Acorns and hickory nuts.

**alleyyooper** · #1 09/19/13, 05:46 AM

Hickory nut trees are so loaded with nuts this year, like the apple and pear treas the branches are breaking. With the apples and Pears it is the shear weight but with the hickory nuts it is the weight along with any wind near 10 MPH. I'll get a good supply to crack this winter.

I just shipped 25 pounds of acorns from red oak mostly but some pin oaks and burr oaks too. I had been asked last fall if I could ship some but the crop last year was awful.
I said I would try to get some this year, I cleared all the leaf litter from under about 6 of my oaks this spring with the intentions of waiting thill a good drop then use the shop vac and gen set to suck up a bunch. HA never thought about the competion from the squirrels, deer and turkeys. Easy pickins for them with noleaf litter to deal with.

I just starte filling my pockets from around other trees when I took the new pup for a walk, she likes them too.

Al

HappyYooper · #2 09/19/13, 07:08 AM

Same here Alleyyooper! Trouble is the critters are getting the hazelnuts before ME

We also had a bumper crop of choke cherries! Wine & jelly YUM!!!

1shotwade · #3 09/19/13, 08:50 AM

I hope this doesn't make me sound dumb but you said you shipped 25# of acorns? I've never heard of a market for them. Are you selling them somewhere?Are you shipping to people you know and if so what do you/they use them for?I have made crust from them once you get the tannin reduced but didn't know they were in wide spread use. Thanks.

**alleyyooper** · #4 09/20/13, 05:52 AM

Reforestation shelter belt project is what they are going to be used for.
Last year he recieved several hundred wall nuts to plant. they did very well with the wet spring most of the midwest had.

Thorn apples are dropping now so you have to watch for turkey crap when walking near them. Also be aware they will stay to the last minute and scare the bejabbers out of you when they fly off.

Al

1shotwade · #5 09/20/13, 06:07 AM

Sounds like a pretty neat project! Thanks for replying back. It's uplifting to find out about things like this!

credee · #6 09/20/13, 07:20 AM

could you get the correct size mesh wire netting,( or overlap some sheets of larger mesh, to reduce the size,) suspend a foot iabove the ground, put sides on it, and keep out the critters in that manner? the nuts fall down where the animals can't reach them. COULD even use the pen/nuts as bait, with each of the sides tapering towards the center of each side, an opening at the center, with a box trap sitting inside of the pen, at each opening. :-) check it often, of course, and have a bottom on the traps. if you see where they've dug under the fence, you'll have to lay some horizontal wire out on the grass, at the bottom outside of the fence.

**alleyyooper** · #7 09/21/13, 05:54 AM

Was OK to just carry a shoulder bag (like city news boys use) and walk the pup from tree to tree and pick up what is down 3 times a day. I was getting 2 gallon pails full in 2 days.

Al