My Red Oaks are producing lots and lots of acorns this season....More than I've seen in over ten years.
Acorns by the ton
- Thread starter Marine5068
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The oaks 'round my place are having the smallest/lowest mast year I ever witnessed.
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regulate34
ArboristSite Operative
Wonder how they would burn in the stove once dry
brewmonster
ArboristSite Operative
I have mature white, red, and black oaks all around the house. This is by far the heaviest crop of acorns I've seen in the five years I've lived here. My GF won't sit on the deck without a hard hat!
L-O-L
The problem is in getting them "dry"... as in, 0% moisture content (not possible without oven drying) and keeping them that way.
Any moisture tends to become steam in the heat of a fire... and acorns sort'a become like mini fireworks when that happens.
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Lots of acors up here too. I decided to bag a whole bunch and take them home. I hope to get them growing on my property. Whats the best way to plant them? I was going to ask this question before I saw this post... I walked around my woods with a broken rake handle and popped a hole on the dirt ~4" deep. I then put an acorn in it and lightly covered the hole with soil. Will this germinate and grow any trees or am I just feeding the squirls and turkey? Suggestions?
thombat4
ArboristSite Guru
Wonder if there's anything to the notion of a really snowy winter when there's a ton of acorns produced...? And Marshy I don't see why your planting method wouldn't work...heck you're doin' what just the squirrels do and the acorns they forget about sure do sprout.
Well a friend of mine said they sprout on the surface and didnt think they would grow sub-soil like that... Maybe they dont need to be as deep IDK but I figured it would be worth a try. Im going to "seed" the crap out of the spot I have and hope in 30 years I have some nice oaks for firewood or milling. I've only been a land owner for 4 years and have a LONG way until retirement. The ash are on the way out and the the maples are next in line to fill the gaps. Might as well try to plant premo species...
There's actually a whole proper way to germinate acorns.
check out the link below...
http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-an-Oak-...w&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=related_test
check out the link below...
http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-an-Oak-...w&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=related_test
thombat4
ArboristSite Guru
They surely do sprout on the surface...my backyard can attest to that fact. So maybe you just need to go an inch or so below the surface.
I collected acorns several years ago in the fall and planted them in "hills" of 5 acorns. I did nothing special, just picked them up and planted them where I wanted them about 2 inches deep. The following spring all but maybe two or three germinated, I thinned the "hills" to the one strongest in late summer. Sadly, I should have protected them with chicken wire or some such... the deer munched them off during the next winter (except for one which is about 15 feet tall now).
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Same here in Vermont. Just for fun, I parked my truck under one of the trees (protecting the windshield) and listened to the sound of the acorns falling into the bed of the truck.
My Jeep Cherokee has always sat under a large Red Oak, but no need to protect the windshield...they are only acorns.
I hear the ping ping of them all Fall. Have for ten years now.
I just sweep off the nuts with my arm, jump in and head out down the road, crushing all the nuts as I leave.
LOL
I hear the ping ping of them all Fall. Have for ten years now.
I just sweep off the nuts with my arm, jump in and head out down the road, crushing all the nuts as I leave.
LOL
Thanks for that. I'm too busy to actually germinate them. I figured nature seems to do it well enough I will just help a little by putting them there. I will go a little shallower, maybe 1-2" sub soil. That will make the turkey and deer more happy.
Ash_403
Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.
I have a vegetable garden (about 30'x25') just SW of a 50' Pin Oak. Squirrels love this tree too. Every spring I have more Pin Oak saplings coming up in the garden than I can count. Most are due to the squirrels 'planting' them. Of course I can't have trees growing in my garden... I find that the acorns are all 1 to 2 inches deep.
I'd say that Marshys plan will work just fine, though take note to what Whitespider said in his post (#11).
Best of luck.
Oh, that Pin Oak is loaded this year too. I walk under it and it sounds like I'm walking on eggshells.
I'd say that Marshys plan will work just fine, though take note to what Whitespider said in his post (#11).
Best of luck.
Oh, that Pin Oak is loaded this year too. I walk under it and it sounds like I'm walking on eggshells.
Nope I have looked into this over last several years and found zero connection . Mild winters can have the most acorn production too
Cody
ArboristSite Guru
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I don't think the amount of acorns that have fallen are any different this year, they did seem to start falling earlier but I don't keep records by any means. The one thing I have noticed is some rather large ones, larger in diameter than a U.S. quarter, never seen that before but I'm young.
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
Yeah... they're like giant popcorn kernels just waiting for heat. Watch out if ya throw a bunch into an open outdoor fire.
I've had excellent luck germinating acorns here by throwing down a pile of them in a low spot where moisture accumulates then covering with leaves or mulch.
Nope. 4 years ago there were big piles of acorns everywhere. Average winter. Last year not so many acorns. Brrrr!!!
For a real good method to predict the winter, check this out:
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...-do-i-need-for-next-year.253943/#post-4733134
Same here with my big Bur Oak on top of the hill out back. Ground is completely covered with acorns! By far the most I've seen in the 20 years we've been here!
Thomud
ArboristSite Member
My oak has dropped a ton of acorns also. More then I ever remember in the 9 years I have been here. And the best way I know to grow them is just leave them in the gutter! Haha
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