Has anyone found anything to do with those wretched brown "gumballs" from sweetgum trees? I have raked up several large piles of them. They don't seem to ever decompose, the mower just shoots them across the yard, and they fall so deeply in some spots of my yard that I can't grow anything. The last thing I need in my yard is more sweetgum trees! Any suggestion?
Thanks
What do I do with sweetgum balls?
Sling-shots are great fun! Those gumballs really travel well!
You could also put them around your Hostas or other slug-loving plants (slugs hate crawling over them and you'll save your Hostas!).
Other than that I'd suggest you stick them down mole holes/tunnels (it irritates their tender noses and makes them sneeze!). (Well, okay okay...just kidding about the sneezing part!) :>)
Shoe.
Shoe, Great ideas. I have a large bed of hostas and an 8 year-old grandson. I do believe you just made them both very happy. (And saved me from buying some extra mulch!) What more could I ask for?
When my kids were about the age of your grandson I paid them a quarter for every full grocery bag of gum balls they brought me. It was an excellent investment, the boys learned the harder they worked the more money they made and my yard was free of those evil gum balls.
MollieB...you may, on occasion, see a few of the gumballs germinating in your hosta bed. However, they are really easy to pull out by hand so just keep an eye out. (I think we both have the same disdain for gumball trees!)
Ardesia, my G-parents did the same for me and my brothers except it was swatting flies in the house! Can't remember how much we got per/fly but do remember we each had our very own flyswatters w/our names on them! :>)
Shoe
Aaahh, I wondered about that! Those trees seem to multiple faster than rabbits! I had one that came down in a storm and now I have 7 coming up from the trunk of the old one! If only my flowers did as well. For some reason the gardening never mention the trouble with the sweetgum while they are singing the praises of its beauty. I am waiting until this heat wave breaks to go out and do battle with them. Thanks for the great ideas.
MollieB55- You can use gumballs to make a decorative wreath. If you don't have enough of them, let me know and I'll be happy to send you a bushel or two and I'll even pay the postage.....
:-))))))))
This is easier than a wreath: when they have dried apply red, green, gold and/or silver glitter. String them together for garland or hang them individually on the Christmas tree.
I think you all have had way to much time on your hands in the winter months to have discovered these delightful yuletide decorations. LOL
I heard that the trees are a very hard wood and are worth a bit of money if you sell them for the wood. I have about 40 of these things just in the areas that we are going to be clearing out. I was curious if anyone knew if this was true and how would you go about finding someone to purchase them.
I got the kids to collect them for fun (they are still too young to ask for money) then painted them silver and gold to scatter amongst the extra fir boughs with candles. I used them for a mantelpiece and a centerpiece on the table. The closed ones were beautiful when painted, but they still matured and popped open, tossing tiny seeds everywhere. No wonder they make so many babies. -Ais.
Carat, look in the yellow pages under loggers.
Sidney
Thanks, Sidney
carolinablue, while I appreciate your offer of sending me more gumballs, I believe I can decorate my entire town with what I have. :)
missgarney, I never thought of painting them! My grandson and I did that with large pinecones one year and he loved it.
aisgecko, that is another neat idea. I always have boughs, etc on my mantel and dining room table.
Carat, you are right! Far too much time! I started all this sort of things when my kids were young. Then did a couple of things with my oldest grandson with pinecones. If you want to hear pathetic - the first year I was divorced (many, many years ago) and had my own home I really got into setting up a bird sanctuary. On the advice of a book and on my own I went crazy when it came time to get rid of the old Christmas tree. I made peanut butter mixed with birdseed and smeared it into pinecones. I strung cranberries. Then I popped tons and tons of popcorn and strung it and decorated it and put it out for the birds. What a disaster! While they regularly emptied the birdseed feeders - nothing on the tree was ever touched! I stopped filling the feeders and they still didn't touch it! I swore I would never do such a thing again. But my oldest grandson is really into arts and crafts and, believe me, I will keep him busy this Christmas. I will have everything wrapped, strung and painted with gumballs. And the best part is - I won't have to do it! As for the logging, I know that here in the Upstate they do a lot of logging but mostly pines for pulp. Also if you want them to just come in and selectively cut trees, it may end up costing you. Even if the wood is valued, they will charge you for working around trees you don't want cut down. I had some in my woods I wanted down and they wanted them but unless I would let them clear cut back to them, it was going to cost me more than they would pay for the trees. And, yes, sweetgum is a very hardwood. I imagine a lot will depend on how much they want them in your area. As Sidney said - the best thing to do is check the yellow pages or see if you have any mills near you. You just never know. (The mills might give you hints of who to contact.)
Mollie thanks for the great advice. We have about 20 that dont need to have anything cleared to get too. They are on the perimeter of the wooded area and a few scattered in the back 5 cleared areas. The people that original cleared the property only left sweetgums standing here and there. One of the neighbors said that he cleared the entire 7 acres with only a little bit of help from his son and a chainsaw. Maybe those were left because they are such a hardwood and to hard to do alone.
They are great for making wreaths with. They can be sprayed gold or silver also and they sell for lotsa money around Christmas.
Lavina
Lavina, Now that is a great idea. I just retired and have always loved crafts. I never thought of trying to sell them. I have come to hate the gumballs so much that the idea of paying for anything other than getting rid of them never occurred to me!
MollieB55- Still dreading those gumballs? I have finally found an easy way to get rid of them. Get a leafhog- it is a leafblower that doubles as a vacuum. The gumballs get sucked up into a grinder along with the leaves and sent to an attached bagger.
I tried out my new "toy" after Ernesto blew a cover of leaves and gumballs into my driveway. It sures beats the heck out of raking and stooping! The mulch is very pretty and it makes the most satisfying crunch while eating up the dreaded gumballs.
carolinablue, can I have more details about the "leafhog": what brand did you buy, what size and power, etc.?
Miss Garney- I bought a Black and Decker LeafHog. The power is listed at 230 MPH. I got it from Walmart.
Have fun with yours. It looks like an air to ground missile launcher !