To: jas39a@earthlink.net, North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Bad Acorn Year
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:50:17 -0600
Sounds like much ado about the normal boom/bust cycle of mast crops, to me.
Following the Easter Big Freeze Disaster of 2007, there was a total
absence of virtually all mast - soft(mulberries, persimmons,
crabapples, etc.) and hard(acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, etc.),
across a large portion of the Southeast and midwestern US, with a
failure this year, of the red/black oaks, since their acorns require
two growing seasons to mature, and were damaged in their 'infancy' last spring.
I've encountered good acorn crops on bur oak, good crops on shellbark
hickory and black walnut, and moderate to good crops on shagbark &
mockernut hickories, and some chinkapin oaks here this year. Pecans
are cropping moderately, but nuts are small, though well-filled in
most cases.
Persimmons and mulberries have had good crops in 2008 - at least the
ones that didn't freeze back to the ground in the EBFD.
Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY