Building a Sustainable Nursery
Oak: Ecological Importance, Uses and Cuisine
The results are in!
The economics section is here to stay!
This week, I’ve added a discussion feature to the chat on the Substack app. It’s designed as a way for me to gauge what you, the readers, want to read next, especially after the crop profile series wraps up.
Your feedback will help guide future topics and ensure I’m covering material that interests you. Thanks again for your ongoing support—it truly makes a difference!
Now, let's dive in.
In this edition, I'm excited to focus on a plant that plays a vital role in our ecosystems: the mighty Oak tree.
While there are many species of Quercus around the world, this newsletter will highlight the five specific species that I’ll be growing this year in my backyard nursery.
Plant profile & Native Range
Bur (Quercus Macrocarpa)
Chestnut Oak (Quercus Prinus)
Tree of the Week: Chestnut Oak
White Oak (Quercus Alba)
Northern Red Oak (Quercus Rubra)
Tree of the Week: Northern Red Oak
Dwarf Chinkapin Oak (Quercus Prinoides)
Is Dwarf Chinkapin the Best OAK for Your Yard?
Storytime
Did you know oaks are considered a keystone species?
You may be asking “What does that mean?”
Well it means they play a huge role in keeping the whole ecosystem balanced. If oaks were gone, a number of other plants and wildlife would struggle to survive.
For instance, oaks support over 500 species of caterpillars—more than any other native tree! These caterpillars are incredibly important because they’re the main food source for many birds, especially when they’re feeding a nest full of chicks. It’s like a buffet for birds!
(Article) Lepidopteran Usage of Native Plants
Most of the acorns I’m planting this season come from local foraging, except for the chestnut oak, which I purchased in. I made a Facebook post this fall offering to clean up black walnuts from local yards. While I was collecting walnuts from a property, I was excited to find large bur oak acorns dropping in the front yard. I rushed home to set up a new air-prune bed to plant them out.
The biggest oak trees I’ve ever encountered though are white oaks from my local park. A rough estimate puts them at around 150 to 200 years old, they've dropped acorns every year except one over the past four seasons which is exactly what I’m looking for!
I also gather acorns from some productive northern red oaks at a financial institution nearby, as well as the farm where I work. This year, I harvested more from the bank than from the farm, but I plan to focus mainly on the farm trees in future years as they are much older and larger.
My dad has planted several types of oaks around our property including a new to me species, dwarf chinkapin oak. The past two years they have finally started to produce a small crop and I was able to collect four acorns, which is double what I got last year! You gotta to act fast to beat the squirrels to them. 🏃🏻♂️💨
My goal is to grow out quite a few more of them to help boost their population on our property before I start selling them.
Propagation Methods & Notes
Oaks are predominantly propagated from seed.
White oaks sprout right away, so I plant them in their final spot shortly after I gather them. They require protection from critters until they’re big enough to survive on their own.
Red oaks take a bit longer since they wake up in the spring. They need a cold treatment over the winter, and I keep them safe from pests during that time by storing them in the refrigerator.
Economics
The economics of planting oaks on your property are largely about considering the long-term legacy you’re creating, rather than focusing solely on short-term production. For most oak species, their true value becomes evident only over generations.
The main reason to plant oaks is to ensure that future generations will have wild spaces filled with large trees to enjoy, explore, and marvel at. Oaks are keystone species, and if they were to disappear, it would have catastrophic effects on many animals and insects that rely on them.
Squirrels, deer, chipmunks, blue jays, and countless insects all depend on oaks to complete their life cycles.
White oak, in particular, is one of the most commercially important timber oaks. It’s widely used in the South and East for furniture, veneer, paneling, and flooring, and historically for railroad ties, fence posts, mine timbers, ships, and caskets.
It is also a primary source of wood for whiskey barrels today. White oak’s high fuel value also makes it an attractive choice for firewood.
Beyond timber, acorns from oaks are a critical food source for many wildlife species. Animals like the white-footed mouse, fox squirrel, black bear, red squirrel, and cottontail rabbits all rely on acorns as a vital part of their diet.
Many birds—including the bluejay, northern bobwhite, mallard, ring-necked pheasant, greater prairie chicken, ruffed grouse, and wild turkey—also eat acorns.
In some areas, the abundance of acorns in the fall can influence the reproductive success of black bears in the following year. Acorns that sprout are often eaten by deer, mice, and bobwhites, while smaller birds and mammals, as well as insects like bees, often use oak cavities for nesting.
Chestnut oaks, in particular, are known for having a disproportionate number of nesting cavities, as shown in a survey of oak-hickory stands in the Appalachian Mountains.
For those interested in enhancing the hunting potential of their property, planting oaks is a solid choice, though it will take time for the trees to mature. However, the long-term benefits are well worth the wait.
What could be more important than helping support the wildlife that depends on these trees?
Oaks contribute to the health and biodiversity of the ecosystem in a way that few other trees can.
Additionally, oaks can offer a practical financial return through supplemental livestock feed. If you already have oaks producing acorns on your property, you can use them as a feed source for livestock. Cows, chickens, and pigs can all consume acorns (though they need to be crushed for birds).
By having productive oaks on your land, you could reduce the cost of livestock feed in the fall and potentially even longer, depending on the number of trees and animals you have.
These savings could be reinvested into planting bare-root trees and developing a perennial feed system for your livestock in the future—turning your property into a more self-sustaining operation over time.
In essence, planting oaks is not just about timber or wildlife—it’s about creating a legacy for the land, the animals, and future generations. The benefits will unfold over time, but the rewards are long lasting.
Recipes
ACORN BREAD RECIPE | NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Acorn Flour Pancakes with Pine Nuts
Other notable reads
Native Plants Improve Breeding & Foraging Habitat for Birds
Why Native Plants Are Better For Birds & People
Crop Profile Directory
If you’re enjoying this newsletter and want to dive deeper into native plants and how to incorporate them, you’re in luck! Below is a directory of all our past crop profiles. Feel free to browse and explore—happy reading! 👋
Community Engagement
As I continue to develop the Backyard Berry nursery and newsletter. I hope to get your input! What topics or sections would you like to see in future newsletters?
For instance, this week I added a a discussion thread in the chat to discuss the next series after this one finishes up. Cast your votes in the comments!
👍🏼 I like the chat feature
👎🏼 Nah I like voting in the comments better
Thank you for joining me on this journey into the world of native plants, sustainable practices, and the joys of cultivating our local flora.
I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions! I’ll be in the inbox again next week! 👍🏼
Much love
Many blessings
Travis
Excellent topic on the Oaks as keystone species. One oak is an entire habitat.
I'm having a hard time thinking what activety would be more worthwhile at this exact moment than digging up all the volunteer young oaks and planting them in the northern edge of our orchard! I like the airprune beds too. I use them myself. What an amazing difference in root systems. Keep up all the great content!
One humble suggestion for you - keep the maps of where the plants grow, but use one of your great photos of your local trees as your cover photo. I think it might catch more eyes. And eyes lead to minds which lead to hands and trees in the ground. And we need a whole lot more of that!