First collect green acorns in early fall. Ones that are free of worms holes and fungus. Put them in a bucket of water for a couple minutes. The ones that float are discarded. Take out the remaining acorns and place them in a large ziplock bag with damp sawdust. Place about 250 acorns in the bags and place in the refrigerator for a month or more.
The root end will begin to crack through in early December. Once the root has cracked through, the acorn can be planted. Plant each acorn in 2 inch diameter pot deep enough so the tap root can grow. Place the acorn about 2-4 inches below the surface with the root facing down and water regularly. After the oak has grown about a foot, which usually takes about one year, it can be planted into the ground. Or the acorns can be planted directly into the ground by clearing a 2x2 foot area and placing two acorns into that space, with one or two inches of soil on top.
To transplant the oak seedlings into the ground from a pot, a three foot circle must be cleared of all vegatation. In the middle dig a hole about a foot or two deep and a foot wide. Place the oak seedling into the hole sloping the soil away from the seedling so that the water does not sit at the trunk of the tree. Oaks do not like water sitting on their trunks. Next pack down the earth and water. Place a stake into the ground with a screen around it so animals do not eat it.
