Its acorn time again! Like little brown apples they drop into my
hand with just a touch. I slip them into a bag. 2013 has been a
good year for acorns. Half the oaks in my plantation have a crop,
and easily reached. Different trees ripen at different times in October.
The deer fence did its job. With
no deer, loaded branches like crinolines touch the ground. Only the tops
of the trees are out of my reach. Those acorns will supply the wildlife.
The oaks are 13 years old, there are 250 of them, all children of
the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest. I usually collect about 500 acorns
on each visit. Back home, put them into a bucket of water. The floaters
are thrown out for the birds. The sinkers put into a mesh bag and mixed
with sawdust from a pet shop. Dampen the sawdust, and put the bags
into an old fridge in the garage. Acorns need winter cold to germinate.
Eight bags of acorns and sawdust and the fridge is full. Roots should
start to grow in December. Then put the growing acorns into plant pots,
or straight into the ground. My plantation is full of oaks, so I'm
going to try planting an oak hedge 400 yards long!
Crop for 2013 |
Germinating acorns
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