Acorns

[nwmn]

Well - I have a project of roughly 6 acres I planned to direct seed acorns to create a savannah style area and a riparian buffer. I have been out collecting but my local bur oak produced a ton last year but barely any this year. I'm looking for some northern latitude acorns if anybody in the group knows of some hot spots to collect. Or, if you've collected and have a surplus I would be willing to travel or pay for shipping and collection.

 

[jsasker007]

Are you looking for any specific types? RED? WHITE?

 

[homerj]

Any parks or graveyards around? Lots of times the acorn crop can vary quite a bit in relatively short distances.

 

[b116757]

I could get you bur oak acorns no problem but I’m in zone 6. I have a Bur in the yard that throws smallish acorns for around here or I can collect some giant ones if you prefer. Here is a spectacular example of the larger ones at the college my wife works at.

 

[b116757]

Honestly I don’t plant Bur oaks around here for the deer I have a hard time believing they can eat those big ones like that but I could be wrong maybe I’ll collect some and put in front of the camera this year and just see if I can catch them eating those at all. That one is the max size I generally see but 50cent piece size would be pretty common.

 

[nwmn]

Are you looking for any specific types? RED? WHITE?

Bur oak is the predominant subspecies here, I have seen northern red oak about 20 miles south of us.

White oak hybrids are ideal for their vigor and less susceptible to disease according to my forester... or even pin oak/northern red oak would be good.

 

[nwmn]

I could get you bur oak acorns no problem but I’m in zone 6. I have a Bur in the yard that throws smallish acorns for around here or I can collect some giant ones if you prefer. Here is a spectacular example of the larger ones at the college my wife works at. View attachment 68020

WOW! That's a monster! Sure, I'll take a few off your hands if you don't have a use for them. Feel free to Pm me and we can figure something out!

 

[nwmn]

Any parks or graveyards around? Lots of times the acorn crop can vary quite a bit in relatively short distances.

Yes, I creepily drove through a park called 'oakland park' and didnt see any in the canopy. Drove down streets that usually are prolific nut bearers but haven't been able to locate any. I did find one giant tree right on the woods edge that has tons of acorns (relative to current years' productoin) and i took the mower and scalped the drip line so I can try and collect once they start dropping. Last night I was only able to collect a few but plenty of sticks lol.

Last year we had the biggest acorn crop i've ever seen so i expected this but remained hopeful. Deer didnt touch my corn, sugar beets or brassicas due to the abundance of acorns and easy access to them with our mild winter.

 

[nwmn]

I'm willing to travel to collect if there are reports of abundance within reason from NW MN. I know people on here know what I'm looking for, vs the people that reply on facebook groups. They see acorns in their driveway and will tell you they have a bunch, when in reality it's a below average yield.

 

[jsasker007]

Pretty sure that deer prefer white oak over red oak acorns.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I live in MN but own property in MO. This is the least amount of acorns I have seen in as long as I have been paying attention. This goes for both MN and MO.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Yes, I creepily drove through a park called 'oakland park' and didnt see any in the canopy. Drove down streets that usually are prolific nut bearers but haven't been able to locate any. I did find one giant tree right on the woods edge that has tons of acorns (relative to current years' productoin) and i took the mower and scalped the drip line so I can try and collect once they start dropping. Last night I was only able to collect a few but plenty of sticks lol.

Last year we had the biggest acorn crop i've ever seen so i expected this but remained hopeful. Deer didnt touch my corn, sugar beets or brassicas due to the abundance of acorns and easy access to them with our mild winter.

Brings a smile

I "creepily" drove around a nearby Walgreens today for some early scouting of a known producing Bur Oak

bill

 

[T-Max]

Honestly I don’t plant Bur oaks around here for the deer I have a hard time believing they can eat those big ones like that but I could be wrong maybe I’ll collect some and put in front of the camera this year and just see if I can catch them eating those at all. That one is the max size I generally see but 50cent piece size would be pretty common.

All we have are bur oaks, and some of them get really big. Funny watching a doe munch on an acorn and it looks like she is chewing a tennis ball. They gobble them up regardless of size here.

 

[homerj]

Pretty sure that deer prefer white oak over red oak acorns.

White oaks would be borderline winter hardy in NWMN

 

[BuckSutherland]

Bur oak is the predominant subspecies here, I have seen northern red oak about 20 miles south of us.

White oak hybrids are ideal for their vigor and less susceptible to disease according to my forester... or even pin oak/northern red oak would be good.

I would think northern red oak and pin oak would do just fine by you. I am am between Leech Lake and Grand Rapids. I have lots of northern red oak. North towards lake Winni there is a lot of pin oak. My northern red oaks have a pretty respectable crop this year. Some of the trees in my area are prolific producers. Others produce much spottier crops. I would try to get some burr, northern red, pin and swamp white oak.



A few pics from last weekend. Not as good as last year, but still good. Gonna keep releasing my red oaks from the aspen. Lots of potential.

 

[b116757]

Canopy release of mature oaks and or pecan is the absolute best thing one can do to promote hard mast on their property for deer.

 

[BuckSutherland]

^^^

I couldn't agree more. All of my best producing oaks are getting full sun and are above the surrounding canopy. I have lots of nice trees 20-40 feet tall under the canopy of some aspen, basswood, maple, and ash. Those oaks never really have many acorns. I marked about 200 garbage trees with some fluorescent paint last weekend. I want to cut them down this winter, pile them up and burn them. I will fill in the openings with spruce, pine and cedar and let the oaks take off.

 

[356]

I live in MN but own property in MO. This is the least amount of acorns I have seen in as long as I have been paying attention. This goes for both MN and MO.

I'm just the opposite, as we live in MO and own property in MN. This is a high mast season at our place in NW Missouri. What is interesting is the acorns are dropping very early. I have not assessed the mast in MN.

 

[nwmn]

Brings a smile

I "creepily" drove around a nearby Walgreens today for some early scouting of a known producing Bur Oak

bill

Makes me happy knowing I'm not alone in acorn scouting lol!!

 

[nwmn]

I would think northern red oak and pin oak would do just fine by you. I am am between Leech Lake and Grand Rapids. I have lots of northern red oak. North towards lake Winni there is a lot of pin oak. My northern red oaks have a pretty respectable crop this year. Some of the trees in my area are prolific producers. Others produce much spottier crops. I would try to get some burr, northern red, pin and swamp white oak.



A few pics from last weekend. Not as good as last year, but still good. Gonna keep releasing my red oaks from the aspen. Lots of potential.


View attachment 68051View attachment 68052View attachment 68053View attachment 68054View attachment 68055

I have found one large open canopy grown bur oak that has a lot of small acorns. I had to scalp all the stuff growing underneath it to make collection easier. I think having more diversity in oak species would bode well for years where our bur oak acorns don't produce. I dont have a source for swamp white oaks, but i'd love to add them if I found some acorns.