chestnuts

lurley · October 7, 2011

If I plant chestnuts will I get a chestnut tree? Sounds stupid even as I ask it I know, but I mean are they fertile seeds? Do they need a cold period to germinate? Anyone ever tried?

RayR · October 7, 2011

Chestnut is very easy to grow, my wife planted some seed some years ago and now we have a tree that is 30ft high. It's probably best now to wait till early spring to sow the seed since freezing temperatures will kill the seed or small seedlings. Keep the seed away from squirrel's, they love Chestnuts.
Here's a link to some good tips on growing Chestnut from seed.

lurley · October 7, 2011

Wow! How many years did it take to get that big? any favorite recipes? I just picked up fifty pounds for fifteen bucks at the produce auction.

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Tom C zone 4/5 · October 7, 2011

Any tree seed does better with a period of cold storage in a rodent proof container, out of doors or in a cold frame.

No tree seed I've tried does better (or has as good a germination rate) with drying or freezing.

By way of example Japan maple seeds have a 0.0% germination rate after drying...

RayR · October 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurley

Wow! How many years did it take to get that big? any favorite recipes? I just picked up fifty pounds for fifteen bucks at the produce auction.

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I don't exactly remember, but it is surely 20-25 years old.
It does produce Chestnuts, but the squirrels seem to make off with most of them.

lurley · October 8, 2011

Tom,
these seeds are fresh harvested, bought at the Amish produce auction. So I should just put them in the garage til spring and then plant them?

Tom C zone 4/5 · October 8, 2011

Yes, stir in some peat or 50-50 sand & dirt, in a rodent proof container. Wet and drain the medium first.

Er, FWIW don't forget them. You need to get your nuts into beds pots, or to field, as soon as a shovel can get through the chunks of ice. These are northern temperate trees. Frost(s), snow, etc, aint a bad thing.

Odds is the tree(s) you grow will still have some susecptibility to the blight that knocked this tree down early in the twentieth century, plant several. Expect some casualties as tree matures.

I'm sixty, it takes 20+ years befor chestnut shows any signs of blight. Chestnut I plant now are a prayer against a later famine. Chestnut was a major mast (food as well as lumber) for much of northeastern USA.

LuvsToPlant · December 1, 2011

So what kind of chestnut do you have?
American...Chinese...Japanese...or European?

rockhound · January 26, 2012

My guess would be Chinese. I am saying that because an American chestnut(very rare) would be well over 30 ft in all those yrs, plus Chinese chestnuts are much more common these days. Nuts are not exactly the same but still good. Wear gloves to pick them up!

LuvsToPlant · January 27, 2012

Tell me ...When I was a child...my father used to bring home boxes of chestnuts he harvested and stored them in the root cellar.
I remember picking them up with bare hands and not a problem with the spines ...as a child and eating one after the other.
I have a Chinese on the property now and the spines are difficult to handle even with gloves on!

What chestnut do you think that could of been...during childhood?

Worth1 · January 27, 2012

The American Chestnut used to be the most common tree along the east cost.
Many houses and barns were made from the wood and it is beautiful.

Then the blight came along and killed off almost all of them.
Now you can purchase this wood from people that collect from these old barns and houses.

I have looked into growing one or two here but have yet to try it.

Worth

augiedog55 · January 27, 2012

i also collect turkey calls. the only chestnut these guys get for the calls is out of old barns and buildings. theres is big $ in reclaiming old woods. wormy chestnut is really high.

rockhound · January 27, 2012

LTP~ I don't know if or how many spines the old American chestnuts had but I think if your father found a tree without spines, he was smart to pick them and bring them home.

October 7, 2011	#1
lurley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 741	chestnuts If I plant chestnuts will I get a chestnut tree? Sounds stupid even as I ask it I know, but I mean are they fertile seeds? Do they need a cold period to germinate? Anyone ever tried?

October 7, 2011	#4
Tom C zone 4/5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SE Ohio Posts: 253	Any tree seed does better with a period of cold storage in a rodent proof container, out of doors or in a cold frame. No tree seed I've tried does better (or has as good a germination rate) with drying or freezing. By way of example Japan maple seeds have a 0.0% germination rate after drying... __________________ Beyond the mountains, there are more mountains.

October 8, 2011	#7
Tom C zone 4/5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SE Ohio Posts: 253	Yes, stir in some peat or 50-50 sand & dirt, in a rodent proof container. Wet and drain the medium first. Er, FWIW don't forget them. You need to get your nuts into beds pots, or to field, as soon as a shovel can get through the chunks of ice. These are northern temperate trees. Frost(s), snow, etc, aint a bad thing. Odds is the tree(s) you grow will still have some susecptibility to the blight that knocked this tree down early in the twentieth century, plant several. Expect some casualties as tree matures. I'm sixty, it takes 20+ years befor chestnut shows any signs of blight. Chestnut I plant now are a prayer against a later famine. Chestnut was a major mast (food as well as lumber) for much of northeastern USA. __________________ Beyond the mountains, there are more mountains.

October 7, 2011	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,465	Chestnut is very easy to grow, my wife planted some seed some years ago and now we have a tree that is 30ft high. It's probably best now to wait till early spring to sow the seed since freezing temperatures will kill the seed or small seedlings. Keep the seed away from squirrel's, they love Chestnuts. Here's a link to some good tips on growing Chestnut from seed.

December 1, 2011	#8
LuvsToPlant Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Maine (northeastern) USA Posts: 53	So what kind of chestnut do you have? American...Chinese...Japanese...or European?

January 26, 2012	#9
rockhound Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 285	My guess would be Chinese. I am saying that because an American chestnut(very rare) would be well over 30 ft in all those yrs, plus Chinese chestnuts are much more common these days. Nuts are not exactly the same but still good. Wear gloves to pick them up!

January 27, 2012	#10
LuvsToPlant Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Maine (northeastern) USA Posts: 53	Tell me ...When I was a child...my father used to bring home boxes of chestnuts he harvested and stored them in the root cellar. I remember picking them up with bare hands and not a problem with the spines ...as a child and eating one after the other. I have a Chinese on the property now and the spines are difficult to handle even with gloves on! What chestnut do you think that could of been...during childhood?

January 27, 2012	#11
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	The American Chestnut used to be the most common tree along the east cost. Many houses and barns were made from the wood and it is beautiful. Then the blight came along and killed off almost all of them. Now you can purchase this wood from people that collect from these old barns and houses. I have looked into growing one or two here but have yet to try it. Worth

January 27, 2012	#12
augiedog55 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: oak grove mo Posts: 406	i also collect turkey calls. the only chestnut these guys get for the calls is out of old barns and buildings. theres is big $ in reclaiming old woods. wormy chestnut is really high.