Ben from Wisconsin asks,
Hey Bill, I’m super glad you’re starting a new show. I was a huge fan of Midwest Whitetail during its early years. I’m about to buy 30 some acres of pasture that connects to my existing property. I’m converting some of it back to cover and want to do direct nut for speed and convenience. Anyways, my question is where do you get your acorns from? Thanks Bill
Bill responds,
Topic: Acorns for Direct Nut Seeding:
I have bought my acorns over the years from independent foresters and from seed collectors. There are likely people in every state that do this. Start by finding a list of independent foresters in your area – likely your state forester knows where to find such a list.
Ben,
Thanks for the support. I buy my acorns from seed dealers here in Iowa. I found two of them. I got a list of independent foresters near where I live and called them all to see if any of them sell acorns.
One of them did (the same guy I had used back in 2007 when I first started using this strategy on the farm in southern Iowa). Another forester told me who he buys acorns from so I called him.
In other words, the independent foresters are the starting point. The state forester can likely offer a few options too. Sometimes the people at the NRCS office for your county will know, but direct seeding is not a common practice so they often don’t know.
You just start making calls. I would try to find a collector as close to where you are planting as possible. You want the acorns to be habituated to that latitude. Good luck. (10/8/22)
Hey Bill, thanks and I appreciate you taking the time away from the new farm to answer my question. Good luck this season.