Re: acorns!
At 12:42 PM 2/24/01 +0000, loretta gerity jacobs wrote:
>My squirrels have been unable to keep up with the hundreds of these fallen
>acorns. Perhaps they don't actually get much "down" time, as the dog is
>always chasing them back up into the trees. Yesterday I hand sifted 2 - 5
>gallon barrels full of them out of compost. Most had sprouted. I think
>it's pretty much a wasted effort , as there are so many more.
Loretta -
You might try and modify your composting situation. If you have space, go
ahead and compost these acorns mixed in with oak leaves and twigs. Add
whatever other compostables you can find to sped the process along. When
the acorns are sprouting, cover the whole with plastic to overheat (clear)
or starve them of light (black). These dying seedling should also compost
down after their demise. When you wish to use the compost, shovel it into
a separate pile through a soil sifter (the proper sized hardware cloth
mounted in a wooden frame, supported like a table on legs) to hold back any
acorns still uncomposted (i.e. throw these back onto the original pile when
done sifting).
You might also see if the local chapter of the CNPS is interested in your
specific types of oaks (sounds like you have at least a couple) and would
like to collect acorns for their projects(?).
Good luck!
Sean O.
h o r t u l u s a p t u s - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
Sean A. O'Hara fax (707) 667-1173 sean.ohara@groupmail.com
710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
