Traveling to Maine? Bring White Oak seeds

[Hughman]

I'd like to restore the white oak population to this corner of Maine. If you have white oak acorns to spare, I'd be obliged if you'd drop a load off on your way by.

email is on my profile.

Thanks in advance
Hugh

[Mike DeHart]

Where the heck is Goose River, Maine? Yahoo maps couldn't find it. Mapquest found three Goose Rivers in Maine, lined up along the coast from Belfast to Wiscassett.

Anyway, assuming you are in one of the three on the coast, you are not very far from Gardiner. As you drive south through Gardiner, on 201 if my memory is working, you go down in a valley, cross a bridge, up the other side, then the road jogs right to go around the town park. In that park is a large white oak. The acorns should be dropping now. I would send you some South Jersey acorns, but I still can't seem to grow them here. Good luck keeping the squrrels from digging them up. The little thieves have stolen almost every one I have planted.

[Bruce Hooke]

Could the squirrel problem be avoided by starting the trees in pots in a protective cage? Once they are well established they could then be set out in the desired locations. Paper pots that can be set into the ground would avoid the problem of the roots being distrubed by the transplanting process...

[Mike DeHart]

I started the first bunch in pots outside. Found a row of pots with holes and no acorns. Started the second bunch in pots inside. Many sprouted, but the missus forgot to water them and they all turned brown. (Somehow, her many houseplants did not turn brown...) Started the third bunch indoors. Many sprouted. Transplanted the best out back. A squirrel dug it up. Transplanted the next best and put chimney blocks around it for protection. Some critter found the chimney blocks make a good place to sit, except for the twig sticking up in the middle, and chewed it off flush. The rest suffered from being root bound in pots too small. Started the fourth bunch indoors, transplanted the best, protected it with chimney blocks and rat wire cover. It doesn't want to grow. I also planted several around the chimney blocks to see if they grew better. Only one sprouted and it sent up about 8 suckers, none of which turned into a tree.

I think I'll go gather another can of acorns this weekend.

[Venchka]

Good grief. I've got two live oaks in the front yard. I get seedlings all over the place. Can't stop them from growing. Mrs. Wayne insists that I pull them up about once a month. The Swamp will grow anything! :D

Wayne
Tired of cutting, pruning, trimming, etc. in the Swamp. :D

[bugeye]

Hi Hugh,
There are two beautiful white oaks on the side street next to the Puffin Stop in Rockland near the fire station, and a bunch in the woods near Beth's farm market in Warren. I'm sure you can find some acorns. Good luck. I got some White oak seedlings last spring from the Knox County Soil and water something or other. They have a sale at a farm down in Waldoboro every spring. I got a bundle of three for I think five bucks, and they've all done very well. I'm sure that I can find that info if you want it. Hope you're well.
Mike

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by Hughman:
I'd like to restore the white oak population to this corner of Maine. If you have white oak acorns to spare, I'd be obliged if you'd drop a load off on your way by.I can't help with the acorn problem — since I live in the land of evergreens :D

But I can help with inspiration.

You <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">should must, <span style="font-size:1.5em">must, <span style="font-size:2em;">must read The Man Who Planted Trees (in its original French: L'Homme qui plantait des arbres), by Jean Giono. Originally published in the March 1954 issue of Vogue magazine as The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness, when Vogue was still a serious magazine.

See http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/trees.html for more information. You can read a translation at http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nicholson/theman.html

I highly recommend the edition published by Chelsea Green (http://www.chelseagreen.com/1985/items/manwhoplantedcloth).

It was turned into a animated short in 1989, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Short. Chelsea Green also offers the video, as do the usual places (cf. Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002X0QE0/qid=1096518716/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3480731-4796665?v=gl ance&s=video), et al.) One commenter at the Internet Movie Database ("") said:
<span style="font-family:serif;">Where do I begin with this comment?

I could echo other commenters and describe the plot, which in no way will detract from the films' impact on a first-time viewer.

Or I could talk about the absolutely breathtaking animation, the beautiful backgrounds and incredible detail that make this one of the most visually arresting pieces&mdash;animated or live action&mdash;I have ever seen or ever expect to see in my life.

I could mention that Christopher Plummer's narration rings perfectly, blending with the animation so seamlessly as to make a whole vastly greater than its already stellar parts.

I could mention that this wonder is, at least in the U.S., shamefully out of print, unless I've missed it somewhere and I wonder why some organization interested in environmental concerns hasn't pushed for it to be in print, because it says what they say so eloquently that their point would be easy to make.

I could mention that it deservedly won the Academy Award for Animated Short and was selected as one of the fifty greatest animated shorts of all time in a poll of animators and film historians several years ago.

But I guess what I'll do is just state the obvious: I love this short, think it should be widely available and wish it were being shown in schools across the world.

Frederic Back is a supremely talented man and far too neglected. This may be his crowning achievement and, by itself, would justify his entire life in the sight of mankind, the universe and his creator and I thank him and everyone involved in this splendid work.

You have to see this film!!! Most joyously recommended.

[ 09-30-2004, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Nicholas Carey ]

[bamamick]

I agree, Wayne. Dad gum things sprout up everywhere, especially in flower beds and hedges.

Kind of like the grass down here. Won't grow in the yard, but it sprouts up through asphalt and concrete something terrible.

Mickey Lake

[seedy]

I have hickory nuts by the bushel if you're interested... :(

[Hughman]

Originally posted by bugeye:
Hi Hugh,
There are two beautiful white oaks on the side street next to the Puffin Stop in Rockland near the fire station,
MikeThanks Mike.

I checked them out today - the lawn under them was mowed real close with a mulching mower.....not enuf for a squirrel fart. :(

[Hughman]

Originally posted by Nicholas Carey:
The Man Who Planted Trees Ordered the book. I'll try to find the film. thanks

[Hughman]

Originally posted by Mike DeHart:
I think I'll go gather another can of acorns this weekend.I think my strategy will have to be to gather a couple of mud buckets and plant them everywhere just to outwit the critters. :eek:

[Hughman]

Originally posted by seedy:
I have hickory nuts by the bushel if you're interested... :( I think they will grow here (?) bring them if you're travelling close by - I will plant some....and eat some!

[Hughman]

Originally posted by Venchka:
Good grief. I've got two live oaks in the front yard. I don't think live oak will grow here. I'll try them anyway!

[leftish]

I was just in Newport and collected about 50 white oak acorns and some butternuts from around the Mansions with the idea of planting some here. My wife thought I was "nuts". Thanks for saving me. Can I send you some care of Cannells or some other convenient address?

[Hughman]

Originally posted by leftish:
I was just in Newport and collected about 50 white oak acorns and some butternuts from around the Mansions with the idea of planting some here. My wife thought I was "nuts". Thanks for saving me. Can I send you some care of Cannells or some other convenient address?leftish, email me hughman@panax.com

Thanks

[phiil]

There is a book on tape of "The man Who Planted Trees" out there somewhere. Narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema, (sp?)the old morning classical music guy at Public Radio WGBH, Boston. It is one of the few books I've enjoyed listening to while driving.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

The danger to oak reforestation is not necessarilly from squirrals. Any place that has a modest population of deer year after year will be a poor venue for acorns or oak seedings. Most acorn eaters prefer the white oak acorns. And a large animal like a deer can vacuum up many pounds of them when preparing for winter. Then the seedlings that manage to survive are cropped by the deer over and over. The tree may be 1¼ feet tall after 5 years. For the trees that become saplings there is death by debarking. The bucks girdle small saplings with their antlers.
I have experienced all this in the suburbs of Cleveland. Lord only knows what goes on in the wilds of Maine.
Once the head of the tree is above the deers reach and the trunk is about 3" in dia. it has a chance.
Charlie

[alteran]

Deer here are vermin of the forest. Way way too many. For a variety of reasons they can no longer harvest enough to keep the herd in check.
We average 1 deer hit a year with our trucks, they denude the forest in places, establishing some trees without fencing is a problem.
I could open my office window and shoot a few every night but the penalty for poaching is high. Lowering the fine might be the only real solution.....