When is green too green?

[Mozark]

Made it back to north Mo for a quick visit and to gather a few bur acorns to grow. Out of maybe 15-20 burs on the property, this tree was...nuts! My question is, are they mature and viable after a period of drying? They are still a bit green. I will not have a chance to make it back.

 

[buckdeer1]

Did you float test them?

 

[Mozark]

Did you float test them?

Not yet, trying to get my hives through, I will tho, thankyou

 

[Teeder]

I think they're fine. I had to pick sawtooth and English off the trees last night or there wouldn't have been any left.

 

[Angus 1895]

They look good to me.

 

[j-bird]

I actually prefer to have the green fading to brown ones.... Float test them and keep and plant the sinkers. My experience with picking acorns (and I understand that some are different than others) is that if you can get the acorn to come free from the cap is when I hold the cap end in my hand and I can use only my thumb to apply pressure to the acorn and it pops loose fairly easily. If you remove the cap and it tears away part of the acorn in the process.....they are not ready. On acorns like bur oak, I will use a pocket knife and remove what I can of the cap (without cutting the acorn) and try the same thing. I also prefer to get them directly off the tree if possible. I have a far greater "floater" rate when I gather them off the ground. Its also keeps me from looking like a crazy person in public! Yes...I have crawled around on my hands and knees in public places collecting acorns in a mcdonalds bag before. People just look at me like, "That poor man, he has lost his mind!"

 

[Mozark]

I actually prefer to have the green fading to brown ones.... Float test them and keep and plant the sinkers. My experience with picking acorns (and I understand that some are different than others) is that if you can get the acorn to come free from the cap is when I hold the cap end in my hand and I can use only my thumb to apply pressure to the acorn and it pops loose fairly easily. If you remove the cap and it tears away part of the acorn in the process.....they are not ready. On acorns like bur oak, I will use a pocket knife and remove what I can of the cap (without cutting the acorn) and try the same thing. I also prefer to get them directly off the tree if possible. I have a far greater "floater" rate when I gather them off the ground. Its also keeps me from looking like a crazy person in public! Yes...I have crawled around on my hands and knees in public places collecting acorns in a mcdonalds bag before. People just look at me like, "That poor man, he has lost his mind!"

If you have crawled on the ground, collecting acorns with a mcdonalds bag.....you might be a habitat guy

 

[BuckSutherland]

^^^I collected some swamp white oak acorns last week and put them into a Burger King bag along a busy road. The guys at the auto shop where the trees are had a good laugh at me. I had to pick mine off the tree. They were still pretty green. Then yesterday I loaded about 50-60 of them into a ziplock bag filled with peat moss and mailed them to a HT member's PO Box in Idaho. I got the look at the post office too. Floated test about 25 for myself and had around 75% sinkers. Hoping to get back in a week or two and check if that percentage goes up.

 

[j-bird]

If you have crawled on the ground, collecting acorns with a mcdonalds bag.....you might be a habitat guy

Once I had a cop stop and ask me if I needed help. It was on the corner of a busy intersection on my hands and knees like a damn dog just minding my own business, so I assume someone called me in as "someone escaped the looney bin". The officer asked what I was doing and if I needed help. I told the officer that if he wanted to "help" that was fine. I told him I had a bag for him too! He walked over , gave me a funny look, as I showed him my paper bag had acorns in it and NOT drugs and he just laughed. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him. I am collecting acorns to plant for wildlife. He told me that I looked like some crack head that lost his fix! I told him that he should have known better...because I have too many teeth, I didn't have a back pack or a bicycle - 'cause we know nothing goes together with toothless tweakers like back packs and bicycles!! He got a real good laugh at that comment.... He just shook his head and said something over his radio in police talk and he walked away.

So to say that I have no pride is an understatement. Between this little episode and the time I was mistaken as a homeless man by the local wendy's store manager.... Makes my wife so proud!

 

[j-bird]

^^^I collected some swamp white oak acorns last week and put them into a Burger King bag along a busy road. The guys at the auto shop where the trees are had a good laugh at me. I had to pick mine off the tree. They were still pretty green. Then yesterday I loaded about 50-60 of them into a ziplock bag filled with peat moss and mailed them to a HT member's PO Box in Idaho. I got the look at the post office too. Floated test about 25 for myself and had around 75% sinkers. Hoping to get back in a week or two and check if that percentage goes up.

Yep - I have had the discussion as well at the post office.

Postal worker - "Whats in the box?"
Me - "Acorns."
Postal worker - "What?!?!?" (confused look on their face)
Me - "Acorns. You know....nuts off of oak trees?"
Postal worker - "Ummm...Ok...I guess..." (look on their face like I am the weird one)
Me - (in my head thinking....at least I know what a damned acorn is....Mr. "Federal Employee"!)

Yep - been there, done that....

 

[Mozark]

I see what you mean, lot less floaters with the acorns from the tree

 

[PatinPA]

Haha I took the dog for a walk the other day and stuffed my pockets full of red oak acorns from a nearby church parking lot. I'm still finding some that I missed getting out and planting. Did the same with white oaks at my place. They keep falling on the road and getting smashed so I was wondering around picking the good ones up off the road. Good thing about 5 cars go past there a day.

 

[Angus 1895]

I didn’t have to float test these. The group helped me identify them as scarlet oaks.

these sure aren’t as big growers as the others I started this year.

 

[PatinPA]

Also found that a farm down the road from me has a chestnut tree growing along the road. I stopped and grabbed a few but the nuts are small and thin. Will they be viable?

 

[Troubles Trees]

I am always happy to see I am not the only one that is Nuts, you guys make me feel normal hahaaa.

I work at a SUNY college here in NY and my fellow workers have accused me of taking the acorns home for bait, I always reply "that would be a waste of acorns! Plant them and they will come years from now"

 

[PatinPA]

My daughter laughed when she got in my truck last night. "Why do you have acorns in your cupholder?" I said "Well there's actually chestnuts and milkweed pods in there too" Also a can of camo paint and empty battery boxes on the floor.

Anybody know if these chestnuts are viable? They seemed to all be like this. They're fairly soft.

 

[goatman]

Not viable. Unpollinated.

 

[OakSeeds]

what goatman said .....

 

[PatinPA]

Not viable. Unpollinated.

Are chestnuts self-pollinating? I have one growing naturally on my property but it's pretty small yet. The one at that farm is pretty good sized.

 

[Teeder]

They need another pollinator.