nut and seed trade 2014

[non-pro-archer]

I would like to add that even if they sink, they may still have weevils, which are a small worm like bug that eat the inside of acorns. If you find acorns that have a small round hole in the hull, those are sure to have them, don't even bother bringing them home because they will get in all the acorns that you have together. I had them in a container of white oak acorns last year that I had float tested before storing and none of them would sprout when I wanted to plant because there were weevils in all of them

 

[CAS_HNTR]

I would like to add that even if they sink, they may still have weevils, which are a small worm like bug that eat the inside of acorns. If you find acorns that have a small round hole in the hull, those are sure to have them, don't even bother bringing them home because they will get in all the acorns that you have together. I had them in a container of white oak acorns last year that I had float tested before storing and none of them would sprout when I wanted to plant because there were weevils in all of them

Listen to this advice.......I had a shipment of gambel acorns that were BAD! All were ruined!

 

[nwmn]

Listen to this advice.......I had a shipment of gambel acorns that were BAD! All were ruined!

ouch, not what you'd want to encounter when getting to plant them the basement!

 

[nwmn]

I have never done it before so I do not know. I was thinking about starting a thread and hopefully get some input from the people that have.

I hate to be a freeloader with nothing to offer in return, but if you had some spare seeds from both dolgo and chestnut crabs I'd try them out this winter and see if I can get some to grow. If they don't grow true to name that's fine, as they'll be food for something.

 

[West Branch]

I hate to be a freeloader with nothing to offer in return, but if you had some spare seeds from both dolgo and chestnut crabs I'd try them out this winter and see if I can get some to grow. If they don't grow true to name that's fine, as they'll be food for something.

Fine with me!

 

[sandbur]

All I do with apple and pear seeds is put them in a ziploc and through 'em in the fridge for a couple months. Check the bag every now and then to make sure it isn't getting full of condensation, if it is...open the bag up or just put them in a new bag.

As to the question about chestnut crabs growing true to seed...I don't think so. I even have doubts about dolgo growing true to seed even though it is commonly stated they do. You'll end up with an apple that looks like a dolgo, but they aren't the same as a grafted dolgo IME.

Agreed.

On the dark side, I have a thread on starting crab apples from seed. Look at the Fruit tree resource to find it.

My method is to put seed in pots, cover with 1/4 inch of sand , bury them in the garden for the winter. Put a 1/4 inch screen over them to keep the mice out.

You can bring the pot in the house for an early start on growth.

I have some trees that I collected seed from in 2007, germinated in 2008. Two of those trees had fruit in 2013 and about 5 had fruit this year.
Some dolgos resemble the parent trees, some don't as far as fruit production.

The fastest growing seedlings produced fruit the quickest. I would recommend forgetting those that are slow growers by the first mid summer and concentrate on the fast growers.

 

[sandbur]

I am hoping to collect some crabapple seeds this weekend. Hopefully quite a few of them. All from zone 3.

#1 seems like a dolgo - pic is pretty poor quality, they are from an old tree in the farm yard that produces a ton every year. Lost a large branch in a storm 2 years ago.



#2 seems like a chestnut crab maybe? Picture is from Aug 23. Apple is probably 2 inches.



I may also collect some bur oak acorns depending on how many I find.

The second one looks like a chestnut crab. My chestnut crabs are about 3/4 done dropping. It is the best tasting apple in my world.

 

[buckvelvet]

I have about 15 100+ year old English White Oaks that produce mammoth crops every year and my woods is littered w/ all the acorns right now, if anyone would like some of them i'll gladly gather some up for you. I do have some swamp whites also but mostly they are English.

 

[nwmn]

nwmn...I can get you some seed from this wild crab if you want some. View attachment 2125View attachment 2126 View attachment 2127

I'll gladly try them out for you! would the same method used for these crabs be used for wild plums?

 

[non-pro-archer]

That is some really good information

 

[CAS_HNTR]

I have a bunch of reds starting to come down......hope to have some swamp white and white. I will also have a bunch of bur oak acorns.

Id like anything really......preferred would be chinese chestnuts, persimmon, pear, wild fruits, hazelnut, or anything that critters like!

 

[CAS_HNTR]

By pear I meant plum......but I like pears too! Haha

 

[CAS_HNTR]

For those with English oaks....any idea how long it takes for them to start bearing?

From what I have heard its the only bad thing about them......slower to produce when compared to others. I have heard 15 years but I dont have first hand experience. I still want to get some going!

 

[buckvelvet]

Yes they do take longer to establish nuts but when they produce its BIG crops and its a white that is largley sought after by the critters we all seemed to be obsessed with. I can take pics of my trees if ya want. I have some that are 15 feet that have nuts so they can't be 'THAT' old, right?

 

[buckvelvet]

More info posted on that 'other' board from 2012 by paleopoint. http://www.qdma.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-49371.html

 

[West Branch]

Wild plum seeds anyone? I am going to try making some jelly and grow some myself. I haven't even attempted to count how many there are, 20+ lbs probably. These came from trees that produced a ton of plums in zone 3b after a record cold winter so should be very hardy! Maybe?? Pretty small plums though.

 

[West Branch]

Those look about "normal" sized for what I'm used to with wild plums. They should make a heck of a jelly :D Do you have pitter of some sort?

I wasn't sure on the size so that makes sense. I will be using a mehu-maija (or mehu-liisa) Finnish steam juicer to get the juice for the jelly. My mother has always used one of these for apples, grapes, rhubarb and other stuff. Works pretty darn good. I am hoping the heat won't affect the pits. I will cut the plums in half so the juice comes a bit better.

http://www.amazon.com/Euro-Cuisine-...d_sbs_k_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JN4DZXS95BPV60MEG4T

It also works great for apple sauce, you can drain the apple juice for jelly or whatever you want and use the leftovers in the steamer basket to make the apple sauce.

 

[nwmn]

between the acorns and those plums I'm sure the bears are in heaven in your area!

 

[chickenlittle]

I would like to add that even if they sink, they may still have weevils, which are a small worm like bug that eat the inside of acorns. If you find acorns that have a small round hole in the hull, those are sure to have them, don't even bother bringing them home because they will get in all the acorns that you have together. I had them in a container of white oak acorns last year that I had float tested before storing and none of them would sprout when I wanted to plant because there were weevils in all of them

At a nut growers workshop this summer, I heard of treating the chestnuts after harvest to kill weevils. The nuts are soaked in 120F water for 20 minutes. This is warm enough to kill the eggs and larvae without hurting germination. A description of the process can be found here on the American Chestnut Foundation website http://www.acf.org/Q&A.php#8. I would guess this could work for acorns too.

 

[non-pro-archer]

At a nut growers workshop this summer, I heard of treating the chestnuts after harvest to kill weevils. The nuts are soaked in 120F water for 20 minutes. This is warm enough to kill the eggs and larvae without hurting germination. A description of the process can be found here on the American Chestnut Foundation website http://www.acf.org/Q&A.php#8. I would guess this could work for acorns too.

It would probably be worth trying if it would save someone a headache