Best way to deal with acorns?

[beenthere]

Why do anything with them? They will rot away into the lawn and disappear into dirt.

I don't pick up the acorns, hickory nuts or the husks, and shortly into the Spring, you can't tell they were even there. I've about 50 trees of each, on about 6.5 acres.
I like the hickory nut husks, as they rattle around under the mower deck and keep it clean of grass and polished. Same with the sticks. Under 2", I just mulch them into the lawn.

But, to each their own. (grin). We are all different. I found my "easy way out". (grin).

 

[Ford850]

I agree with Beenthere. I do the same thing, including mowing over the smaller sticks. Acorns or other nuts break down in the spring anyway.

 

[gwdemos]

guess i'm somewhat OCD about the acorn/twig debris. i work so hard to get a reasonably healthy lawn that i just can't see this mass of stuff rotting away without destroying the lawn.

always wanted that golf-course style yard.

i may end up like Beenthere - let it go

 

[tallyho8]

I sure wish there was a way for you to get about 100 of my squirrels.

 

[Charlesaf3]

I don't get it, why pick them up? That's free fertilizer.

Its like people who bag their grass clippings, effectively strip mining their lawns of nitrogen. Boggles my mind.

I suppose if they really matted the grass. But I live in an oak forest, and its not an issue for me, so I tend to doubt it is for anyone. And yep, by proper organic grass management, my lawn looks more and more golf course every year.

Its simple. Organic fertilizer (chemical stuff causes problems without benefits), leave the clippings, cut high so the grass can thrive, (3.5"), core aerate and overseed in the fall.

It's less work, and it looks better. Why? You are going along with nature, not fighting it.

 

[kthompson]

I am with those who say leave them. If you are cutting them with lawn mower they really don't last long. But Snapper makes a HIGH VAC model lawn mower that will lift them very well or did for us as previous house with lot so Oaks with acorns smaller than White Oak's. My wife liked to mow it at least once when the leaves fell with catcher.

 

[Stargazer]

Hi: I know our forestry dept loans out some acorn pickers when the state nursey runs low on seed. It kinda looks like an old style push mower with flexible blades about acorn diameter apart. You push this over them and they push through to inside of the drum which you can then empty. Can't remember name but was about $300 and with 6 acres you might get done just in time to start again. We have same problem I rake up about 2 big garbage cans and when snow comes dump 1/3 can/week for our squireels/deer plus feild corn.

Did find a link but not same Nut Wizard: Pick Up Tool That Gathers Nuts, Fruits, Acorns, Sweet Gum Balls

 

[jinman]

Up until a few years ago, I had a house with two huge red oak trees in the front yard and a native pecan tree in the back yard. The house had white vinyl siding. The owners before me left an old Wizard (Western Auto Brand) lawnmower that wouldn't run. I checked the blade and it was very bent. I removed the blade and replaced it with a generic blade I found and also took off the flywheel and replaced the shearpin. With that done, the mower fired right off and ran like a new one. When I went to push the mower over my St. Augustine lawn, it would launch grass clippings 12' to 15' because it had no deflector and nothing to stop the debris. I learned very quickly to keep that chute turned away from my house when pecans launched from the mower went right through the lower tier of vinyl siding on my house. When I mowed the front yard, I looked for cars on the street or people walking by on the sidewalk and stopped mowing because of the danger of launching acorns in their direction. Finally, I put a homemade deflector shield on the chute so it wasn't so dangerous.

I used that old Wizard mower for years and it never failed me. I decided finally to get a self-propelled mower and sat my old Wizard out on the curb.

 

[Redbug]

Follow BeenThere's advise. I have hickories, oaks, and pecans in the yard. I use a mulching blade on the mower and the leaves, branches, nuts and acorns get ground up into small pieces. By springtime all remnants are gone. Back into the yard.

With the leaves, I will rake them away from the fence, and out from under some of the bushes/buildings and then ride the mower over the piles/windrows.

The only problem I have is putting up with mess from pine trees. Cones and the never ending pine straw. All year long. I still have a few to cut down. Pines are only good for growing wood and pulp. Not in a yard.

 

[gwdemos]

that NutWizard tool seems like it might actually work - in theory. unlikely it will work for acorns that are pushed into the ground though.

wonder if i can get a 60" unit front mounted on the Kubota.

thanks for the link to the Nutwizard, stargazer. gives me some ideas.
I do plan on getting the cyclone rake xL next season

 

[TBDonnelly]

I have an area that's heavily shaded with little grass, it was covered with acorns. I first vacuumed all the leaves up with a trac-vac with the mower set at 3". Cleaned everything off the ground except majority of the acorns. Neighbor came over with his cyclone rake, hooked up the power vacuum hose. Power vacuum hose worked great sucking up acorns. A wire framed indoor plant dolly big enough to set the head of the vacuum in worked good to roll the head along the ground and keep the head from sucking itself to the ground.

In another area of oaks where the grass is thick and a bit longer there were no acorns to speak of. I think the acorns stayed more on top of the thick grass and the mower took care of them.

Don

 

[Egon]

Import a herd of deer. They should clean up the acorns, process them and then deposit them back on the lawn!