No easy way. :-( Maybe hire some trustworthy, hard-working,
neighborhood high school students that you could pay by the pound?

You've a great idea there -- by the pound! :-)

FACE

That's about the ONLY way I could think of to pay them fairly. I tried
paying hourly and have never seen (except for our union city
crews)..... and if I pay by the job, it doesn't get done well.

For leaves I'll pay by the bag (filled all the way with inspection).
Sigh.

Thanks. I imagine they'd taste something like walnuts maybe and
sweetened according to what you're making.
Maybe not as quite as good as walnuts.....

I've read that exact same
thing about the natives using acorns for mush and breads. "Leaching"
would be boiling them up til their soft, right?
Leaching is removing the tannic acid by using water. The acorns are shelled,
and pounded/chopped/ground into bits or meal, then water is poured over
repeatedly until the tannin is removed. Boiling water works faster, but cold
can be used. The Indians sometimes would place the acorn bits in a little
pocket on pine needles/sand/basket in a moving creek and let that do the work.
The bits can be placed in a cloth bag and water run over it. The water will be
dark brown, then lighter. You really have to just taste to see when they are
ready.
The taste is slightly sweet, and rather insipid or bland. Best in cookies or
breads.

Different oaks have varying sweetness and palatability. The CA Black Oak,
Quercus kelloggii, is said to be quite sweet and needs less leaching. It might
be fun to try some of your acorns.

Emilie
NorCal



It does seem a waste
to throw all those acorns in the garbage/compost- they're so nice and
meaty. By aquired taste, you mean like oysters...?

Easier way I've found to deal with acorns is to use my leaf vacuum. It takes
care of acorns and sweet gum balls, chewing them up in the shredder and
depositing the remnants in the bag. Dump the remains right into the compost
pile.

If there was a way to set a pig loose for a day, your problem would be
solved.

Raked up oak tree leaves are great for gardens and the compost builds
up under the trees.

JP

On 15 Oct 2004 16:33:00 GMT, (Marcy Hege) in rec.gardens
wrote:

Easier way I've found to deal with acorns is to use my leaf vacuum. It takes
care of acorns and sweet gum balls, chewing them up in the shredder and
depositing the remnants in the bag. Dump the remains right into the compost
pile.


You must have a metal bladed fan in your leaf vacuum. My Toro has a plastic
bladed fan.....as have the previous 2 brands. I wish I had seen one that
had a screen and a deflector like I have seen on some large pro machines.

For mine, not using it as a vacuum keeps it blowing at the rated 210mph.


FACE