Released Jan. 31, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Texas – “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” and to see that they continue to do so, a Tom Green County 4-H club collects drought-hardy seeds whose resulting seedlings are used in windbreaks across Texas.
The project is coordinated by John Begnaud, Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist in Tom Green County.
“The kids have gathered and shipped over 5,000 pounds of oak acorns in the last six years to the Forest Service’s Idalou (Texas) nursery,” Begnaud said. “The acorn-gather is a fund raising and community service project of the Lone Star 4-H Club here in San Angelo.”
“AgriLife Extension programming also assists in providing other drought-hardy windbreak plants like prairie flame-leaf sumac, western soapberry and redbud,” he said. “Our genetic source from here in San Angelo represents an area of Texas known for extended drought periods, so the seeds we provide should perform superbly all across Texas.”
Every year from January until March, Texas landowners can enjoy the fruits of the 4-H'ers and others’ labor by purchasing windbreak trees from the Texas Forest Service’s windbreak program.
Cameron Dudley, Texas Forest Service nursery operations coordinator at Idalou, said a variety of seedling oaks, pines and wildlife-friendly varieties are available at prices ranging from $30 to $40 per 30 to 50 seedlings, depending on the plant species.
“We’re already sold out of several species, but we still have several evergreen and hardwood species available for the 2008 planting season,” Dudley said.
“With increased home energy costs and a plethora of new home construction, windbreaks offer a way to reduce a home’s utility bills while adding to its landscape aesthetics,” Begnaud said.
To see what is currently available and to order trees go to: http://tfsstore.tamu.edu/wtn/aboutus.asp.
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http://agnews.tamu.edu/showstory.php?id=291
Contacts: Cameron Dudley, (806) 892-3572, cdudley@tfs.tamu.edu
Steve Byrns, (325) 653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu