Find an Abandoned Homestead .. for fruit trees

My area of Idaho was only settled to any large extent around 1900. But even with that .. driving around .. look at the cow pastures and farm ground for old buildings or foundations .. with flowers and fruit trees still producing .. even though the owners have not cared for them for a considerable time.

What you are looking at .. is a genetic gold mine.

I couldn't locate the owner of one property but the apricot tree was heavy and over the fence on the road. New starts were right under my feet .. sprouted up from last years seeds.

One of my buddies likes to fly NV and look from the sky for old cabin sites .. for old bottles and with a metal detector .. coins. Yes, he could have gotten shot.

The Wine Cup ranch starts at Jackpot, NV and runs to Wells .. 90 miles and is 45 miles wide .. has over 5,000 miles of fence. North of it in the hills is Jarbidge, NV called Jabidge by the Indians .. the sound of cannon being shot at them in the 1800's .. one cowboy showed me a Mayan turquoise quarter sized square .. from Indian trading days. Many of our Indians .. Chief Joseph and Sac .. awajia .. are Hebrew names .. N.M. paleo-hebrew ten commandments show .. they were here during King David's reign. So much for History Prof. appreciating ethnic diversity.

Looking around can be very rewarding. Even ant piles with drilled necklace beads in them gathered by insects. Some of this stuff is a Federal Offence if you pick it up.

I've had my eye on some huge old fruit trees in a field on the way to town but haven't jumped the fence to collect any fruit or cutting yet....

You've got the eye .. keep looking .. sometimes there isn't an old foundation even .. just flowers and fruit trees "out of place."

Stop at the nearest house and ask who owns that spot. Most would be delighted to give you what you want and perhaps get some for them .. stuff from their grand parents right under their nose.

The apricot seedlings I got .. that tree was cut and burned by a new property owner that is raising prized cows .. big suckers that you have to feed all the time instead of turning out and letting them be a cow.

These genetics will disappear and something has "told" you to save it. Go for it.

I should indeed take cuttings or fruit from those grand old trees.  There are many places where I would like to look for abandoned plants, especially on tracts which are up for sale for "development."

we have a lot of feral trees around here, along the pastures and at old homesites. Spring, with the blossoms, is a good time to wander around and make note of the trees, you can tie a ribbon on them.
The USGS topo map for my area(at least an older paper one at the library) has the old original homestead sites marked as little squares.

We have raised 90% of the seed for the US here for years .. desert with Snake River water diverted and used for irrigation .. no disease.

The pea fields are "rouged" when half grown to pull out the plants that are not uniform .. much like our democracy trims us through different methods.

One geneticist asked his teenagers .. workers .. to flag and call him if they saw any mutants. Thus the sugar snap pea.

If .. you rescue an outstanding tree or plant .. keep in mind this could be the last of this species. Handle with care and wisdom .. propagate, protect and save.

Trafalgar Square in London is dedicated to a young student .. horribly introverted .. but observant. In war .. he never "played fair." At the battle of Trafalgar off Gibraltar .. he saw the crest of ships .. France, Spain etc. lined up to fight his small fleet in the early morning light. He hoisted his flag and the other captains rowed over. He told them to form two lines of ships and they would sail up the rear .. stop and go two on one of the enemy.

The smoke cleared after the first stop .. they pulled out of the smoke to take on the next group .. and the seas were empty. Lord Nelson.