6 February 07
Valley Oak Potting Party
Jim (pictured at left) says that even though it’s an El Niño year, it was a very bad year for acorns. He had to go beyond Lake Berryessa to find a stand of oaks with a lot of acorns. But once he did, he collected about 1,000.
He delivered about 250 to Tree Woodland; another 250 to the Audubon Farms program. That has left him with about 500 to plant. Oaks put out fearsome taproots that require a lot of length in a pot. Gallon milk cartons are ideal. Jim collects these from the cafes all over town, gets donations of compost.
Today we were transplanting the germinated oaks into their milk carton+compost homes. Jim’s kitchen is now a nursery. But this rate of success is high: about 5% loss at each stage. Better, though, by far, than just plonking acorns in the ground and hoping they grow (about 5% survival rate, there).
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Wow – look at all those acorn sprouts! very cool project – may they grow into mighty oaks, and all that!
p.s. I like the new banner calligraphy!
Thanks, Beth. The oaks need a good start and then they manage just fine. The first season’s critical…
Great to see some familiar faces! Did you know Pete (tall guy in the middle) is also a keen birder?
Richard — no, I didn’t! We’ll have to make sure he participates in the Yolo Breeding Bird Atlas…