Project: Growing Chestnuts - better than acorns

[unclefish]

I'm trying a new project of growing Dunstan Chestnut trees from seed. I have researched ALOT on the subject and everyone that has producing Dunstan trees says that deer will walk thru acorns to eat chestnuts.


I ordered 9 lbs of Dunstan Nuts from a guy on eBay. That's alot of nuts...several hundred.


First you need to chill them and keep them moist.
I used a mixture of Perlite and potting soil and put them in ziplock bags in the fridge. You want them moist but they also need to breathe. Poke some holes in the ziplock. The Perlite helps them from rotting and getting mold while still keeping them moist.

[unclefish]

The nuts have to cold stratify in order to germinate. So after a few weeks in the fridge (do not let them freeze or it will kill the nut) they actually started to germinate while still in the bag in the fridge. When that happens its time to transplant them to pots.
You can see the sprout in this one...


I ordered some rootmaker trays but they have not come in yet so I started putting some into pots. With the 50/50 perlite-potting soil mix.


Now I've got them under grow lights until the spring.




I'll do about a hundred more when the rootmaker trays come in.

[whitetailfanatic]

I saw these advertised in my qdma magazine let me know how they do?

[unclefish]

You got it. I'll post some updates as they grow and when I transplant them to my farm.

I'm sure I'll have some failures along the way but hopefully y'all learn from my mistakes.

[Sippy]

You do some of the coolest stuff! This and the food plot thread... awesome!

[bcdawg1]

Very interested in the results also as I need to come up with some trees to plant to replace the thousands of live oaks that have died in our pasture.

How do the chestnuts rate for growth rate?

[unclefish]

Very interested in the results also as I need to come up with some trees to plant to replace the thousands of live oaks that have died in our pasture.

How do the chestnuts rate for growth rate?

They grow fast.....in 4-5 years they will start to produce nuts. They drop their nuts in Sept......just in time for bow season. I'm gonna plant them in a killing area so I can hunt over them.

I have never had roasted chestnut before so I roasted some and they were good. Its a different taste but I liked it.....I can see why deer devour them.

Thanks Sippy. I like trying new and different things and get alot of ideas from the QDMA forum. Lots of good info on that site.

[whitetailfanatic]

They grow fast.....in 4-5 years they will start to produce nuts. They drop their nuts in Sept......just in time for bow season. I'm gonna plant them in a killing area so I can hunt over them.

I have never had roasted chestnut before so I roasted some and they were good. Its a different taste but I liked it.....I can see why deer devour them.

Thanks Sippy. I like trying new and different things and get alot of ideas from the QDMA forum. Lots of good info on that site.

I'm glad I thought I was its only member, never hear any talk on here.

[CastAndBlast]

Anyone know if you can buy started trees?

If not, do you want to sell some?

[3fletch]

Have you thoght about chinkapin, it's a native member of the chestnut. Hard to find seed though, they have a sweet taste to them and they usually drop early, just right for archery season. They use to be plentiful in east tx, a blite wiped most of them out, still a few producing fruit if you can find them. They seem to thrive in sandy soil. Sprouting some myself with plans on setting them out.

[Montec man]

How big will they be when you transplant them to their permanent home? Will you have to put wire cages around each one to prevent the deer from browsing them down to the ground?

[3fletch]

check out willis orchard for chestnut trees

[unclefish]

Anyone know if you can buy started trees?

If not, do you want to sell some?

www.chestnuthilltreefarm.com/ carries them and they will ship to you. They are kind of pricey though at $25/tree.

Sure I might sell some depending on how many I end up with in the spring.

[unclefish]

I'm glad I thought I was its only member, never hear any talk on here.

Yep I love the whole concept of QDMA. Its almost as much fun as hunting.

I figure the trees will be 2-3 feet tall when I transplant. And yes I will have to put some wire around them to protect them from deer and cattle.

[unclefish]

Have you thoght about chinkapin, it's a native member of the chestnut. Hard to find seed though, they have a sweet taste to them and they usually drop early, just right for archery season. They use to be plentiful in east tx, a blite wiped most of them out, still a few producing fruit if you can find them. They seem to thrive in sandy soil. Sprouting some myself with plans on setting them out.

I have thought about the Chinkapin oaks. You can buy the started trees from www.nativnurseries.com and also on ebay. Pretty cheap too!

Alot of guys on the qdma forum grow the Dwarf Chinkapin Oak from seeds. There seems to be alot of the acorns floating around there that members will either give you or sell you.

I may have to look into it further and start some trees.