{"id":1059,"date":"2019-08-31T04:49:50","date_gmt":"2019-08-31T04:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2019-09-17T23:01:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T23:01:45","slug":"chestnut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/31\/chestnut\/","title":{"rendered":"Chestnut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Castanea sativa<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sweet chestnut differs from most of the fruiting trees discussed here in that it is a big, beautiful forest tree. It is something you might think about planting if you have a lot of room and have planted everything else you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really got into Chestnuts\nwhen I moved to my present land and found several trees already growing here.\nThey were fairly small when I moved here but have grown rapidly and now provide\na significant annual harvest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrients: The nuts are different from most nuts in that they are low in protein and fat, but very rich in complex carbohydrates. They also contain fiber, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins B2, C and E <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Chestnut<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours of winter chill:\n400-750 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Size \u2013 up to 80 feet x 50ft\nwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone: 5-9 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blooming period: Mid summer <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruiting period: October –\nNovember<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life expectancy: 75-200 years\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bearing age: 3-6 years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yield: 50 – 200lb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Days to harvest: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing: Standard tree 50ft\napart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of growing: If you give\nthem the right conditions few plants are as easy to grow as chestnuts. I don\u2019t\ndo anything at all except harvest the fallen nuts. They\nproduce a crop of nuts regularly (in my garden they haven\u2019t missed a year yet)\nand can be amazingly productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestnuts are hardy to about\n\u201320\u00b0 F, but their preferred climate is Mediterranean hills (to 4000ft) with\nmild winters and hot summers. They are very drought tolerant and have\nessentially naturalized in gardens around here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH 5.5 – 8.0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These large forest trees\nprefer a deep, fertile, well-drained soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site:\nThe chestnut is significantly larger than\nmost food bearing trees and will only work in a large site. It needs full sun\nfor best production, but small trees are quite shade tolerant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In poorly drained soils you\nmay have to plant on a mound, to keep the collar of the tree from staying wet\nfor long periods (too much water could cause it to rot). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mild climates chestnuts\ncan be planted at any time from late fall to early spring. In colder climates\nthey are usually planted in spring. As with most other plants a small tree\ntransplants better than a large tree and will do better in the long run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How: Dig the planting hole 2\u20113 times as wide as the root\nball, to give the roots plenty of loose soil to grow into. You want the hole to\nbe the same depth as the root ball (or roots if bare root), so it can be set\ninto the ground at the same depth it was growing in the nursery. This is most\neasily measured by laying a stick across the hole to get the right height. The\ngraft union should be 3-6\u201d above the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start planting by throwing a\ncouple of shovels of soil (possibly mixed with some organic matter if the soil\nis poor \u2013 to help it hold moisture) into the bottom of the hole. Make this into\na slight mound and then spread the roots out evenly over it. You then put some\nsoil in the hole to anchor the tree in place and firm it down. Then re-fill the\nhole with the rest of the soil (make sure the tree remains vertical). You may\nalso want to add some rock phosphate to the soil as you go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have finished\nplanting the tree should be on a slight mound, so as the soil settles it\nbecomes flat. If it starts out flat it may end up as a slight depression where\nwater can collect (which can be a problem on poorly drained soils).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You then water the tree\nthoroughly, not only to supply water to the plant, but also to settle the soil\nand establish contact between roots and soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final step is to spread\nout a mulch to conserve water, and keep down weed competition (keep this six\ninches away from the trunk). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also a very good idea\nto put a permanent label on the tree saying the variety and rootstock (and\nwrite it down in your garden journal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support: Newly planted trees were once routinely supplied\nwith a stake to support them, but it is now thought that trees become stronger\nmore rapidly if not staked. Staking is only usually necessary on very windy\nsites (especially for dwarf trees which grow on weak rootstocks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protection: If gophers live in your area you will have to plant\nyour trees in gopher wire baskets (I make my own to whatever size I need). If\nother rodents are a problem (they may chew on the bark, stunting or even\nkilling the tree) you may have to use various kinds of metal or plastic mouse\nguards. These should go several inches into the ground and should have gravel\naround them to deter digging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintenance: Chestnuts don\u2019t need any attention once established,\nthough when they start fruiting you may want to rake up the spiny burrs after\nthey have all fallen (they compost easily).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertilizing: These aren\u2019t very hungry trees and don\u2019t usually need\nadditional fertilizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering: Mature trees are quite drought tolerant and have deep\nroots that can search out water. The trees in my garden produce well without\nany irrigation at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course newly planted trees\nwill probably require some water in their couple of years, until they get\nestablished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollination:\nChestnuts are cross-pollinated by the\nwind, so you need more than one tree to produce fruit. The flowers appear in\nsummer, long after any frost danger has passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning: Chestnuts are terminal bearing, which means they\nproduce fruit at the end of new growth. They can be grown without pruning,\nthough you may need to remove some lower limbs to allow more light to get\nthrough to the ground (their foliage is very dense).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propagation: Chestnuts are easily grown\nfrom fresh seed (they lose viability rapidly as they dry out) and self-sown (or\nsquirrel sown) seedlings appear all over my garden. These grow very fast in the\nright conditions, but may take 10 years to start bearing much fruit.\nImproved cultivars can be grafted and usually bear at\nan earlier age. Cuttings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch:\nA mulch of compost is useful to keep the ground moist, and supply nutrients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people dislike having\nfruiting chestnut trees in the garden because of their painfully\nspiny husks (my dog is reluctant to walk on them). If you want to use the area\nunderneath the trees, it is a good idea to rake them up as they fall and\ncompost them (they break down very quickly). These spiny husks serve an\nimportant function as they effectively prevent squirrels from eating the nuts\nbefore they are fully ripe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests: So far they have been completely pest free in my\ngarden, but in less favored areas they have their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestnut weevil:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestnut\nBlight: Unfortunately it isn\u2019t possible\nto grow European or American Chestnuts in the eastern part of the country\nbecause they are susceptible to Chestnut Blight. This introduced disease wiped out\nalmost all of the American Chestnuts in its native range (this has been called\nthe greatest ecological disaster in American history). Fortunately we can still\nplant the smaller Japanese and Chinese Chestnuts, as they are resistant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvest; When the nut is ripe the spiny burr splits open and\nfalls to the ground (which is good because they would otherwise be pretty\ninaccessible). The nuts often fall out on their own, but if they don\u2019t just\nroll the husk under your foot to release the nuts. A ripe nut is chestnut brown\n(presumably this is where the name of the color comes from). The burrs are\ncovered in needle-like spines and are pretty uncomfortable to handle. It\u2019s a\ngood idea to go out at least once a day and pick up the fallen nuts otherwise\nrodents will take them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage: The fresh nuts deteriorate\nquickly and should be treated more like a vegetable than a nut. They can be\nstored in a perforated plastic bag, in the fridge, for up to a month. For\nlonger term storage they can be dried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landscape\nuses: This is a big and beautiful shade\ntree. It is quite fast growing, but still takes at least 10 years before it\nstarts to supply much shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other\nuses: Chestnut wood is strong and rot resistant\nand has been called the most useful temperate hardwood. The trees produce\nlittle sapwood and so are rot resistant even at a young age. They have long\nbeen prized for use as fence posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestnut trees\ncan be coppiced to provide poles for garden use (coppicing means cutting down the\ntree at ground level and allowing it to resprout and send up new poles). The\nnew shoots grow very rapidly on their already established roots (my tallest\nshoots have grown 10 ft this summer) and can be cut every 3-10 years (depending\nupon the climate and the size poles needed). You can coppice any tree that gets\ntoo big for the garden and allow it to start all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food\nuses: Unlike\nmost common nuts, chestnuts are high in carbohydrates rather than protein or\nfat and in the kitchen they are treated more like a cereal than a nut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nnuts are commonly roasted, boiled or ground into flour for baking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four important\nchestnut species and all have been extensively hybridized, unfortunately most\nimproved varieties are hard to find. The only commonly available one is\nColossal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European\nChestnut (Castanea sativa<\/em>) Large\nnuts, heat tolerant. Susceptible to blight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese\nChestnut  (C. mollissima<\/em>) Smallest tree but produces large nuts. Blight\nresistant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American\nChestnut (C. dentata<\/em>) Biggest tree\nbut small nuts. Susceptible to blight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japanese\nChestnut (C. crenata<\/em>) Large nuts but\nsomewhat inferior. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Castanea sativa The sweet chestnut differs from most of the fruiting trees discussed here in that it is a big, beautiful forest tree. It is something you might think about … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nuts","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chestnut.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1745,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/1745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}