You know that business about mighty oaks and little acorns?

[spinbaby]

My oak was exceptionally prolific last year, so our small army of squirrels went to work burying all those acorns. This spring, oak seedlings are sprouting EVERYWHERE. I just spent my morning pulling them up and dumping them onto the compost pile. Thousands of seedlings. Millions of seedlings. Whole forests worth of seedlings. Enough seedlings to cover the state with an oak forest. For all I know, enough seedlings to cover the earth.

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. I know them well.

I believe they will be the death of me.

Millions.

[csziggy]

2. It doesn't just work for oaks

When we bought our farm in 1978, there were two black walnut trees. One of them has died, but the other stood by itself out in what was then a cornfield and is now a pasture. We put a lane along one side of that pasture to access the lower pastures past two cherry trees, and planted a few other trees along the lane. But the squirrels had other ideas.

Now many of the trees were planted have died, but it is lined with black walnut trees of all ages. In addition, when we did some clearing about fifteen years ago I had the debris put in a brush pile just downhill from the original black walnut. The brush pile is gone, but the black walnuts that were protected from the horses are now big enough to be safe from them and are doing well. There are some other trees, such as cherry and chinaberry but the walnuts are what we will preserve in that stand of trees.

We also planted Southern red cedars around the farm and the birds have spread them. When we bought this place, there was not a single cedar to be seen. Now they are everywhere and we're going to have to thin them out to have our view!

[Kali]

3. where I am we only have brushy type oaks with small stickery leaves

you would never want to use as a TP substitute. my Grandfather on my Father's side was raised and went to college in Missouri. on some trip back there he brought back some acorns and got them started in Tucson of all places. he gave me one but I let it get too dry the second year I had it and it died. that was one dead plant I have always felt the worst about.

I tell my sister I do not have a green thumb, that gardening is like photography what makes the real difference between a so-so and a good one is getting rid of the duds! throw shitty pictures away (or delete in the modern age) and get rid of plants that are dead.