Best way to direct seed

[Rally1148]

Hey all,

I have some SWO and other oaks that I'm trying to direct seed. What do you all do for site prep (if anything), and how deep do you plant them? Do you use tubes right now or wait until they come up? Anything for rodent control?

 

[Shedder]

I am not sure there is a best way but I have planted lots of SWO by placing the seed an inch or two under ground. I didn't do anything else. I have 4-8 deer per sq mile which helps.

Be sure to mark your seed well otherwise they are very hard to find. I am planning on wire with bright duct tape this year.

Be advised that it can take until Sept for them to sprout.

https://www.qdma.com/forums/showpost.php?p=798643&postcount=25

Note the above, too.

 

[Rally1148]

You can call me nuts but, I decided to try a different way of planting white oak acorns this fall. Instead of collecting, keeping them in my fridge, planting in tubs or pots and then caring for them a year. I'm saving all that time.

I'm collecting them and going along the areas I want them to grow and tossing out the nuts in the woods. The areas I'm throwing them are void of squirrels now because of lack of nuts and apples.

I've thrown out 3 gallons of nuts in these areas. They are spread out in different areas as well so critters and deer might find some but, hopefully not all. If 5% take this fall and start growing then I'll be happy. 20 minutes picking them up and 30 minutes of planting. Probably won't work but, for me it's going to give me more time with other projects next year. Some of the nuts had already started to pop a radicle. Hopefully Mother Nature lets some survive. If these weren't free I'd be popping a hole with a rod and sticking them in it.

I'd do that, except I don't have that many. I've got maybe 50 nuts total.

 

[Rally1148]

Rally,

If you can afford tubes then plant the tube with a couple inches dirt outside and drop the nut in and cover it as well.


If you can't afford tubes then take a rod or stout stick. Push a hole an inch or two deep. Put the nut in the hole and step on the top of the hole to cover the nut. I'd take forestry flags and put them in next to the hole. I've got some 5 years old that are still viewable.

Will do!

 

[Shedder]

You can call me nuts but, I decided to try a different way of planting white oak acorns this fall. Instead of collecting, keeping them in my fridge, planting in tubs or pots and then caring for them a year. I'm saving all that time.

I'm collecting them and going along the areas I want them to grow and tossing out the nuts in the woods. The areas I'm throwing them are void of squirrels now because of lack of nuts and apples.

I've thrown out 3 gallons of nuts in these areas. They are spread out in different areas as well so critters and deer might find some but, hopefully not all. If 5% take this fall and start growing then I'll be happy. 20 minutes picking them up and 30 minutes of planting. Probably won't work but, for me it's going to give me more time with other projects next year. Some of the nuts had already started to pop a radicle. Hopefully Mother Nature lets some survive. If these weren't free I'd be popping a hole with a rod and sticking them in it.

That can work but I saw a study somewhere that the returns are very low.

Last week I put a bucket in a tree with some red oak acorns to see if the jays will plant them. They will do a better job that broadcasting them. There was a nature show on a while back talking about bird brains. They described jays on some CA islands that plant 6000 acorns per bird and eat 1/3 of them. A big win for the oaks. Blue jays do the same.

 

[Shedder]

I used flags like these

http://www.baselineequipment.com/2-frac12-x-3-frac12-flag-wire-staff

I just spent 2 hrs making 80 flags. I wish I had those prices here.

 

[Shedder]

You can call me nuts but, I decided to try a different way of planting white oak acorns this fall. Instead of collecting, keeping them in my fridge, planting in tubs or pots and then caring for them a year. I'm saving all that time.

I'm collecting them and going along the areas I want them to grow and tossing out the nuts in the woods.

http://eatonrapidsjoe.blogspot.ca/2015/09/chuckit-14s.html

Tested with walnuts

"Unfortunately, the walnuts rolled after contact. Fortunately, they left behind physical evidence of where they impacted the pavement. The median distance for the hand-thrown walnuts was 29 paces.

The median distance for the chucked walnuts was 68 paces...more than twice as far as the hand-thrown nuts."

"One can use this tool to plant smaller seeds if one mixes the smaller seeds with clumping kitty litter and form round dirt clods of the proper sizes. Also, one can launch small fruit....persimmons, plums, large crab apples, etc.... with the seeds still in the fruit."

Go for it.

 

[Shedder]

blue jays planting nuts.

 

[Shedder]

Last week I put a bucket in a tree with some red oak acorns to see if the jays will plant them. They will do a better job that broadcasting them. There was a nature show on a while back talking about bird brains. They described jays on some CA islands that plant 6000 acorns per bird and eat 1/3 of them. A big win for the oaks. Blue jays do the same.

It seems the bucket test failed. No action in 2 weeks. Oddly enough ones I left under the oak on a stump were also untouched. It may the small acorn crop this year has jays focused elsewhere.

I threw some into the cut and left the rest on a stump.

 

[j-bird]

I collected a few acorns from my folks place - mostly northern red oaks (white oak acorns of any type are pretty scarce in my area this year) - I float tested them and then took a walk in the woods. When I would find some soft ground I would use the wooden broom handle I use as a walking stick to punch a small hole and place the acorn in the hole and stomp closed. Planted roughly 100 pretty quickly - I have no idea if they will make it, but for an hour or two it's worth a shot.

Just an observation - I have 2 squirrels right now and they loved to eat the green acorns much more than the brown ones. Not sure why, not sure if they where even the same type, but all where float tested. I wonder if deer have a similar reaction?