Watering over a thousand holes efficiently requires hundreds of feet of hose and a 500 gallon water tank!

Before the recent wet weather began, we were forced to begin watering our acorn holes, which proved to be unexpectedly challenging.  Each potential oak tree needed approximately a gallon of water since it had been so dry. With about 1400 holes, that’s 1400 gallons of water! We used a 500 gallon water tank/trailer, which we had to refill twice to water the entire Stanley Reach.  Due to the hoses catching on bushes, trees, and acorn cages, driving and watering at the same time was impossible. We found it best to park and water as many holes as we could reach.

CK holding a strange-looking but durable hose manifold we built

However, working with hundreds of feet of hose can be very frustrating. Hoses tangle, kink and connections break.  We realized that “hose wrangling” (the job of keeping hoses untangled and unkinked) is a very real and important part of watering.  Thankfully, we worked out a system that reduced tangling, sped up the watering process, and reduced effort by decreasing the amount of hose carrying.

Recently, we also spent time removing old cages and pruning trees on a more mature restoration site. When caged plants are abandoned, the plants will continue to grow as much as

Removing an old cage from a Valley oak. Look at how twisted the tree has grown within the cage!

they possibly can within the cage. Leaving cages on the plants for too long can be very detrimental to healthy growth, and are difficult to remove! Pruning can help these trees develop a more natural growth pattern in the future, but it’s best to remove cages before they inhibit normal growth.

Luckily for us, pruning is relaxing and fun, and sometimes we find cool things while working, like abandoned bird nests and tree frogs!