Resources for Growing Chestnuts

This post is a bump to get this thread moved toward the top. I am doing this for the first time growers that I will be shipping Chinese Chestnuts to this week.

Growing chestnuts is about not cutting corners. They are vigorous growers but certainly things they don't tolerate.

If you are first time grower, read this thread end to end once. Then read it slowly and take notes as you go. At that point - ask the questions you need to ask. This forum has plenty of experienced folks that will help you. I have always taken the time to help first timers. It is my way of giving back to those that helped me.

The three best friends a chestnut has: a well drained growing container, a growing media that drains well and a person that will show it the attention it needs on a regular basis.

Chestnut season is here! Enjoy the ride. ;)

6,100 Chestnuts in 2 Days.jpg
 
Thanks for bumping this thread to top

great read

Do you recommend direct seeding in the fall or in the spring time after nuts have produced a radicle?

thanks,

bill
 
Bill - Wayne is the expert, but I'll weigh in on what I did (which is the lazy man's route). I received the nuts from Wayne last year, promptly separated them into 5 ziplock bags of 10 nuts each; placed them in the back of the fridge and forgot about them until April when my wife asked when I was going to throw them away. By then, some had produced radicals, some had not. I directed seeded 25 of them in mid-May (the first chance I could get to the Lodge) and now I have 21 strong seedlings. The largest is about 4 or 4.5 feet tall.

I plan on planting 50 chestnuts in this fashion next spring.
 
TreeDaddy said:
Thanks for bumping this thread to top

great read

Do you recommend direct seeding in the fall or in the spring time after nuts have produced a radicle?

thanks,

bill
Click to expand...

Bill,

Here is what I suggest. Definitely divide the bags into smaller count bags so if we see some mold - it is contained to a smaller group.

Your situation is red hot - in that you fight hot temperatures most of rarely see. For you it is a constant battle.

Think inside the box and think outside the box. If you are going to direct seed only - divide the chestnuts into thirds.

Answer one question - for your climate and growing environment - which do you think will give the chestnuts the best chance - fall direct seeding or spring time direct seeding. I live in Portland, TN and I am not so arrogant I think I know what is best for where you grow. I trust you to know your growing environment.

Now back to the 1/3 we created count wise. Direct seed 2/3 of them at the time that you believe favors you best. Direct seed 1/3 at the time that you believe is second best growing opportunity.

Bill - we don't control weather. Once you place your bet - weather and nature have the last word.

What do I like? I sure like seeing a radicle before I direct seed. Heck that is just me. I am not good at direct seeding. I have trained my mind and behave like a container grower.

Friend - you are a tree guy. For me to say that is a real compliment. I love your passion for trees. I have the same addiction.

What nature has taught me. Mother nature has the final say. She will claim some of our trees - no matter how well we do. It is the way the world works. I have learned to claim the best ones for me and my farm. Only the strong survive.

I am trying to get you to think two ways - not the either or mindset. Hope I didn't confuse. I would get good at shading trees in the heat waves if I struggle against your hot summer temps.

Wayne
 
TreeDaddy said:
Thanks for bumping this thread to top

great read

Do you recommend direct seeding in the fall or in the spring time after nuts have produced a radicle?

thanks,

bill
Click to expand...
Bill,

I'm in Texas as well. When I direct seeded I kept them in the fridge, in a ziplock bag with no extra moisture, until about a month before I wanted to plant. In my case this is about a month before my average last frost date since I don't start them inside under lights. You could plant them in the fall but I see no advantage and it just increases the chances of something happening to the nut after being in the ground for so long. When this date finally arrives, I then move them to a plastic container with some damp long leaf sphagnum peat moss. I alternate in the fridge one day then leave them out at room temp for a day. Doing this gives them a wake up call and they'll begin to germinate in 2-4 weeks. I then direct seeded and used some form of protection (usually a 2' tree tube but you could use 3" PVC and window screen to cover the top too). I had almost 100% success rate doing this and they thrived until Summer hit and the rains stopped. This is where I screwed up and didn't go water when I should have. None of them ended up making it. It just gets too hot down here even for a direct seeded chestnut with it's long tap root to make it without supplemental water. If I had been able to water, then there's no doubt in my mind that they would have made it. The trick to getting chestnuts to live down here is dependent on your ability to water at least once a week during the summer if you haven't received any rain the previous week.


Matt
 
Thanks,fellas

To some degree,
i can control stratification with refrigeration

In addition,by only planting seeds with radicles, prospect of top growth enhanced

Will probably go with 1/2 direct seeding in spring as matt describes and 1/2 with containers as wayne and jack
taught me

bill
 
buckdeer1 said:
If you have a few left this year I would gladly pay for shipping to get a few more
Click to expand...
Buckdeer1
Is all of your contact info the same as last year?

The cost will be $8 for a box of at least 50. The postal rates increased since last year. I am adding you to the distribution list now. Next shipping day for me is this coming Monday. I am collecting chestnuts between now and then. I shipped 70 orders this week and my supply is low.

Thanks for the order. :)
 
Was shown three new trees on a man's land Sunday, Oct 9th. One of the trees was still holding probably 40% of its burs.

I am appreciative that I was allowed to collect about 2 gallons of chestnuts. On Saturday he had collected approximately 35 gallons of chestnuts. His truck bed was full of 5 gallon buckets filled with the empty burs. The man collects every single bur under the tree which allows a person to monitor what has recently dropped.

In the last two weeks I have located two locations with trees that are late droppers. For my goals this is a great addition. I will plant late droppers right beside trees that drop earlier in the fall. This benefits the whitetail deer and the bow hunters too. On our farm I will plant chestnuts in pocket locations around the farm.

A reader on a different forum referred this individual to me. This landowner has four acres he just recently fenced off to plant a tree plot for whitetail deer. It was a great visit and I look forward to helping this man with his tree plot. He will be growing chestnut seedlings in a grow tent. :)
 
I have been inactive for a long period of time due to a health issue. I have worked hard on restoring my health. I intend to collect chestnuts this Sept on a limited scale. I am bumping this resource thread to the top.

For anyone interested in chinese chestnut, this thread has some great resources. I hope all my friends that have chinese chestnuts get timely rains between now and the end of August. Timely rains now will help swell your burs and chestnuts. Nature has the last say friends. So practice your rain dances!

Wayne
 
coconut coir reduced.jpg During 2022 it became almost impossible to find vermiculite in middle Tennessee or southern Kentucky. I got on the internet to see what others suggested. Coconut Coir is a product I had never used or seen others use. Coconut Coir is the product others said to use. I find it a very good product, just as good as vermiculite IMO.
 
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Soil Compaction

On our farm in different locations, soil compaction is a major problem. The causes are side effects of loggin, rocky soil, ridgetop locations, among others. Every year I have dealt with chestnuts I am repeatedly shown how important oxygen is for the roots to grow a viable productive chestnut bearing tree. Growing containers and soil are critical to the establishment of a seedling, while the soil in the final destination a tree is planted can be make or break. Picking a good site matters but as the habitat manager we can improve the sites we select.

Mulch, compost tea, digging a wide enough planting hole all matter. Selecting the right planting depth for the seedling matters also.

I had 3 chinese chestnuts trees on a ridge just past the gate entry on a logging road (created by loggers with 100s of trucks hauling out timber logs. These three trees have done well enough to survive, one exceeds the other two. All three have produced some nuts. I want to increase their chances of being productive so on the opposite side of the logging road I select 3 locations for 3 more trees to improve our pollen in this location. Now the opposite side of the loggin road had major compaction issues. One hole took longer to dig than the other 2 combined. Plenty of rock in this location and the impact of the weight of all those loads of timber created a major challenge. I am not walking away from this planting location.

I purchased what I call a tree aerator, you landscape hobbyist may call it a lawn aerator. It works very well, just use after a rain to save you time and increase its effectiveness. I purchased mine from Home Depot. Home Depot website info: Corona Max YardBreather Aerator with Auto Eject 3.5 Soil Plugs. Approximate Cost $29 range. It has 2 spikes which makes using it around a planted seedling fast, you can get it in the ground with one foot, just wiggle it forward and backward slightly to create a larger opening, pull it up and relocate to your next location. Gonna improve water infiltration, improve soil compaction, increase oxygen getting into the soil and roots. I put a small amount of worm castings on the site and rake it in. I added pine straw mulch around my tree tubes, which helps maintain moisture and helps with the pH I need around my seedling.

I will likely aerate these seedlings 2 or 3 times a year until I am pleased with how they appear. I will be adding compost to their location when I get some from my source.

Tree Aerator.jpg
 
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I like to make about 3 circles of holes around the seedling. This 2 hole aerator is a charm, if you had a tool with more spikes than 2 it will be too challenging in some soil locations plus you increase your chances of hitting a rock. Sticking holes is easy with this 2 spike aerator and we want to have fun as we manage and improve our habitat.

Yes I like tree tubes for young seedlings. Many of you don't but I have had good success. I will add cages to trees when I remove the tubes later on. I have plenty of tubes and fiberglass stakes from the Wildlife Group in Alabama, Alan has been good to me.
 
Learning Suggestion

The Empire Chestnut Company in Eastern Ohio merged with 4 or 5 other orchards to form the Route 9 Cooperative. Greg Miller is the person that heads that up. I love their chestnuts and have used them multiple years in what I grow. Diversity is important.

Get on YouTube and search out all of their Videos. I watch them to learn how and why to process and grow chestnuts efficiently. I have 5 pounds of Greg's nuts in my fridges now. They also sell seedlings, but I have never bought seedlings from them. If nothing else search on YouTube how to properly plant a seedling and to learn the mistakes that kill a seedling because you made mistakes when you planted it.

Proper knowledge is valuable if you want to be successful. Personally, nothing makes me madder that to grow a great seedling to only see it die off after I went to the effort to plant it in the field. YouTube and good forum post are two great resources I am thankful for.

Wayne
 
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