Just for fun, here are a few apple stats. Then we’ll get to the meaning of the quotation.
- The only apple native to North America is the crabapple. Oh, well.
- It takes about 2 pounds of apples to make a 9-inch apple pie.
- There are 7,500 varieties of apples grown throughout the world. Seriously.
- 100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the United States.
- Apples are grown in all 50 U.S. states.
- The first apple trees in the United States were planted by the Pilgrims.
- Apple trees take 4-5 years to produce their first fruit.
- Apples were the favorite fruit of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Apples vary in the number of seeds they contain. It largely depends on the health of the fruit. But it’s safe to say that an apple generally contains from 4-10 seeds. That’s close enough for our purposes.
The average apple tree produces about 300 apples in a growing season. Let’s say that the average apple contains 5 apple seeds. So all things being equal, one apple tree will produce about 1,500 seeds per season.
Those 1,500 seeds will then potentially produce 450,000 apples, and another 2,250,000 seeds. Those 2,250,000 seeds will then produce…well…never mind. I’m sure you’re getting the picture.
So one seed from one apple has now produced some 2,250,000 MORE SEEDS. And of course, each SEED can produce another apple TREE—with each tree yielding hundreds of apples with seeds in each one.
The point is that even though it’s very easy to count the 1-10 seeds in an apple, it’s impossible to count how many apples will be produced from just ONE APPLE SEED. The amount is staggering and impossible to predict.
And so it is with life. We just don’t know what can come from very small seeds.
- The seed of one friendship made
- The seed of one letter sent
- The seed of one word of encouragement given
- The seed of one relationship started
- The seed of one habit formed
- The seed of one book read
- The seed of one trip taken
- The seed of one helping hand given
- The seed of one habit ceased
- The seed of one resolution made
Small and insignificant beginnings can yield huge results. And we often don’t know how, or where, or when they will. But knowing that so many apples can be produced from just one apple seed should encourage us all. The big outcomes don’t always start big. Sometimes they start small AND GROW. We should keep this in mind in those times when we feel discouraged, disillusioned, or doubtful. It can all change with the right investment. The right SMALL INVESTMENT. Small seeds can sprout and grow. They can yield amazing harvests. They often do.
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Copyright © 2018 by Samuel Rodenhizer
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Q: Do different types of apples have the same number of seeds? Why? We cut a Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and a California Granny Smith apple. All three had a different number but I don’t understand why. Could you please help me out?
A: If you were to cut an apple in half, cross-sectionally, ie. not through the stem end, you would find that an apple has 5 compartments or carpels. Each of these carpels should contain a seed in order for the apple to be full sized and well shaped as the seeds produce hormones which allow the fruit to develop.
Fruit which lack seed often abort from the tree in times of stress. Varieties can have more than one seed in each carpel depending on the health and vigor of the tree; the more healthy a tree the more potential seed the fruit can have per carpel. This is probably why the different varieties had different numbers of seeds. Trees with too many fruit and seeds can exhaust the stored food of the tree and thus fail to set a crop the next year.