How to germinate a peach seed without cold stratification and plant in a pot 14 days later!
Grow a Peach Tree from Seed
All the research I’d done for growing a peach tree from seed said you had to do a few months of cold stratification in order for the seed to germinate. I found a short cut of this process that goes from seed germination to a pot in 14 days. Here’s my journey for growing a peach tree from a store bought peach!
Oct 28th, 2020
1. Extract the peach seed from the peach pit. I used a channel lock wrench to break open peach pit while covering it with a paper towel. 
2. Place the seed in a cup of water over night. This makes the seed coating easier to peel. 
October 29th, 2020
3. Peel the peach seed coating the next morning. Scrape it with your fingernail and then peel it off in parts. Careful with the pointy end as that is where the root will begin to grow. 
4. Place the peach seed in a container with a paper towel on the bottom. 
5. Cover the Peach seed with damp paper towel. 
6. Place the lid back on but do not close it all the way so air can get in. 
7. Cover with a dark towel. 
November 5th, 2020
1 week update: The seed has split and the root tip is forming on right side.
November 8th, 2020
Day 10 update: I turned the container around and now the root is on the left. Root growth on the left and the seed split is forming leaves. 
November 12th, 2020
Day 14 update: Good root growth and moving to a pot. Peach seedling is currently all yellow. 
November 17th, 2020
Day 19 – Turning from yellow to green (after 5 days in a pot). 
November 24th, 2020
Day 26 – More green with new leaf/stalk growth. 
Blackberry Tip Layering Update 21 Days Later
Blackberry Tip Layering – Success!
Tip Rooting/Layering Blackberries – Update 21 days later.
Strawberries Part 3 – Planting in Raised Garden Bed
Strawberries Part 2 – Build Raised Garden Bed
Strawberries Part 1 – Bare Roots to Pots
Free Blackberry Plants – Tip Layering Blackberries
Tip Layering Blackberries / Tip Rooting Blackberry Plants.
Back in April 2020 I received 4 Natchez blackberry plants and built a small raised row down my fence line and planted them. They have done very well since then. Growing from only 4-6 inch small plants to today being over 6 feet tall!
They have side shoots and other canes that are reaching over down to the ground and ready for propagation by tip layering. If the tip of the cane touches the ground they will start growing roots and you will have a new blackberry plant that you can then separate from the vine and transplant someplace else or give to a neighbor.
September 29th, 2020
Here they are bending side to side but 2 are still over 6 feet tall and the other 2 are over 5 feet high.
Start by selecting a shoot or cane that can easily be brought to ground level and into a pot. Fill the pot 1/2 full with good quality soil and then take the cane and trim off the leaves near the end.
Place the tip into the pot.
Back fill the pot with more soil to hold in place.
I had several canes that were good candidates for tip layering so I ended up doing 7 pots that I will replant and share a few with friends.
November 24th, 2020
8 weeks later the tip has rooted and it has come back up thru the soil.
Raised Garden Bed with Cedar Pickets
How I made a small raised garden bed using cedar fence pickets.
Simple I-Trellis for Blackberry Plants
My 4 Natchez Blackberry plants have grown considerably since being planted on April 24th, 2020. After about 4 months of growth – some are up to 48 inches tall and they are folding over and getting close to the ground. I had built a very simple short I-Trellis with garden twine that is no longer enough for them. You can see that trellis video here. To see my 4 Natchez Blackberry plants from the start with video and timeline pictures click here. It was time for an upgrade. Here’s how I made a very simple I-Trellis for my Blackberry plants.
What started out as 4-6 inch plugs have now after about 4 months grown up to 48 inches tall!
Grow Honeydew Vertically on Wood Fence
If you don’t have a lot of space you can use your wood fence as a trellis and grow melons vertically! Check out my video below!