Acorns - how to remove them

[Sunshine]

Last fall I was NOT monitoring the activity of my yard worker(s) -

We were graced with a multitude of acorns - they were enmasse on my property, however, I made the mistake of "assuming" that someone would tell me when a problem developed.

One would think the lawn mower - with a grass catcher attached would have picked up the acorns routinely. No.

One would think that using the Troy built yard vacuum/chipper shredder would have been another option. However, it is possible that by the time it was time to consider using the Troy unit (for the usual fall leaf pickup) the acorns must have already started to attach to the ground. The person using the Troy unit NEVER mentioned that the acorns were NOT being picked up.

Finally, another yard worker - this time it was decided to use the Shop 'N Vac - with the 2 1/2" hose adapter - actually 40 hours of work was required to bag forty bags of acorns (each bag weighing approximately 35 pounds). Because WE had waited too long and many of the acorns had started sprouting and had to be dug up individually from the ground.

So, it is Spring and the remaining acorns are still there waiting to be removed - if that is at all possible. Today, I have a new yard worker here and he is using a hard garden rake - a leaf rake - some claw type hand tool and a flat headed shovel - that seems to be workable.

I truly doubt if he will be able to remove ALL the remaining acorns. The weather has been working against us -

I would appreciate if anyone has any bright ideas - I will attempt to follow through - or have my yard worker follow through.

I do have to stress these acorns are not an acorn here and there - they are laying enmasse - some areas actually fifteen feet in diameter.

I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

[pushkins]

"Mow" after one or two mows the acorns will not re shoot.

[Sunshine]

PUSHKINS - not to be argumentative, but if routine mowing will dispense with the problem, why did not the routine mowing at fall and/or prior to the fall last year dispose of the concern?

The acorns are currently fastened to the ground???

[pushkins]

I didn't say the mowing would pick up the acorn "nut" rather once the seedling gets cut by the mower it will no longer grow.
once the nut starts to grow it's rooted in nothing but pure manual labor will pick them up. My suggestion is simply mow them so they cease growing and wait for nature to deal with the remnants of the nut.

[mrcaptainbob]

Acorns...

It sounds like the acorn density per square foot is pretty high. Unsightly for a nice lawn and not all that comfy to walk on either. Sounds like a serious vacuum is in order or a good lawn sweeper. I'd opt for the lawn sweeper first. Especially one with the de-thatch tines on the front. That will pop them up on top of the grass and make it easier to brush into the grass bin. This works super for me to grab the gravel that gets shoved off the drive onto the lawn during snow plowing. The lawn sweep does great on that, so I suspect it would do even better for light weight stuff like acorns. It's speedy and will most likely grab the majority.

[Speedbump]

I have seven or eight very large oak trees and about as many acorns as there are pennies in the national debt. I just keep mowing and that will take care of the sprouts, but the squirrels and mother nature are going to have to deal with the nuts.

[Sunshine]

Thank you MRCAPTAINBOB - After reviewing your posting - I went to check "google" to see what I could find re: a lawn sweeper.

I found: one identified as a 26" Deluxe Push Lawn Sweeper via the website: www.lambertmft.com. at a cost of $260.00 - free shipping. However, the site did not mention anything about "detach tines".

I went to the Lowes webite: They had an Agri Fab 26" Push Lawn Sweeper model # 45-0218 at $199.53 - they also mentioned the Agri Fab Dethatcher attachment for sweeper - model # 45-0343 at $101.47, but did not indicate availability.

I checked the Home Depot - they show the sweeper, but not the dethatcher.

I had to search for the push product because I am located on the side of a mountain and such as a tractor is not practical. In your posting you did not mention if the product you use is such as a push product.

Another question - I do have the Troy-Bilt yard vacuum chipper/shredder/vacuum hose machine - that was used last fall to pick up the leaves - perhaps the yard worker did not have the nozzle close enough to the ground. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

I am not reluctant to invest an additional $300.00 plus into this venture, should it be
a possible solution. I can contact the local Lowe's store to see if they have it in stock.

Thanking you, in advance, for your assitance in this matter.

[pushkins]

Well done capt. I too am waiting on your response.

[mrcaptainbob]

Acorn pickups....

Hmmmm...that hill presents a challenge. My sweeper is the 36" Agri-Fab and has the tine attachment on it's front. It's pulled by whatever machine is available. Anything from one of the LGT's to my Wife's golf cart. We do have hills here and at times it does not want to track perfectly behind the tractor. Your being on the side of a mountain is a difficult situation. How steep is the area you're concerned about? A walk-behind would be of no more help than a tow-behind. If you feel you can drive a garden tractor on that area without danger, then a tow-behind is a great choice. And if Lowe's carries Agri-Fab, then you could check at the product desk and ask them to order the larger one and have them order the de-thatcher along with it. I expect they have the Agri-Fab catalog there.

[mrcaptainbob]

Acorns...

Incidentally, we have a large number of black walnut trees. Those green golf balls are not good to ding with the mower blades. They do manage to fly hundreds of feet. My bay-window can attest to that. Yep, the larger pane! Well, most of those walnuts do get picked up by that lawn sweeper! It's a really great machine if you can use it. As I said, it picks up the small stuff, as well as the bigger stuff. And that lawn looks so darn good when it's brushed!

[Sunshine]

Thank you again MRCAPTAINBOB = upon reading and printing out your response - to "think about" - I remembered that a "million years ago" I had purchased what I believe might be referred to as a lawn dethatcher. At that time I had purchased it so that my "yard worker" might use it to cut into the ground prior to possibly reseeding. I don't believe that had worked out all that well - if I remember correctly, we had to put a large rock at the top so to put it closer to the ground. I knew I had it "stashed away" somewhere in the cellar.

I went downstairs to check - yep! it was there - I brought it upstairs - I did go to the internet to see if I could find a picture of it - I could not. It is about 16 inches across and has six rows of 3" tines or nails that rotate as the unit is pushed along.

So, back to "google" - I did find an Craftsman Electric Dethatcher - I also found something identified as a dethatcher power rake (gas powered) - all material relating to dethatcher mentions "damage to lawn is significant".

I did check the Lowe's website - nothing there.

Maybe, the next time my "yard worker" gets here - I will see if/how the unit I had brought upstairs works on the acorns. I truly wish I could remember where I had purchased this unit. I know it was from one of those mail order houses -

I will let you know what happens. Thanks again.

[mrcaptainbob]

De-thatcher....

Hi, Sunshine. Here's a pic of Agri-Fab's de-thatcher: www.agri-fab.com - Universal Front-Mount Tine Dethatcher. Their sweeper is here: www.agri-fab.com - Sweepers.
That de-thatcher attaches to the front of the sweeper and yes, it does sometimes need to have weights on it. Mine is set up for the flat, rectangular patio stones. It does a great job of scratching the surface, combing the grass. Too hard or too many passes will bald the ground. However, it does a another super job in preparing the ground for new seed. I like the feature where by it can be adjusted to lightly, or harshly, rake the grass/ground. It does do a superior job in lifting debris to the grass surface for the sweeper brushes to scoop into the bin.

[Sunshine]

Thank you MRCAPTAIN BOB - I do appreciate your efforts in assisting me concerning this problem. I went to the websites you mentioned and printed out the pictures.

My "yard worker" was here on Saturday, April 30th, and he thought the use of the areorator (however that might be spelled) worth trying. He did put weights on top, but apparently it did not work effectively. As I understand it - the unit just put holes in the ground and apparently did not work effectively in dislodging many of the acorns. He went back to using the hard garden rake - the leaf rake - the claw type hand tool as well as the flat headed shovel.

While he was working I had to drive down to the local shopping area to make some purchases. While at that area I stopped at the Lowe's store to see if they might have the Agri-fab products available. No. Perhaps I should have stopped at the Home Depot, but their website did not seem to indicate they carried/stocked the item(s).

At the current rate of clearance we could well be back into the fall weather before this current batch of acorns have been disposed of. Believe me, this fall I WILL pay attention to what is happening when that yard work is being taken care of.

My only outstanding problem now - what to do with the multitude of tiny oak trees now making an appearance over the entire area. I do have some Scott's Weed-B-Gon here, but I don't believe that would be effective in discouraging the growth of the oak trees considering that they are not weeds. Maybe I will send an e-mail to the Scott's people.

Again, thank you for your kind assistance.

[pushkins]

Mow....if you cut off the growth of the new seedlings they will not grow any more and in fact will die.

[Sunshine]

Thank you for your persistence PUSHKINS. Thank you for your input of 4-22-2011 - 4-25-2011 as well as 5-2-2011,

I know that in my orginal posting of 4-22-2011 I mentioned that last fall when using the Troy vacuum/chipper/shredder the acorns were starting to attach to the ground.

In my defense I don't believe I was seeing the new growth of the oak trees in April - at least not until I went to the area on April 30th. Therefore, in my posting of 5-2-2011 - I am guilty of not going back to review earlier postings. If I had - I would certainly have recognized that your suggestion - strong suggestion - of 4-22-2011 and 4-25-2011 was a valid possibility. Now all I have to concern myself with is in making certain that my "yard worker" has the blades of his lawn mower positioned low enough to do as you suggest.

Again, thank you.