You can establish nut trees by planting their seeds, grafting to an already established seedling or by plating the nut trees themselves. If you want to reduce or erase completely the possibility of unsuccessful transplanting a nut tree, then you need to choose the first way of establishing the tree, which is by planting their seeds. However, most of the nut tree species are not uniform genetically; therefore you may find variations in the characteristics of tress and nuts. The improved variety of nut tree can then be grafted to a seedling tree to be able to get all the trees of the same high standard.
So if you want to start the process of growing nut trees from seeds, there is one thing that you need to know, the nut seeds are of natural seed dormancy and this means that the dormancy needs to be overcome before the seeds can germinate. The easiest and simplest method in order to break the dormancy is to plant the seed during the fall. So, it is only about the perfect timing and a little bit more. We need to understand that by this time, there will be unwanted wildlife lurking in the garden trying to get as much food as possible for winter, therefore it is not unlikely that there would be mice and other wildlife which will try to take the seeds.
Protect the seeds by planting them about 2 inches deep in the ground. And then take a tin can and cut the bottom part, continued by cutting an inch hole at the top of the can. Push this can into the soil where the nut seeds are planted and then make sure that the top is level with the soil and the cut top is right over the seed. Mulch the can with straw but you should not forget to remove the mulch during the early spring. As for the tin cans, they will rust out in the weather, so you do not really need to remove them.
But if you use the aluminum cans, then you have to remove them as they can damage the seedling as they are girdling or confined. However, if you do the planting during spring, then the seed dormancy can be broken with another way, that is by placing the nut seeds in the damp peat moss. Remember that damp is not the same as soggy. Or the seeds can also be placed in sawdust and then placed in a plastic bag with a seal. Put the plastic bag in the refrigerator for about 6 to 12 weeks or can also be placed until it is time for you to plant.
