2020 Home Page (blog)
Each fall - for the past 20 years - I gather a few hundred acorns. Mostly from the streets, parks, and on my way to work at the UW-Madson campus. This spring I am digging two-year seedlings (~100) so I have room in the seedbed for the acorns collected last fall.
Due to the Corona Virus, we are uncertain how soon we will be able to travel to the farm so I am potting up these seedlings and will tend them in my garden for one more summer.
Dig seedlings; careful to get as much root as possible.
Trim root length to about a foot of good root.
Transferring seedlings into D50 pots for one more season in the nursery.
Red oak acorns need a period of cold (vernalization) before they sprout. I burried this 'holy' bucket in my compost pile for the winter.
I was fortunate to dig them now as they are just starting to sprout. The new root is the first to come out and if it is too long it will very likely break off while you're planting it.
These acorns are perfect; I can tell which ones are good and not risk damageing then in the move.
I've leveled the soil to within an inch of the top edge of the frame. They need to be close because I will be adding screening over them and I want their stem to grow up through this before they begin forming their first leaves.
I've added this second box frame over the seedbed to make this harder for them. The day after I set this all up, I noticed a hole had been dug next to the frame in an attempt to dig under. I added screening around the bottom of the frame and extending at least a few inches into the surrounding area.
The lower screen must be about an inch above the soil surface; too low and the squirrels will reach through it and pull up the seed -- actually eat it through the screen. Too high and the young sprout puts out it's first leaves below the screen and the whole seedling scrunches up and eventually gets shaded out or 'suffocated'.
This top section box was originally made to protect the seedlings after the first year of growth. After one season the new plants are about 6" tall and I like to remove the bottom screening (after the leaves drop in the fall). At this point there is still enough of the acorn attached to the seedling for the squirrels to eat. (At least they think there is and they will pull up the plant to see for sure.) So I've added this upper box/screen for the second summer.
You may ask why don't I just leave the bottom screen on for two years?
Thank you for asking. I'll have to think about that.