Flora Report post Posted October 20, 2006 Luke (aka Ben) has got 'well into' conkers this year. We live in a rural area so there's lots of trees and he's managed to collect no less than 143 conkers. He has them in a carrier bag, and when he isn't lining them up in size order he is deciding which ones to plant He even takes them to bed with him He's already planted several round the village but tonight we put one in a glass with a bit of kitchen role to see if it will sprout like a bean... I have no idea if it will...He's not interested in threading them with string.. he just wants to grow trees. So basically my question to anyone who knows about trees and nature and stuff ... will the conker sprout or just lie there like a conker and do nothing? Flo' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs phasmid Report post Posted October 20, 2006 (edited) dont know about that flora but i do know that if you just throw them out the garden and ignore them thinking i really must go and pick them up come spring yu will have loads of baby conker trees to pick out of the flower beds [thanks kids] try it avocados. peach pits, mangoe stones have all grown like that for us so give it a go but plant some in flower pots too so he can see it that way. then plant them out in the spring conker trees are going to be in short supply thanks to some european moth meant to say plant one in earth in a jam jar so he can see what happens under the soil Edited October 20, 2006 by mrs phasmid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaman Report post Posted October 21, 2006 My son's thing is acorns. He comes home from school with his pockets rammed full of them (I can't imagine how uncomfortable that must be all day!). I only realised this when trying to work out why there were so many clean shiney acorns in my washing machine! He now has a box to put them in, after I discovered half an acorn with a maggot crawling out in his bedroom. I never had this with my daughter . . . ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lil_me Report post Posted October 22, 2006 Acorns, conkers, leaves, we've had them all. Careful on keeping them, if they are in a bag or a closed box they do go mouldy (and you end up with maggots ewwww) We live in a quite rural area and the kids end up with bags full, we also went to a friends farm to collect them last year, she didn't tell me they were cow fields, I thought my kids wouldn't want to go in, but no, they were more than happy jumping around in cow poo!!!!!! Needless to say we stripped them off before we put them in the car, took them home and showered them off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss Report post Posted October 22, 2006 Our dd went thru abit of a conker obsession last year. She really took it to the extreme, and we were wading thru conkers in our house. They were everywhere. All the pockets on her clothes and coats were filled too. Soon wore off when she became interested in something else, thankfully! Good luck with your conker growing Flo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nic m Report post Posted October 22, 2006 Had to laugh at this as it is my daughters new obsession and my handbags are full of them.need to fish them out now.Stones and sticks were previous obsessions. Nicola Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kinky j Report post Posted October 22, 2006 c's just started up with a thing for conkers too. it started when OH threw on into the river on the way home from nursery. now everytime we pass that part of the river c has to search for one (at least) and throw it in, even if we're late but on the plus side, he's not bringing them all home with him so i should be grateful for that i guess. i used to collect binbags full of them, then leave them all over the house to go manky my dad must have loved me Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaman Report post Posted October 22, 2006 Had to laugh at this as it is my daughters new obsession and my handbags are full of them.need to fish them out now.Stones and sticks were previous obsessions. Nicola Sticks has been his main thing for many years now. If we are walking along and he sees a particulalry good specimin, it has to be picked up. I make him leave them in the front garden when we get home (we have a substantial pile), and then he's not interested in them any more once they have been conquered (sorry, couldn't resist the pun)! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jools Report post Posted October 23, 2006 hehe we are all conkers bonkers in this house too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lil_me Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Oh dear my dogs now my sons worst enemy as he keeps chewing up his conkers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted October 23, 2006 If you have a collection and don't want them any more, put them back in the garden. The squirrels will appreciate them! K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loulou Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Hi, Kai loves conkers too! Last weekend he stayed with my parents overnight who live by a street lined with conker trees. He came home with a bag full of them (over 200 he says and i can believe it!). He has drawn faces on all of them and they are now his "family". They usually end up going all rotten and i have to chuck them out and hope he forgets about them. Loulou xx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Haha, so glad we're past the conker phase! I remember well the piles and piles of them, sitting on the mantlepiece for months and getting very dusty and wrinkly! Good luck with that everyone! ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Siadwell Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Oh dear my dogs now my sons worst enemy as he keeps chewing up his conkers Be very careful with conkers and dogs as they are very poisonous to dogs... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Having 'done' the stick obsession for years, i've been avoiding conkers at all costs! Went for a nice walk today......... puddle-jumping .......and ended up with pockets, bags, everything, full of conkers. They're shiny . I've managed to keep all but about 20 out of the house..... Flo - have the conkers grown?? Might have to find a jam-jar and give it a go Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lil_me Report post Posted October 30, 2006 Be very careful with conkers and dogs as they are very poisonous to dogs... Found this out the other day, thankfully he just chews and spits them out (probably to wind the kids up) but keeping him well away from them from now on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
