No More Acorns...
Has anyone else been following or noticed that NJ got very little to no acorns this year ?!?! Future DH is a landscaper and told me the houses he does that usually get buckets full he has to remove have not 1 !!! I thought he was kidding googled it and sure enough there gone and no one knows why :o(
I feel so bad for the squirrels there are no acorns in NJ this year its going to be a long hard cold winter. :o( Going to try and find some to buy to put out for them
shoebie For whatever reason it is normal for there to be years of acorn plenty and acorn scarcity.
It varies by type of oak. It's a big deal for deer and bears also.
There's an article about it in today's Star-Ledger. It also says that a very large mature oak can drop as many as 23,000 acorns in a single year. Ouch!
jerseydutchman2 We have a chestnut tree across the street. We can't even walk under it as the squirrels are working overtime storing for the winter. I got hit 3 times in less than 2 minutes. So if they dont have acorns they have plenty of chestnuts for sure.
Christine One of my customers had a ton when I stopped by one week. The next week they were all gone. I think the squirrels got them. Don't they say you can predict the winter by how many acorns are collected by squirrels? Something like if they get them all it will be cold or snowy? Thought I read that somewhere.
M & K Last year acorns were VERY plentiful and it sounded like rain in my backyard from all the acorns dropping. The squirrels couldn't keep up with storing all the trees' production and the acorns were almost like a carpet on part of my backyard! I also saw many of them carrying the (overproduction) of chestnuts in this area as well.
Of course, last year's overproduction of acorns may have led to more squirrels, which makes it even worse for them and the deer in terms of lack of food.
Phil D. I put peanuts, corn and rodent blocks out for the squirrels all winter. Just because they are so much fun to watch climbing around our big oak tree. They also get plenty of sunflower seeds that the birds drop from the feeders. So you don't have to find acorns specifically, squirrels eat all kinds of things.
Rebecka Last year we had tons of acorns but not this year. We had what we think are black walnuts by the truck load this year. I would shovel them off the driveway so they weren't crushed into the asphalt by the trucks from the roofers. My dog would try to eat them. And then...they were gone. The chipmunks and squirrels have quite the load this year.
blackcat I am from massachusetts and we don't have any acorns here either! We have a huge oak tree and there are usually tons of acorns scattered in the road, this year, NOTHING!! It's strange to say the least I feel soooo bad for the poor fellows (squirrels). What else do they store?? I am not a BIG
"climate change" nut, no puns intended, but it sure seems to me that something weird is going on with the climate. I think it has a big effect on everything, especially wildlife.
Linda I've seen the squirrels taking black walnuts this year. Digging them up from last year. I don't remember them doing that in the past. But the black walnuts are funny some years too. As have been my wild raspberries. It obviously is a climate thing, but what?
Jaemae Read http://www.growtube.com/acorn/
Collection of Acorns
Yearly weather patterns and geography affect when acorns are ripe for harvest. Acorns are ready when the caps are removed easily without damage to the acorns. Usually when acorns start dropping to the ground, most of the acorns remaining on the tree are ripe.
And http://www.fieldandstream.com/answers/hunting/deer-hunting/deer-behavior/do-good-acorn-crops-come-cycles-we-had-awesome-crop-last-
Q:
Do good acorn crops come in cycles? We had an AWESOME crop last year in PA. Just wondering if I can expect the same this year.
A:
Yes and no. It depends on the oak species composition, yearly weather conditions, and a slough of other variables. Some years the white oaks produce a good crop, some years the reds are the primary contributer, and other years both types of oaks do real well.
etc.
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