Modern Johnny Appleseed?

[Wise Old Owl]

There are sections here in Pa that cross wide parts of farm country. They lack trees and my enthusiasm to hike these sections. (IMO) What is involved in a occational planting of local trees. Oak or Pine or perhaps a Plum, Apple, Apricot, or grape vine along these sections to brighten them up a little? This would allow an occational hiker to score some fruit or fun.



Interested to hear your take on this idea - doesn't mean I am going to do it, I do have access to some seeds and markers.

[northernstorm]

PA is real rather drab. as long as the owner of the farms agree to let someone plant along the trail, i thnk it would be pretty cool 20- 30 years from now.

[couscous]

I have a cousin who lives just east of the trail in that area. Seems to be some not-in-my-backyard attitudes about the trail. Planting trees along streams may be a good idea, but probably not on the north/south side of Old Stonehouse Road where it goes right down the middle of corn? fields. I can't remember what was planted there this year.

[Johnny Thunder]

those areas are cleared farmland for a reason...hmmm, maybe they're being used as farms.

there are lots of reasons to hike that stretch. it is nice. it's not mountains. it gives you views when, technically, heading north in pa you have yet to have a "view".

also, it's not a 20-something mile road walk.

but if you're looking for a weekend hike to enjoy i suggest you find something else. pa has a lot to offer trail-wise that isn't the at. consider the loyalsock. or the pa grand canyon.

johnny appleseed didn't give away fruit trees. he gave away booze trees. i am in favor of booze trees on the at.

[mweinstone]

i belive i can make a tree out of johnney thunder if he dies before me and if we want to use him as a planter on the trail maby with a cherry tree in him then i would put three cherries from johnneys arms into my shine and have cherryshine. yeah!

[mweinstone]

as a kid messin wit da trail i tryed planting stuff. but never found it or remembered where it was suposed to be if it had grown and forgott to look most times. markers would have to be radio becons findable in the different growth stages . im haveing my illegal forgien nationals who swuatt in my basement look into an rfid tagged appleseed to be pattented under the trade name"johnney appleseeds with johnney thunderer rfid screaming chip" witch would produce a horrid scream on the finder device just for fun. im planning to use the "johnney thunder screaming rfid chip in alot of trail aplications.

[mweinstone]

and now lets look at the poop news. matthewski has an impacted pooper for 3 days due to stress over my son and is looking for an apple enima infuser devise capable of fireing a sustained cyclic fireing rate of 36 apples per minute. but would settle for an apple tree planted in his butt.see? whiteblaze has freedom of speech. and hikers like poopin!or i should say, talkin poop .goodmorning southbounders!

[JAK]

I've eaten apple cores all my life, and pooped in all sorts of places. I might have some apple tree offsprings here or there, and maybe some grape vines and the odd cherry tree or watermelon, but none that I know of and nothing growing out of my butt.

[Del Q]

On the topic of fruit on the trail, that is a great bit of trail magic from "mother nature". Was out of water coming into Tyringham, MA for a resupply, came upon an apple tree, small, delicious, great bit of trail magic.

Plant more? I would say go for it where appropriate.

What happens after I ate them, well, you know................

P.S. My son's best memory of our hike this summer was handful's of mountain blueberries - CT/MA border.

[Wise Old Owl]

On the topic of fruit on the trail, that is a great bit of trail magic from "mother nature". Was out of water coming into Tyringham, MA for a resupply, came upon an apple tree, small, delicious, great bit of trail magic.

Plant more? I would say go for it where appropriate.

What happens after I ate them, well, you know................

P.S. My son's best memory of our hike this summer was handful's of mountain blueberries - CT/MA border.

So was mine - he loved it.

[Wise Old Owl]

Well I wasn't planting a forest, it was an occational free "food" tree to boost the mental trip.

[Pedaling Fool]

I just cut down a 40 ft dead pine in the back yard, not sure if I'll replace it, but I also like planting trees. I do remember the all the farmland in the mid-atlantic, obviously you can't plant trees there. However, I do remember several places along the trail that were open areas with nothing but tall grass/weeds (especially in Virginia) that could use some trees. I'd be tempted to plant some.

[Wise Old Owl]

JG, I am still trying to score some deer excuders for free and the seeds are easy, 32 ounce paper MacDonald cups filled with potting soil should do it.


I am, still wondering if this is breaking some obscure law along the trail.

[emerald]

It's done by A.T. trail clubs to some extent already and has been done by BMECC increasingly in recent years. In most instances, NPS or the land managing agencies would require trees planted be native species or from a list of approved species.

I am a believer in the concept of fully implementing Benton MacKaye's dream. The idea of planting fruit trees or even vegetable patches tended by hikers for the benefit of other hikers where appropriate and with proper consultation and consent doesn't bother me. It's a mostly a matter of where and working with A.T. maintaining clubs to obtain the necessary approvals from land management agencies.

More people should get involved with A.T. maintaining clubs and spend less time talking about doing things online.

[Pedaling Fool]

JG, I am still trying to score some deer excuders...

Ha ha, that reminds me a something I read a while ago. There was a study in Kenya on different methods of preserving acacia trees. One method was to grow them in a fenced in area to keep out herbivores, such as elephant, giraffes... Turns out that those trees became weaker than the unprotected trees (who would've guessed). The reason is posted in this link http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ts-and-acacias, but this is an excerpt:

"In the absence of herbivores, the whistling acacia stopped producing little ant houses in hollow thorns—known as domatia—and excreting the sweet nectar that its bodyguard ants eat. But instead of spurring more growth, the acacias found themselves more than twice as likely to be providing a home to another type of ant—Crematogaster sjostedti—which do not defend the trees and rely on invasions of the bark-boring cerambycid beetle larvae to build the holes in which they dwell. "The cavity-nesting antagonistic ants actually promote the activities of the stem-boring beetle," says biologist Robert Pringle of Stanford University."

There's always some weird twist in nature.

[Wise Old Owl]

found old ones out in the field today while blazing a trail... Life is Good.

[Wise Old Owl]

I am going to move forward with this idea... it takes ten years to bear fruit and I have discovered worthy sites in PA that would benifit. I can plant "off" the beaten path and some day it will just be hanging over you.... Too Cool.

[flemdawg1]

Near Low Gap in Tn there's a small balded area with deliscious Jonathan Apples growing right by the trail. Having a couple of those and watching Big Bald in the distance was the highlight of my hike last fall.

[Smile]

How about planting something like Lambs Quarters? Seeds are on most plants this time of year - lots of them, they grown lower than trees, grow just about anywhere, scattered seed usually sprouts and grows plants, they keep coming up each year, they are edible ( great sauteed, healthy) and folks could eat that.

[Wise Old Owl]

You caught me by surprise smile - I had no Idea.