Walnuts and Oaks: Summer Field Notes

black walnuts growing in these oversized plug trays, about two or three months from planting

I keep the nuts in flats until they germinate and then plant into pots or plug trays, or sometimes into beds. I found after experimenting with air pruning beds, the type with a false bottom, that the walnuts developed a...

northern red oak growing in some flats

It's borderline cold hardy here in zone 3, the seed was...

acorns collected over a few days from one tree with a set of tarps

there's lots more to come...

american hazelnut ripe this week

we collect it for seed, will have it back in stock next month and...

this time of year I'm collecting fruit and nuts before wildlife finds them

don't worry, the deer and squirrels will be fine, lots left for them...

american hazelnut, this is all I could collect this year so will keep them to grow in the spring, won't be any extra

for the seed shop but I did grow our some trays of seedlings, will be able to ship in the fall sale...

black walnut in plug trays

I find they do well in these, similar to an air pruning bed it stops the tap root and fills the plug with a fibrous root system. I have some in ground as well, these ones are just as...

butternuts, the large nuts stay attached like a battery that drives initial growth

some of the nuts are slow to germinate so I keep them in bins in our root cellar, once they're sprouted they can get potted up. so far I prefer...

acorns still viable after storage for 10 months in refrigeration

These are white oak, and I ship them worldwide in an envelope. At this point I’m just selecting the sprouty ones, any that haven’t produced a small radical by now probably aren’t viable, acorns are...

air prune beds full of black walnuts, took the lids off this week

black walnut, japanese walnut, buartnut, butternut in a side by side comparison from left to right and butternut bottom

butternuts locally sourced in zone 3

first time growing, I find they take their time or just wait for warm weather to germinate. these are 4-8 weeks out of stratification in the greenhouse, just now steadily germinating. slower than the buartnut and...

on a walk found some early bur oak acorns

last photos are a 500 yr old oak that fell this year, acorns from nearby trees very likely are it’s seedlings over some...

oak leaves, think this is bur oak or a hybrid

field guides and inaturalist claim bur is the only oak species in southern manitoba. last photo are all leaves...

here I am next to a 500 yr old oak that recently fell in a storm, the base at the ground is at least 4ft wide

going to be a mast year for bur oak acorns

bur oak in it’s second year

Last year they needed a cage, now that the nuts are gone they’re safe from squirrel...

squirrel found the buffet

as expected I did hide a pile of nuts from him. So they will pull up plants to eat the nuts after germination, good to know. It’s about time build up the some walls for our beds with oak and...

bur oak a few days after germination

I’ve noticed our oak and hazelnut trees are still germinating, we had frost in the first week of June and it seems to make them wait. I mulched our beds again today and...

bur oak acorns planted in the fall are germinating

squirrel protection is holding up. I’ll wait a few weeks then take the mesh off, not sure yet how long they’re at risk from...

American hazel are just starting to ripen

good to collect these before the squirrels #hazelnuts...