One Thousand Chestnut Trees - a Whitetail Deer Project

[wbpdeer]

OK,Wayne are you talking about direct seeded chestnuts or oaks needing the cold stratification?80 days plus? Please help cause soon I'm gonna put some stuff in the ground.

Diamond Hunter,

I believe three methods of growing from seed / nuts exist. Forget bare root or potted trees that fetch more money. You, I and others have chestnuts, DCO, Concordia, sawtooth, etc in our possession.

I like growing in containers - it cost money to build two grow boxes. It cost time to grow in containers. It cost electricity and the rootmaker 18s add up as well as the growing media. Heck, I like watching them grown. What I do is not for everyone - I have no kids at home so I am rather free to do it. To grow in containers I need to cold stratify my chestnuts. So growing in containers is Method One in this discussion.

Two Remaining Methods are Direct Seed Methods. Why two direct seed?
People like our friend "Letemgrow" stuck those chestnuts now! They don't cold stratify. He like a rather large bare earth spot. He wants mice to take their life in their own hands to cross bare earth to get to a tree tube. His method is now and I think you are a now grower.

Direct Seed with Stratification. The advantage of stratification is you can get a radicle produced and this means we are direct seeding a viable chestnut. I personally have direct seeded chestnuts with radicles showing because they were cold stratified.

Do I believe both methods of direct seeding work? I know they do.

For WBP what do I prefer? I am a container grower primarily.

What am I going to direct seed this year? 25 Large Burs from Catscratch. DCO from Blitz (part of them). Concordia (part of them).
Some regular Chinkapin if I can get some? I will direct seed some Chestnut too.

How many containers will I grow in? Over 300 in two grow boxes and in the Greenhouse.

Will I lose some plants? Absolutely, we all do. Nature eliminates the weak and our mistakes can move a good plant to a weak status. At that part nature finishes the decline.

Three methods from seed / chestnuts. I hope my explanation clears up any confusion. WBP

 

[Diamond hunter]

Yes,perfect,I now know I don't need cold stratification,so the planting can commence.BTW if you need chinkapins,I am eat up with them from a tree in my back yard.We also have an abundance of squirrels.I have ample bullets for squirrels and the neighbors don't like shooting.

 

[cutman]

Wayne, I need your expertise. Are these chestnuts ready to harvest? Should I climb up to get them or wait for them to fall?

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[wbpdeer]

Wayne, I need your expertise. Are these chestnuts ready to harvest? Should I climb up to get them or wait for them to fall?

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Certain that the one open is ready. Look at the color of the bur it is brown and look at the nice color of the chestnuts inside. I picked five gallon this morning in the light rain at a new location of 4 trees.

Not all of the burs on a tree turn color and open up at the same time. I don't like chestnuts laying on the ground - critters, mold, drying out, etc.

Can you shake some limbs? That will put on the ground anything open and ready. What I picked this morning had some beautiful chestnuts and large ones.

I collect with a nut wizard - it works great. I have collect 17 1/2 gallons this week. My main trees have not been dropping yet.

I do shake limbs to get on the ground those that are close.

I am drying chestnuts in the floor with fans right now.

Follow up if you have other questions.

 

[Mitch]

Certain that the one open is ready. Look at the color of the bur it is brown and look at the nice color of the chestnuts inside. I picked five gallon this morning in the light rain at a new location of 4 trees.

Not all of the burs on a tree turn color and open up at the same time. I don't like chestnuts laying on the ground - critters, mold, drying out, etc.

Can you shake some limbs? That will put on the ground anything open and ready. What I picked this morning had some beautiful chestnuts and large ones.

I collect with a nut wizard - it works great. I have collect 17 1/2 gallons this week. My main trees have not been dropping yet.

I do shake limbs to get on the ground those that are close.

I am drying chestnuts in the floor with fans right now.

Follow up if you have other questions.

This might be a silly question, but why do you want to collect them? Wouldn't you want the deer to eat them?

 

[wbpdeer]

People collect them to grow seedlings. People collect them to eat. People collect them to sell.

I have collected at three locations this week - deer don't hit any of the three locations. One is in a city setting, one is inside a 8 feet high fenced area to keep deer out and the third location is on a state highway right of way.

Now wbpdeer collects to sell to the people so they can grow seedlings. On a healthy tree - each bur will have three good chestnuts. Man does it add up fast.

My efforts are going to help whitetail deer across 30 states.

 

[Mitch]

Gotcha! Make sure you add Oklahoma to that list

 

[cutman]

Success! I stood on the tractor seat so I could reach the burrs and when I touched them they fell off the tree. This was what was inside the three burrs total...

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[cutman]

What do I do with them now, Wayne? Soak them overnight and put them in the fridge like acorns?


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[Diamond hunter]

I say soak them 24 hours and direct seed them now.

 

[wbpdeer]

What do I do with them now, Wayne? Soak them overnight and put them in the fridge like acorns?


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Cutman,

I assume you want to grow some seedlings from them? I am going to answer with that in mind.

You have three choices to grow a seedling: 1) in container after cold stratifying in the fridge for at least 80 days, 2) direct seed now without cold stratifying or 3) cold stratify in the fridge and then direct seed in its final location.

I like to grow in containers and I have two grow boxes I built specifically for growing seedlings. You are a professional person with time demands.

Please reply to me how you wish to grow and then I will tell you how to proceed.

I give all of my chestnuts a hydration bath over night and on the next day anything floating gets tossed. I have worked thru 12 1/2 gallons of chestnuts today - drying then in front of fans - after they were soaked about 38 hours.

The mailman delivered me 75 flat rate boxes just now. I ordered 100 and labels for every box. I got part of my stuff today.

Cutman - it will be my honor to help you out. Your vision is why I am enjoying this forum.

 

[cutman]

Thank you. For now I plan to soak them overnight then grow them in containers next spring. I have grown sawtooths before from acorns so I'm not a complete novice, but I have no experience growing chestnuts.


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[Diamond hunter]

The question is which method has the highest germination rate, soak and plant today or cold stratify and plant in 3 months .I have an experiment to do,tomorrow after this rain I'm gonna direct seed 20 and then cold strat 20,mark them and plant on a December day after I'm tired of hunting. Then,I'll have plenty of room to plant seedlings later.Thanks WBP for the direction.

 

[wbpdeer]

Thank you. For now I plan to soak them overnight then grow them in containers next spring. I have grown sawtooths before from acorns so I'm not a complete novice, but I have no experience growing chestnuts.


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Chestnuts are different in that they are high in carbohydrate. This makes them more likely to mold or rot if they are too wet. Hydrate them at least 12 hours up to 18 hours. Dry them extremely good after they are hydrated. I use two fans to dry mine but I am dealing with 1,000s at a time. At the end of the long soaking - discard the floaters.

To grow chestnuts in containers we need a well drained growing media. I use rootmaker 18 express trays. I can move an individual container in way I need to move it.

Put them in a sandwich bag with some holes punched in it. I suggest you stratify them 85 to 90 days. This will allow many of them to germinate in the fridge. I use long fibered Sphagnum Moss in with my chestnuts. It is damp but not holding much water. I soak it and then squeeze every drop of water my fist can get out of it.

Here is a photo of what I put in the sandwich bag with the chestnuts.



Lowe's is where I buy mine at.

Now if I left something out, please let me know. I aim for 34 degrees on the fridge temp.

 

[wbpdeer]

The question is which method has the highest germination rate, soak and plant today or cold stratify and plant in 3 months .I have an experiment to do,tomorrow after this rain I'm gonna direct seed 20 and then cold strat 20,mark them and plant on a December day after I'm tired of hunting. Then,I'll have plenty of room to plant seedlings later.Thanks WBP for the direction.

Direct seeding means we are subjected to weather extremely beyond our control. I know cold stratifying helps the percentage because if a chestnut does not produced a radicle I am not putting it in the ground. Cold stratifying allows more facts to become known. That is extra effort to cold stratify.

Diamond Hunter you will not have a shortage of chestnuts to work with this year. I have already collected about 18 gallons and my main two trees are still holding.

Don't over think it - just do what you do and nature will provide you your successes. If you direct seed now, you have less of a time investment. If something does not pop up at a location, you can plant a seedling at that spot in late April.

 

[Oakseeds]

Not all of the burs on a tree turn color and open up at the same time. I don't like chestnuts laying on the ground - critters, mold, drying out, etc. Can you shake some limbs?

If you - or anyone else - decide to shake some limbs to get nuts to fall .... do yourself a big favor and place a cheap plastic tarp on the ground under the limbs. It will make picking them up much simpler and avoid any type of nut/ground contamination. Good luck!

 

[wbpdeer]

I am drying chestnuts with fans right now. They were soaked for about 25 hours. Had very few floaters - they were tossed.

I did collect 2 gallons of Chinese Chestnuts right after daylight this morning. A bad thing happened - Diamond Hunter and his friend were headed to get two food plots done. They stopped by and Diamond Hunter now knows he likes to eat chestnut.

Reckon the deer can handle the competition. It is only fair - he showed me those three trees. Those trees are holding 80% of their burs still. We need some stiff winds to get those on the ground.

I checked my FIL trees and they are holding 98% of their burs. The only good news there is the size of the burs continue to get larger. I am hopeful for plenty of larger chestnuts at those trees. Those trees are special to me - those are where it all started for me. I got motivated collecting at those trees in 2014 and have been on fire since.

Post Office will get plenty of my money this week for sure. Shipping time is here. I went to "Dollar General" to get my sandwich bags, tap, envelopes and color paper for informational purposes.

Yep - I am a tree guy.

 

[wbpdeer]

On Thursday I collected. On Saturday I collected. The photo below show 6,100 chestnuts that have been hydrated and dried.

Yes - chestnut season is under way in Portland, TN. I have a nut wizard which allows me to collect them efficiently and fast.

Fowler Ford was 10 gallons, Collins was 5 gallons and Bethpage was 2.5 gallons. I have about 2 gallons that are not in the photo as they are getting soaking and will not be hydrated until Monday. I am about 20 gallons.

Shipping task begin tomorrow. If you are thinking about Chinese Chestnuts now is the time to get on the distribution list. This train is moving fast now.



Two of the locations included in this photo are first time I have collected at these locations. I am excited about those trees and what they produce. Fowler Ford is year two for me.

My father in laws location has not dropped yet - everything is green and in the trees. If I stayed at it, I imagine I could collect 15,000 chestnuts this year. I am expecting to pass 10,000 and then stop. I am a bow hunter and it will be time to get serious about filling a tag.

Thanks for reading this thread.

 

[Diamond hunter]

I

On Thursday I collected. On Saturday I collected. The photo below show 6,100 chestnuts that have been hydrated and dried.

Yes - chestnut season is under way in Portland, TN. I have a nut wizard which allows me to collect them efficiently and fast.

Fowler Ford was 10 gallons, Collins was 5 gallons and Bethpage was 2.5 gallons. I have about 2 gallons that are not in the photo as they are getting soaking and will not be hydrated until Monday. I am about 20 gallons.

Shipping task begin tomorrow. If you are thinking about Chinese Chestnuts now is the time to get on the distribution list. This train is moving fast now.

View attachment 3247

Two of the locations included in this photo are first time I have collected at these locations. I am excited about those trees and what they produce. Fowler Ford is year two for me.

My father in laws location has not dropped yet - everything is green and in the trees. If I stayed at it, I imagine I could collect 15,000 chestnuts this year. I am expecting to pass 10,000 and then stop. I am a bow hunter and it will be time to get serious about filling a tag.

Thanks for reading this thread.

 

[Diamond hunter]

I cant wait to get some of those late drop trees planted,tomorrow is direct seeded day for me,gonna put in 20 and then stop all the while saving 20 best looking ones in the fridge.Thats the plan,im also direct seeding some DCO tomorrow.