Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Our oaks are producing a very heavy crop of acorns this year, and there is a steady rain of acorns onto our roof and porch, and we can also hear them on the roof next door. I have already raked up one barrow-load of acorns from the tree next to the house and spread them in the area which is mostly pine trees. At this rate I will probably have another 4-5 barrow-loads over the next month or so.

There is also a heavy crop of seeds on the dogwoods, but strangely there don't seem to be any seed pods on our big sweetgum, and none from last year either - sweetgum seedpods take two years to grow, fill, and then dry and fall off, and there don't appear to be either green or brown seed pods on the tree.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

It's a phenomal year. Apples - lots of wild apple trees and crab apples in the hedgerows and woods around us (northern New York State.) The crop of apples is at least 10x normal, to the extent that I'm seeing heavy crops on trees that don't even have any apples in other years. Butternuts - we have half a dozen big trees in the yard. They always have a fair number of nuts, this year much bigger crop than usual, it's been a problem with mowing.

Oaks too. For some reason, our chipmunk population lives at the front of the house, all the oak trees are behind the house. They choose to commute back and forth via our deck. If you're sitting on the deck, they'll literally walk over your feet if that's the shortest route. On the way back their little cheeks are filled with acorns.

Wild grapes are pretty good this year too...

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Interesting. Our household has recently been commenting on the opposite...a distinct lack, or significant reduction in normal levels. No apples at all on the trees this year. A noticeable very low level of seeds from the various trees in the yard. Nature never ceases to surprise!

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

why do you spread them?
I've got millions of the little sods in my lawn now and raking them up is a pita.

Has anyone used one of these Shop Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer at Lowes.com

I have also tried my garden vacuum but it's not great at picking them up.
I'm not great with an electric blower - I just manage to blow it all over the place.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Hopefully some of them will grow. :)

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

oh dear god, why would you want that??
I hate oak trees. They grow like weeds around here and since I've got at least 2 varieties, I end up raking up leaves twice a year.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

I like trees, except pine trees.

The large majority of trees I cut down are dead, damaged, diseased, dangerous, or dualed (two growing too close together), and in fairness, I usually leave the mature dead, damaged, or diseased ones for the woodpeckers to feast on unless they become dangerous.

Most pine trees are potentially fair game for my chainsaw, but even most of those that I have cut down so far have been dead or dangerous. ...... Cutting a snag/ widowmaker is a lot of fun. :blink: I felled one last winter, a mature 75ft pine snapped about half way up, and the top part horizontal and caught in another tree. :eek: Oh, and for good measure, it was a double trunk at the base, so couldn't be cut cleanly at the base - it had to be cut about 5ft above ground level, and with only one possible direction of fall. And it was my tree overhanging a neighbour's back yard. :scaredhair:

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

interesting tool , I was looking at a lawn sweeper Shop Sun Joe 26-in Lawn Sweeper at Lowes.com

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Same here. last year we were literally throwing many 100s of lbs of apples away... Too many even for the horses to get through.

This year I have not seen one apple off of those same trees.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

My in-laws used to have a sweeper of a similar design, but I don't know where it went to - maybe it's in the back of the shed somewhere. :unsure They left us all their tools and yard equipment after they left to go to Tennessee. :unsure:

I tried to use it once and found it to be fairly useless. I don't recall trying to pick up acorns or nuts with it, but I doubt it would be very effective. :unsure:

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

I enjoy encouraging oak trees. The second year we were in our house, 1998, I happened to notice an oak seedling in the lawn when I was mowing for the first time in the spring. Just a tiny twig with two leaves. So I got two canes, stuck them in the lawn to mark the location of the tree, and mowed around it. Now that tree is twenty feet high and growing fast. I've several other oaks that I've similarly encouraged .... most other trees I ruthlessly mow, tear up, strim etc. (box elders, white poplars, popples, spruce..)

[jeez, autocorrect... It corrected poplars to read Polaris??]

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

I'm with you. I hate pine trees and unfortunately, I live in the pine belt. The ground is littered with the shedded neddles. All bark and little green.

Love oaks and walnut trees. Friend has two black walnut trees on either side of her drive. People come to the door wanting to buy them :ohmy:

My neighbor has two lovely mature mulberry trees. One overhangs a bit of our backyard and I get to rack their leaves for them :rofl:

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

We have a lot of pines on the mountains, mixed in with them are the usual trees who turn nice colors in fall, makes for a nice look. I like pines mostly because they keep some green and life around winter and look nice with snow.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Heavy acorn crop here along with black walnut, hickory and pecan.
The persimmon tree are fruiting very heavily, our apple yield was fair as was the peach and pear.
The paw paws seem yielding the least but they are always erratic.

Re: Acorns, nuts, and other seeds
 

Is this you?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xSf9eIMPSH...oo-Cartoon.jpg