Over the last few years, I’ve noticed several types of fruit that are plentiful in Far West Texas, seemingly without any type of care or attention. That comes as a surprise to me, living in the high desert where little more than cacti actually thrive.

Last year I was in line at Porter’s, and an adorable little girl walked up to me with a brown paper lunch sack.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Would you like some apricots? They’re free!”

She and her sisters were politely handing out bags of apricots to anyone who would take them. Apparently, they’d had a bumper crop, and wanted to share the wealth.

No sooner did I get home with those apricots than my neighbors brought me a bag of their homegrown apricots. Those apricots were the sweetest, most delicious little fruits.

We had a hole that needed to be filled, and decided to plant a fruit tree in it. I was torn between apple and apricot.

I started researching how to grow an apricot tree from the stone (pit), and saved every stone from my snacking. There are many steps to get a baby apricot tree started from a stone. You first have to scrub the skin off the stone, and let it dry for a number of hours. Then you have to use a hammer to crack open the rock-hard pit, and get to the delicate seed inside.

At some point, you have to freeze the seeds for 60 days. Then, you put them in a ziplock baggie with a wet paper towel in a sunny window, and watch for new life to sprout from the seeds.

Next, you can plant the sprouted seed in soil, and tend to it while it grows into a sapling. You can even grow them in containers. Then, in a mere three to five years, you should get your first apricot.