Germination

It is autumn here and the seeds and leaves are beginning to fall. This year I am enjoying harvesting both. The leaves are usually removed by the council so it is good to go and gather their goodness in black bin liners, tie them up and leave them for a year and they are a wonderful rich compost.

To germinate beech seeds remove from the seed case ( above) there are usually 4 nuts inside. The germination rate for beech is approximately sixty percent. Place these in a zip lock bag in the fridge for a couple of weeks and then plant. 

Acorns have an eighty percent germination rate, remove the 'hat' again I have placed mine in the fridge in a zip-lock bag for a couple of weeks before planting in a four inch pot with potting compost and then a layer of sand. 

There is one old walnut tree near me and I would love to get this little walnut to sprout.

Please gather and plant.

Humans cut down over 15 billion trees every year, this is unsustainable as people who use wood we need to counteract this damage and work to replenish the forests and protect the tree diversity and stock where we can.