I’m going to use this as motivation. My partner couldn’t care less if we lived on a concrete pad! Would like it more because then I wouldn’t have “just one more big project” that requires his help. My little kids are hooked, so I keep going. My son never really liked fresh fruit until he had watermelon we grew- so I planned multiple trellises to grow 4 times more. Couldn’t get him to eat a fresh strawberry until we picked our own recently- all effort worth it, will buy more. Motivated by recent experiences, he tried a mediocre, early, grocery store nectarine- gave me a thumbs up, and voila! the 3 nectarines trees I bought are instantly worth every penny, and I’m looking for more!! 
give me an inch of happiness and I’ll go many, many miles…
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I’m glad you remembered the fruit tree seedlings- I’d left out that “symptom”.
Last fall we visited California, and I kept seeds from some red fleshed apples that I bought at a farmers market and a plum that I got when I visited @mayhaw9999. My strategy is to graft on top, but leave 1-2 branches of the seedling in case I get lucky with a fine fruit. I’m already propagating an apple I found up in the mountains growing at around 7500’ near a road. Seems hardy and leafs out several weeks later than others.
Have you noticed how you can always squeeze in one more tree long after you’ve run out of room?
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Mine started out as a fun little project with my oldest daughter at age 3 when we moved into our previous house. We built a little raised bed and put in 2 blackberry bushes. When we got news of the opportunity to purchase the house and 4 acres next to my wife’s parents house (they own 165 acres), I looked into propagating the blackberries so we could take them with us. The new house had a crab apple tree that was planted way too close to the deck (the lady that lived there before us wanted to be able to pick apples from the deck. My daughter threw a fit when we cut it down, so I told her I would plant her a new tree. Then I learned about pollinating partners…I couldn’t buy just 1! It all spiraled downhill from there! It hasn’t quite turned into an obsession yet, but I’m working on that.
6 Apple trees
6 Peach trees
4 Plums/Pluot Trees
3 Pear Trees
8 Blackberry Bushes
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My wifes the same. shes not a outdoors person. bugs drive her nuts. she does like the fresh fruit but if she had to grow/ pick it, it wouldnt happen. im thankful at least she supports my addiction and has allowed me to turn her once 3/4 acre lawn into a orchard/ food forest / garden. i call it my little piece of heaven. when something bothers me or im stressed over something , i go for a walkabout and sometimes sit amongst my plantings, watching the bees and birds do thier thing. its Gods therapy that no amount of counseling could achieve.
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Yes! When little kids are acting bananas I escape outside and do the same. They want to cling to me so they might follow, but become subdued looking for peas etc. or watching pollinators. The best is summer evenings when the hummingbirds are here and they have to remain totally silent. It’s gardening’s version of forest bathing.
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Sounds SO familiar!
Year 1: plant 2 apple trees and 2 pear trees inside what was once a vegetable garden fence.
Year 2: decide I can squeeze in a Honeycrisp apple and an Evans cherry.
Year 3: decide I can squeeze in a Contender peach and a Benton cherry. “The orchard is full!”
Year 4: why not extend the orchard outside the fence? We don’t have deer…
Year 5: why not also expand the fence to fit in another row? …and plant more outside it?.. and what about this other corner of the yard…? …and so on it goes!
When I’m thinking about buying another fruit tree I consult with my sister via text, because I know she’ll always encourage me to do it! A couple of days ago after a flurry of planting I texted, “No more until autumn, at least!” She put a “Ha Ha” reaction on that. I asked, “Is that ‘Ha ha, I’m so sure’?” She replied, “No more until autumn or the next end-of-season sale email.”
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I always thought I’d end up with a nature and plant lover, but I am always outside and he’s always inside. Oh, well.
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same here. she will come out to see the chickens but couldnt care less for what i have growing.
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Well, your coffee cans were carefully chosen to match your walls, thus making you seem a little less impulsive and crazy and a little more of a planner, right?
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I prefer to grow out grafts in coffe cans their first grow season. Growth is restricted, which means less less digging come fall when I set them out. 
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I can, but his seedlings… I told him that they might take 20 years to make apples and peaches or whatever, so we have to graft them into other trees to ever taste the fruit. and that we will leave some of the baby tree in case they’re really good, and if they are they can get planted outside the pot
luckily he does not read about this stuff or look it up, so I’m able to fudge the seed-to-fruit time line a little.
I think I can get 3 grafts of his babies put on every year. if any are good I’m not lying, I will put them in the ground! but we have 1/8 acre and I’m still finding room for possible persimmons
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I bought a pallet of 5 gallon buckets to drill holes in and grow out my grafts. I’ve used less than half. That means I can buy more plants?
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Definitely running out of room in my lower orchard, but look: if I work hard to improve the soil on the hilliest part of the hill orchard, I have room for at least 4 more semi dwarfs plus 2 dwarfs.
BTW, I am also planting about 15 native trees each spring on the hill pasture to the left, annd the one in past the barns. I got packs of 10 from burnt Ridge. I am also digging out the creeks there, and building terraces. Now the goats can only go in there in the winter, because otherwise they would damage the tree cages.
I ordered a couple hundred dollars of tree seeds from Sheffield to try to continue planting the hills with home grown trees next year.
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Still mulling getting an order of Bittenfelder seeds to create a ready supply of seedling rootstock that can make a tasty versatile apple in it’s own right.
Same reason I would love to find Rivers Nonesuch scions.
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Why not try Bramley’s seedling? It roots easily from cuttings and has good FB resistance
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I already have Bramley’s.
Where do you get those?
Which tree seeds did you buy?