Notes from Windward: #68

 

Oregon White Oaks

Jay prepares oak seedlings for distribution


     We have a lot of Oregon White Oaks on our property. These trees coppice which means that when the trunk is cut down, the established root system grows several other trunks instead of dying.
an established root system sprouts new trunks
  


     Trimming back a trunk will promote the growth of several other trunks. It is important to pick a tree that will coppice instead of one that won't when cutting down trees to use on the land. In moderation of course, but this way the tree can renew quickly with an established healthy root system. It is better if the trunk is cut down in the Fall after the growing season instead of in the summer or spring because the sugars are rushing up the tree to grow. Unless you want the sugar content in the trunk, like when growing mushrooms.

     Gina happens to be allergic to Oregon White Oaks, so I spent the day digging up the new acorns that have started to sprout around her homeplace along with the ones that had already rooted from the season before.

young oak seedling
  


     Rummaging through the acorns I noticed that many of them had been drilled through by an insect.

acrons with worm holed hulls
  


     I cracked them open with a hammer and inside, a white beetle larvae was inside each of them.

an acron grub
  


     I'm not sure what kind of beetle this is but they were in over 50% of the acorns that I picked up in one area.

     I wetted a paper cloth with water from the aquaponic tank and placed two trees in a plastic bag and tied them off together above the seed that was still attached.

  


     These will be ready to hand off to people that come to a presentation, donate, help out, or will be around to promote the biomass project! Plant a tree!


Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 68