bit of sand. Maybe build a low wooden box with 1/4 inch mesh over it to keep mice from eating seeds and to keep rabbits from eating seedlings.

 

[Catscratch]

I clean seeds and dry them . Then plant under 1/4 inch of sand and let our Minnesota winters stratify the seed.

One year I just dumped the pomace and in the spring had a hundred or 500? Seedlings emerge. I did not try to nurse any along.

Cat, if your winters are cold enough to stratify the seed, you could probably just spread the pomace over the ground. The more care the better.

I would till the ground underneath. Scatter the pomace, maybe cover with a bit of sand. Maybe build a low wooden box with 1/4 inch mesh over it to keep mice from eating seeds and to keep rabbits from eating seedlings.

That's what I'm hoping for sandbur!!!


Browsnbucks - I suspect you are right... that it would just turn into a mess. But, Osage Orange can be done this way. Sitting in a bucket of slurry doesn't seem to hurt the seeds. Maybe apples are the same? Maybe not.

To be honest I have my doubts that apple seedlings will survive our late freezes, dry weather, and various critters that want to eat them. The chances that I can get seedlings to make it much past germination are small. With that in mind I am not going to go to a lot of trouble cleaning and screwing with this stuff. Either I can do it quickly and easily with moderate success, or the idea gets scrapped.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

That's what I'm hoping for sandbur!!!


Browsnbucks - I suspect you are right... that it would just turn into a mess. But, Osage Orange can be done this way. Sitting in a bucket of slurry doesn't seem to hurt the seeds. Maybe apples are the same? Maybe not.

To be honest I have my doubts that apple seedlings will survive our late freezes, dry weather, and various critters that want to eat them. The chances that I can get seedlings to make it much past germination are small. With that in mind I am not going to go to a lot of trouble cleaning and screwing with this stuff. Either I can do it quickly and easily with moderate success, or the idea gets scrapped.

I was only guessing at what might happen if a bucket of apple pomace were left sit during the winter. I've never done that, so maybe decaying in a bucket wouldn't stop germination of some seeds?

As Sandbur said above, I thought I'd read on here that a couple guys separated their seeds to stratify them over winter. I couldn't remember for sure - or their exact method. A few years ago, I tried Sandbur's method of separating seeds and drying them for a week or 2, then put them in a zip-lock bag with a damp paper towel in the frig. Almost every seed sprouted a radicle using Sandbur's method.