a little gurilla gardening today..oaks

our oak (red) is dropping a ton of acorns now and they are dropping a lot on the road which are getting run over by cars..so before they can get run over i have been grabbing handsful (pocketsful) and taking them with me when I go on my walks in the moring..and tossing them (i'm NOT a good thrower unfortunately)..as far as I can into the woodsy hedgerows along the road..hopeing that they'll survive and grow. I have an oak I planted about 35 or so years ago from an acorn that has acorns on it this year for I believe the first time....so I'll be about 100 when these baby trees grow and produce, but hey..I can dream.

maybe some day there'll be so many oaks growing along the road they'll rename the road (Oak)

I remember the story from a couple years ago in the press.

At Oxford? , the old great hall/church needed the main beam replaced.
They looked for a 200 ft long beam everywhere, and had architects draw up plans for a metal replacement.

the old groundskeeper finally asked what was up with all the specialist types running around, and they told him about the dilemma they were trying to solve.

the groundskeeper drew himself up, and took the group outside.

there he pointed to a great oak growing beside the cathedral, and told the suits,

"thats why the groundskeepers planted that oak 150 years ago".

they had left instructions to prune it for a replacement beam.

now THAT is planning ahead

The Greeks have an old saying that:

The true measure of society is when you have old men planting trees, knowing that they will never sit under the shade of.

When squirrels bury the acorns in the ground it increases the likelihood that they become trees.

The other day I was out walking with the dogs in the yard and I noticed they were eating freshly fallen acorns off the ground.
Curious why the dogs would be eating acorns, I cracked one open and took a few bites.

Probably the only time in my life I've tasted a raw acorn and it tasted edible. Hardly any bitterness, slightly sweet with a texture of a peanut, and a slight nutty taste. I tasted a few others and they were equally edible.

I don't know if this would be due to the type of oak, or the growing conditions,etc.

some are more edible than others but all are edible..the more bitter ones can be made more edible by leaching out the bitterness..good ground into flour and added to muffins, pancakes..etc

Cris Bessette wrote:The other day I was out walking with the dogs in the yard and I noticed they were eating freshly fallen acorns off the ground.
Curious why the dogs would be eating acorns, I cracked one open and took a few bites.

Probably the only time in my life I've tasted a raw acorn and it tasted edible. Hardly any bitterness, slightly sweet with a texture of a peanut, and a slight nutty taste. I tasted a few others and they were equally edible.

I don't know if this would be due to the type of oak, or the growing conditions,etc.

It was probably a White Oak. The bark is a lot lighter than the Red type, and the acorns are usually quite large and have fewer tannins in them. I have a couple out back that I'm trying to sprout seedlings from... and if I get enough acorns I'm going to attempt to make a small batch of acorn flour!

You can never have too many good oak trees... did you know they evolve pretty quickly due to natural hybridization? xD

And the LUMBER... :'D The oak beams under my feet are nearly 100 years old and they bend the stoutest nails!!

you can go by the indian wars to identify your oaks...red oaks are pointy like arrows and white oaks are blunt and rounded like bullets..

Poison Oak gets healed from oak acorns?!

"While the season for poison ivy is just about behind us, the season for acorns is in full swing. Many people have heard that acorns can be eaten, and a few have actually put them in their mouths, only to spit them out while their faces puckered up. This is due to the tannic acid in the acorns, which much be leached out. To do this, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then dump in the shelled acorns. Let them boil until the water turns a dark color, then remove the acorns and put them into another pot of clean, boiling water. Continue this process until they no longer have the puckering effect when you chew on them. Then use them for snacks, grind into flour, or use any way you please. It is important to put them into boiling water for good-tasting acorns, as putting them into a pot of cold water, then bringing it to a boil tends to lock in the tannic acid. Don't throw out the water, as it is naturally astringent (contracts or tightens up tissues) and great for the skin. By now you might be curious how this relates to poison ivy. The connection is that acorn water is amazingly effective in eliminating it. A recent discussion with a quick-witted summer camp director from Pennsylvania confirmed my anecdotal evidence. I was informed that it had eliminated symptoms in 95% of cases at his camp within three days. The method used in this case was to pour the acorn water into ice trays and freeze, then rub the ice on the affected area. Cold also helps with inflamed tissues, making the ice an ideal delivery mechanism. If you grind the acorns into flour you can make delicious and nutritious acorn bread."

what you guys think about that?

That is amazing info! Thanks for sharing it! We have several large oaks on our property, so I'm going to try those things....