Chestnut Ridge of Pike County

mattpatt

Well-Known Member
Just wanted to let everyone know that Chestnut Ridge of Pike County has started selling their nuts online today. I always get a pound or so to plant. I usually direct seed as I’m convinced that the fancy root pruning pots everyone is using does more harm than good when you live somewhere that gets above 90 F in the summer for extended periods of time. That tap root is very important when it comes to survivability in hot climates. Anyway, for those that don’t know Chestnut Ridge is all Dunstan so nuts collected from the orchard will most likely carry Dunstan traits.

Www.chestnutridgeofpikecounty.com


Matt


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Pretty simple.. I direct seed in the spring after threat of last frost usually with a 2’ tree tube. If I don’t use a tube I’ll cover the chestnut with hardware cloth and remove after I see top growth.


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What depth are you planting the chestnuts? Are you putting them in the refrigerator prior to planting?


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Right under the ground. Yes store in refrigerator when you get them this time of year and keep them there until spring. I use a ziplock bag. As long as you see condensation in the bag you’re okay. Don’t let them dry out. About a month before I want to plant I move them into some damp sphagnum peat moss and back into the refrigerator until they sprout. Then I plant.

Matt


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They were very fast shipping, bought a few pounds of the eating chestnuts and a pound of planting ones.

Float tested the seeding ones for over an hour and about a third of them floated. I put them in a separate bag and marked them as floaters and will see if any still sprout.
For the price I'm happy with the purchase.
 
So, a couple of questions - if the Chestnuts have become soft (as in you can push in on the shell), does that mean they’ve dried out too much and are no longer viable? Also, is it normal for the Chestnuts to develop a few black spots where the nut was attached to the bur?

Reason I ask is that I forgot to check on the Chestnuts for a couple of weeks and now alot of them are soft, and if I put some into water, they float. I had them sealed in some ziplocs, and with just a few sprays of water. I’m thinking they had too little moisture, just don’t know where that right balance is on moisture. On those that seem still firm, I went back and placed a slightly damp paper towel inside the bag and poked a few holes in it.

Any help would be appreciated.


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If a chestnut is mushy and swishy, it is rotten. If the hull moves just a little this means it has an air gap between the nut and the hull. I discard those that are rotten but not the ones that have an air gap.

I conduct a float test at least over night to allow the ones that are dry to soak up water and those types of chestnuts will not be floating the next morning. Now I don't know how many chestnuts you have in your possession and what the number is you would like to grow, but floaters I normally toss them. Just remember I am not float testing for just 5 minutes.

The slightly damp paper towel has all of the water squeezed from it. I don't want it dripping wet. If the zip lock bag has condensation on the bag we believe you have a good moisture level in that bag.

If you see white looking powder in the bag, this represents mold and has to be dealt with immediately. For that reason I like to limit my number of chestnuts in a bag to smaller numbers so mold does not wipe larger numbers out.

Please follow up with a specific question, if my explanation confuses or I failed to address something. Good luck.

Wayne
 
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The bag with the floaters pretty much all turned white or green and got tossed.
Out of the rest I've only had a couple go white, the ones from my Dunstan's that I picked up this fall are OK so far.

The eating chestnuts from Chestnut Ridge were AWESOME!

One batch I cooked up;

zxCA7ei.jpg
 
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