Chestnuts?

[whitetail1971]

Hey whitetail1971. Take a look at the classified forum. I have an ad for American Chestnut (Dunstan variety). In that ad I go into depth about how I plant chestnuts. Read the whole thread lots of information. This system works good as this is what I’ve done for seven years. Have 260 trees in four orchards that are 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 years old. Research Dunstan chestnuts I highly recommend and closest thing to true American Chestnut and blight resistant. Had 300 seedlings sold all but 30. You could pm me and exchange phone numbers if you had more questions. Not trying to sell you any trees but I have information that could help you like where to get Dunstan seeds or where to buy larger trees. I don’t sell fruit trees but have planted and recommend deer pear Mexican plum American persimmons and wild crab apple. The one problem I see you having is bears. When your trees are young and fruiting you will have to find a way to keep the bears from tearing them down. If you have bought trees you should have them already planted or heel in outside for the winter. If you have bought seed they need to be cold stratified for about four months then put into tree tubes. Also if you bought seed it needs to be viable seed and not processed (heated) for eating. Hope this helps.

Thank you very much! Great info. I found it very helpful. I had no idea there was so much interest in chestnuts. I’m not sure if you follow Don Higgins “Chasing Giants”but he wrote an article regarding chestnuts including the Dunstan. Some leading chestnut experts that he interviews found virtually no identifiable difference between the two strains but Chinese chestnuts are sold quite a bit cheaper. I didn’t realize people like yourself are growing and selling the Dunstan strain at a cheaper cost

 

[mcbuck58]

Your welcome. Here’s some history. https://chestnuthilltreefarm.com/learning-center/dunstan-chestnut-history-2/

 

[Nock]

I got two pounds in my fridge right now.

 

[mcbuck58]

I got two pounds in my fridge right now.

Hey Nock that’s cool. Where did you get your seeds? What temperature are you keeping them at? I use a dedicated fridge in garage and keep it at 36 degrees. I’ve got 280 seed’s which I think is around four or more lbs. Keep my seeds in stratification from middle of October to end of February. I use Baccto professional planting mix and don’t have any mold problems. Pull them all out at the same time end of February and have found that some seeds have not cracked and sent out a radical. I take those seeds and plant with others and almost everyone of them within a day or two crack and send out radical. First of March the seeds are planted in special tree pots. The seeds are not planted under dirt just pressed into soil about half the depth of the seed. If you have a long radical just push that into the dirt. My trees spend March growing in my house on family room floor in front of 8’ sliding glass door getting sunlight. First of April trees go outside on roll around hand made tray racks that can be moved inside my garage for the night if we have a hard frost or freeze. Good luck with your seeds.

 

[JR in KY]

@mcbuck58 that is interesting you not covering the seed a couple inches deep. I planted my King Hickory nuts about 3 inches deep in rich soil about March 1... I had 4 additional nuts ( that i never found) sprout and grow well just lying on top of the ground. @carnivore and @aaronc saw them and will vouch.. Seems they germinate easy unless the Squirrels get them. THEN you have to Raise them and therein lies the problem.

 

[Nock]

Hey Nock that’s cool. Where did you get your seeds? What temperature are you keeping them at? I use a dedicated fridge in garage and keep it at 36 degrees. I’ve got 280 seed’s which I think is around four or more lbs. Keep my seeds in stratification from middle of October to end of February. I use Baccto professional planting mix and don’t have any mold problems. Pull them all out at the same time end of February and have found that some seeds have not cracked and sent out a radical. I take those seeds and plant with others and almost everyone of them within a day or two crack and send out radical. First of March the seeds are planted in special tree pots. The seeds are not planted under dirt just pressed into soil about half the depth of the seed. If you have a long radical just push that into the dirt. My trees spend March growing in my house on family room floor in front of 8’ sliding glass door getting sunlight. First of April trees go outside on roll around hand made tray racks that can be moved inside my garage for the night if we have a hard frost or freeze. Good luck with your seeds.

I got them from Chestnut Ridge. They are in a separate refrigerator as well. 98 nuts is what I got. Temp is 36 as well.

 

[mcbuck58]

@mcbuck58 that is interesting you not covering the seed a couple inches deep. I planted my King Hickory nuts about 3 inches deep in rich soil about March 1... I had 4 additional nuts ( that i never found) sprout and grow well just lying on top of the ground. @carnivore and @aaronc saw them and will vouch.. Seems they germinate easy unless the Squirrels get them. THEN you have to Raise them and therein lies the problem.

Well out in the wild acorns, nuts and seeds just fall on the ground and may get covered in leaf litter but don’t really get pressed into the ground unless an animal, person or vehicle presses them in. You should see my chestnut oaks they drop every year and just split open and send a root down as they don’t need cold stratification. Did an edit to say I leave the seed attached to the tree while it’s in my house but pull the seed off when I move them outside so as not to attract squirrels, coons, or possum.

 

[mcbuck58]

I got them from Chestnut Ridge. They are in a separate refrigerator as well. 98 nuts is what I got. Temp is 36 as well.

Hey @Nock Chestnut Ridge good place. 30 year old orchard all Dunstan Chestnuts from Chestnut Hill in Florida. Original place of Dr. Dunstan and his Dunstan chestnuts. Good luck with your seeds. Are you going to grow one season and then fall plant or plant the seeds directly into ground next spring?

 

[JR in KY]

@mcbuck58 What is wrong with just leaving them in an unheated garage until they are planted in Feb March?

 

[Onthedge]

@mcbuck58 What is wrong with just leaving them in an unheated garage until they are planted in Feb March?

Nothing, that's how my brother done it, worked fine.

 

[mcbuck58]

@mcbuck58 What is wrong with just leaving them in an unheated garage until they are planted in Feb March?

American Chestnuts need to be cold stratified to make the seeds sprout. All the experts say cold stratification is achieved in a refrigerator (34 to 38 degrees) in moist soil. I have heard of sawdust also. The soil and seed must have moisture the whole time but not soaking wet. Common sense says that’s not what happens (correct temp and moisture) out in nature but out in nature they don’t all survive and produce.

 

[mcbuck58]

Nothing, that's how my brother done it, worked fine.

Never tried it that way. When I started 7 years ago I researched and been doing it how the experts suggested. Had a few that didn’t work over 7 years but I get near 100% results every year. I have done from 180 to 300 seeds each year. Your brother had how many seeds and how many grew trees? Got my curiosity so I’ll try it next year.

 

[aaronc]

I was going to use peat moss to stratify my chestnuts and my KHickory's...Nobody around here had it and I didn't really think about ordering it..so I ended up using some spent potting soil out of the wifes flower pots in zip lock baggies. I moistened the dirt and will continue to keep it that way with a spray bottle. I also did a bag with just paper towels. I don't know what the temp is,...it's the first time I've done it. It's the extra downstairs fridge in the basement. We'll see what happens.

 

[mcbuck58]

I was going to use peat moss to stratify my chestnuts and my KHickory's...Nobody around here had it and I didn't really think about ordering it..so I ended up using some spent potting soil out of the wifes flower pots in zip lock baggies. I moistened the dirt and will continue to keep it that way with a spray bottle. I also did a bag with just paper towels. I don't know what the temp is,...it's the first time I've done it. It's the extra downstairs fridge in the basement. We'll see what happens.

Sounds good. First year had some mold using sorghum. Then I changed to Baccto professional planting mix and no mold almost 100%. I’m going for production so I’ve got Walmart trays with lids with holes I drilled. One inch of Baccto 40 seeds per tray then another inch of Baccto. You can buy a little thermometer place in fridge and adjust the fridge temperature dial. Good luck with your seeds.

 

[aaronc]

Sounds good. First year had some mold using sorghum. Then I changed to Baccto professional planting mix and no mold almost 100%. I’m going for production so I’ve got Walmart trays with lids with holes I drilled. One inch of Baccto 40 seeds per tray then another inch of Baccto. You can buy a little thermometer place in fridge and adjust the fridge temperature dial. Good luck with your seeds.

Thanks,..I was going to do it that way...the guy I've been watching on youtube pretty much did just that except he used peat moss. I'll have my system fine tuned by next year...maybe I'll get a little lucky with some of these this time. If all these seeds were potatoes we wouldn't have any problems 😁