Plant a Diversity of Oaks This Winter

North Florida and South Georgia are blessed with many species of native oak trees. Two species, dwarf live oak and running oak, form thickets from underground runners and may reach heights of only three feet.

Plant swamp chestnut oak to add diversity and bright fall color to your yard. Photo by Donna Legare.

Some oaks have limited distributions in North Florida. Cherry bark oak and chinquapin oak occur only in Gadsden, Liberty, or Jackson counties along the Apalachicola River.

Others have extremely strict soil requirements, occurring only in deep sand of either present day or ancient sand dunes or sea floors. These soils occur from the present-day coastline to north of Bristol and Blountstown. Drs. Robert Godfrey and Herman Kurz, in their book Trees of Northern Florida (1962), describe two types of sand, buff and white, with certain oaks preferring one or the other. Buff sand is common in inland Wakulla County with turkey oak, bluejack oak, and sand-post oak found growing there, among others. Coastal dunes consisting of white sand support Chapman oak and sand-live oak.

Of the 25 oak species native to our area, only about 10 may be found at local garden centers. Others may be obtained by special request. Usually, these ten species can grow on either dry buff sand, moist lowlands, or rich upland soils.

This young white oak was planted in 2018 to add diversity to Mary Kay Falconer’s Betton Hill’s yard. Photo by Mary Kay Falconer.

This young white oak was planted in 2018 to add diversity to Mary Kay Falconer’s Betton Hill’s yard. Photo by Mary Kay Falconer.

Most people think of live oak when planting an oak in our area for good reason. They are long-lived grand trees. But there are other equally stately and beautiful species that should be used more often, such as white oak, swamp chestnut oak (also called basket oak), Shumard oak, and southern red oak. Laurel oak and water oak are quite common in our area. They are often given a bad rap for weak wood, but both can be strong, healthy trees for at least 50 years, meanwhile providing food for insects, birds, and mammals.

In his recent book, The Nature of Oaks (2021), Doug Tallamy discusses the amazing diversity of animals, primarily insects, which depend on oaks. He writes that native oaks in our nation support 534 species of moth and butterfly caterpillars, more than any other group of trees. Ninety percent of these caterpillars are soft, juicy, high protein food for songbirds and their nestlings.

Native oaks harbor more than caterpillars. Acorn weevils, lacebugs, leaf hoppers, walking sticks, tree cattle, tree crickets, and many other species are part of a valuable ecosystem in the canopy over our heads, usually unnoticed by us. This rich diversity of insects becomes the base of a complex food web.

When choosing an oak to add to your landscape, remember that only native species harbor the huge food web in their canopies. A non-native Japanese saw-tooth oak may provide acorns for deer, but the space taken up by the canopy will be a dead zone for other life. Most native insects cannot utilize non-native plants, due to the presence of different chemicals in the leaves. They need native plants with whom they have shared an evolutionary history.

Leaves in the canopy are not the only valuable resource for wildlife. Oak leaves on the ground below an oak decay more slowly than most other tree species. This leaf litter provides housing, food, and humid conditions for up to three years for insects. For example, Tallamy writes that there can be 90,000 springtail insects in a square meter under an oak. Leaf litter mites may be 250,000 per square meter!

The precious leaf litter under your trees is also critical for giant silkmoth reproduction. After eating leaves in the canopy, the caterpillar drops to the ground to spend a year or two as a pupa hidden under the dead leaves. If your lawn grass extends under the canopy, it spells death for the future beautiful imperial or Polyphemus moth.

Three species of oaks are quite common in our region – live oak, water oak, and laurel oak. For a healthy urban/suburban ecosystem, diversity is key; try planting other species of oaks in your yard. Choose the best oak for your yard based on soil and moisture needs. Some species are very adaptable, others are not. Consider white oak, Shumard oak ,and swamp chestnut oak for their stunning fall color. Mature white oak and swamp chestnut oak also have attractive light gray shaggy bark. Southern red oaks are also stately.

Winter is the best time to plant a tree in our region, while the tree is dormant. Doug Tallamy states, “contrary to urban legend, many species of oak grow quite quickly.” Give your tree plenty of space. Plant three or more trees in a small grove for roots to interlock and create a stronger planting for hurricane survival.

Tallamy suggests planting acorns for the healthiest root structure but admits most of us want instant gratification and squirrels will not cooperate and plant them where we want them. The next best method is to plant an inexpensive bare root seedling or whip. These will also grow a healthy root system.

The third option is to purchase a small one-, three- or seven-gallon potted tree. Roots may be circling in the pot and should be spread out in the hole or pruned off. Circling roots can kill a tree after a few years or will not provide a solid foundation in hurricane winds.

Tallamy’s “bottom of the list” option is to plant an expensive three- to four-inch caliper oak from a large container. The root system will be so compromised that the tree will not have a long life. Unfortunately, government codes usually specify planting large trees for instant impact.

This winter, increase the biodiversity of our urban forest; plant some different oaks and become a part of Tallamy’s “Suburbia National Park.”  Remember they must be American native species!

Bokashi fermentation puts microbes to work in the garden

Microorganisms in bokashi can outcompete bacteria that cause bad smells in a kitchen counter compost bin.

My first real introduction to composting was when my sister, Vanessa, buried some banana peels in our backyard as part of a science fair project in elementary school.

We grew up with a compost pile in the backyard, but mostly just wondered what the funny smell was. Now I have a compost pile in the yard, a bucket for collecting food scraps in my kitchen, and a couple bokashi fermentation buckets outside.

Bokashi is a beneficial mix of microbes on a host medium, often grains or byproducts. It can even be made from spent brewers’ grain sourced from local organic breweries. The first and foremost of the bacteria in a bokashi mix are Lactobacillus.

Once applied to the host medium, the microbes will become shelf stable and have many uses, becoming active in the presence of moisture or food. Once active, the microbes start a powerful anaerobic fermentation.

Fermenting kitchen scraps

Bokashi is a beneficial mix of microbes on a host medium, such as grains.

The main use of bokashi in the garden is in relation to your compost methods. I use a bokashi bucket, which is a five-gallon bucket with a spout attached at the bottom and a lid on top, to ferment many of my kitchen scraps before using its contents. This is often more convenient than dealing with fruit flies or smells from an over aged compost bucket in the kitchen!

We add kitchen scraps to the bucket in layers about two inches deep, and then coat with a few handfuls of bokashi, and finish by sealing the lid tightly. We repeat this process until the bucket is full. Sometimes this will take a while, but the wonder of the bokashi bacteria, is that they will outcompete most of the other bacteria that produce bad smells.

Once full, the bucket will need to be drained periodically until the fermentation is done. This will be at least two weeks, but it can sit for 30 to 45 days. I usually use it after a month, which at that point my next bucket is full and ready to rest.

While resting, the liquid drained can be used as a fertilizer for your plants at a rate of 1 tsp. per liter of water. Use this by watering your houseplants, garden, or general plantings to build the number of beneficial microbes in your soil. These microbes will help unlock the nutrients stored in your soil and mulch.

Adding to compost or garden

Once the fermentation is done, the contents are generally added to our compost pile, again increasing the microbial count in the compost, as well as fighting off unwanted bacteria in your compost pile or bin. The contents of your five-gallon bucket can also be buried directly in the garden or ground.

It should be buried deep enough that the roots of your vegetable plants will not be touching the fermented organic matter, as it will still be very acidic for a brief period. Once emptied, you are ready to wash your bucket and start again.

The great benefit of bokashi composting is it can be done in a small area and used immediately in the garden when buried properly. If you garden and don’t have access to a yard, or live in a small space, this is a great way to use your kitchen scraps and prevent excess input into our landfills.

From houseplants to litter box

Not only is the bokashi useful in the garden, but you can also mulch your houseplants, add to your worm bin, create compost tea, and if you want to get creative, create a fungal mat to add to your compost pile.

My favorite use though is easily in my cat’s litter box. The bokashi’s beneficial bacteria, again, eat up most of the undesirable scent producing bacteria leaving the box much more pleasant to deal with!

Overall, cultivating beneficial microbes for your garden will improve your gardening results. Bokashi is another method of multiplying and adding microbes to your garden, whether it be through small scale indoor fermenting to large scale outdoor compost piles, it will increase your beneficial microbes.

There are many other uses for the microbes around the home and in the kitchen too. Many of the microbes from bokashi are the geniuses behind yogurt! The benefits are undeniable, from the litter box to the garden, bokashi composting and the microbes it supports make your life easier and keeps food waste out of the landfill.

Trees for Fall Color

As daytime temperatures begin to cool and open windows at night let in refreshing breezes, you may need a light blanket on the bed. Day lengths are getting shorter as the planet travels around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour toward the winter solstice.

Trees begin preparing for winter by transferring chlorophyll from leaves into stems, showing us other colors present in the leaves. We enjoy this time of year with comfortable temperatures and the colorful change of seasons.

Young white oak and greybeard trees provide fall color and wildlife value in a Betton Hills front yard. Photo by Vanessa Crisler.

Compared to New England, North Florida fall color is more variable from year to year, but we do have several trees with dependable fall color. The trees mentioned here are all American natives which, in addition to great fall color, have value to wildlife throughout the year. Take oaks as an example. White oak and swamp chestnut oak leaves typically turn a pleasant shade of red. In spring and summer, caterpillars dine on their new succulent leaves. In the United States, ninety species of oaks are food for 534 species of caterpillars! Most of these caterpillars become high quality protein for baby birds and their parents. In autumn, acorns are food for insects, birds, and mammals.

During winter, we think of deciduous oaks or trees in general as devoid of insect life. However, many species of moths, particularly inchworms, overwinter as caterpillars camouflaged as twigs or hiding in bark crevices. They do absolutely nothing from November through February. Birds such as the ruby-crowned kinglet, golden-crowned kinglet, and blue-gray gnatcatcher survive the winter on these and other insects. Chickadees, which visit feeders all year, must have fifty percent of their winter diet as insects. Most species of native insects can only digest the leaves of native plants; let us look at native trees for our area that have dependable fall color.

Pignut and mockernut hickory, commonly seen growing along our canopy roads, are a beautiful yellow gold in fall. The dangerous looking, though harmless, hickory horned devil caterpillar eats hickory leaves and transforms into a stately regal moth.

Sweetgum, sometimes shunned because of its seed pods, is one of the best. Autumn leaves may be dark purple, red, or yellow. Luna moth caterpillars eat the leaves and American goldfinch and Carolina chickadees relish the seeds plucked from the prickly balls.

Red maple is like sweetgum in having a range of color – purple, red, orange, or yellow. The Florida sugar maple is always a fiery orange, while chalk maple is reliably yellow each year. A friend described a row of chalk maples in his yard as a line of candles glowing in autumn.

Bald cypress, a deciduous conifer, turns a wonderful rusty cinnamon color along our rivers or in your yard. Sassafras is usually red or yellow. It is also a larval food plant for the spicebush swallowtail. Black cherry, sporting red or orange leaves, is host to the caterpillars of cecropia moth, tiger swallowtail, and red-spotted purple, among others.

Two smaller trees with color are the blue beech and greybeard. Blue beech should be planted under taller trees and turns yellow gold. Plant greybeard, always a bright yellow in fall, in sun to light shade.

American beech leaves

American beech is unique in that it has stunning yellow-orange leaves in autumn, but the leaves do not fall off for winter. The leaves either turn dark rusty-brown or beige and stay on the tree until springtime. Young American beech trees are amazing standing in a deciduous forest in winter. They will be just as striking in your yard. It is long lived, growing to one hundred feet.

Keep a natural layer of leaves under the dripline of you trees. Do not rake up and dispose of fallen leaves. Caterpillars high in the canopy, when ready to change into a moth or butterfly, usually fall to the ground, hiding among leaves or in the top inches of soil where they pupate. Lawn grass under a tree canopy usually spells death for these creatures. Do not rake excessively deep layers of leaves or pine straw onto the root system of your trees. Interestingly, some caterpillars of butterflies and moths eat only the dead fallen leaves on the ground.

November through February is the best time to plant trees in our area, with December being ideal. Planting in December lets the roots get a head start growing before the next summer’s heat arrives. Plant at the correct depth with the root flare at the soil surface. Untangle, straighten out, or cut off any circling roots if the tree is pot-bound.

The absolute best way to plant a tree is to plant a seed or buy a small bare root seedling. This will allow the tree to develop a properly shaped root system as compared to a large pot grown plant, though young trees in three-gallon pots are usually fine too. Always check the roots. A healthy root system will support your tree in hurricanes and circling roots will not kill it 10 years into its life. Plant a beautiful, shade-giving, wildlife providing tree this winter!