Greg wrote:
> Also, for a good source of new/different/foreign plants to add to your
edible
> landscape, I would suggest you get a copy of Oregon Exotic's catalog. Some
> amazing and weird stuff in there...
Thanks. I'll look into it.
> Second, I have a real dumb question about your tree-seed propogation. Are
> there any special steps in planting nuts, acorns, etc. like putting them
in cold
> storage for a year, or is it not that complicated?
"There's no such thing as a dumb question" (when it's sincere).
More than half of our young trees have been planted by the birds. They
either drop them (Crows and Walnuts) or poke around for a good spot to
stick them (Jays and Acorns). I have tried both casual planting and
starting them in pots. I have better luck in the pots because I can give
them a little more care. I do nothing more than stick the seeds in the
soil and water occaisionally, although I often attempt to make the soil a
little richer and fluffier. I prefer to find just sprouted nuts and plant
those - much higher success rate.
> I'd like to try and
> propogate from seed some nice english walnuts this year but not sure how the
> handle the nuts/seeds. Just bury them and wait perhaps? The young english
> carpathian walnuts were grafted trees so Im not real sure what exactly
I'd get
> from their seed. I also have some nice old shag bark hickories that would be
> nice to grow some new seedlings from - tons of nuts here.
The crows successfully grow both black walnut and english walnut, but I
couldn't tell you for sure that the english walnut grows true. I think it
does but the root stock (black walnut) is hardier or more disease resistant.
> p.s. What is your approx location/climate, I cant remember...
Here's more than you probably wanted to know:
Sebastopol, California is 50 miles north of San Francisco. Our two acre
property is in the coastal hills (250 ft. elevation, near the top of a low
hill), 15 miles from the ocean which brings moderating effects like fog and
cooling breezes. Zone 9? (Sunset Western Garden Book's zone 15) Snow
unheard of, but visable on mountain tops sometimes. Lows to mid or upper
20's a few times a year. Highs to 100 a couple times a year. Large daily
temperature swings. Currently, 40's or 50's to 70's or 80's. In the
winter, 30's or 40's to 50's or 60's. 30 inches of rain per year; all
between October and June, most between December and February. Citrus grow
if protected. Sebastopol is famous for Gravenstein apples and has a
history of fruit production (esp. apples, cherries, berries).
Let us know what you are up to.
Eric:
