So, what’s best – growing from seed, or planting seedlings or saplings? ![]() Though the nut dropped somewhat out of fashion for a while in the West, it’s experiencing a revival now – so it’s the perfect time to start growing them! Propagation I don’t know about you, but my heart breaks hearing this! Some regard this blight as the most devastating environmental catastrophe in American history.įor a while, the chestnut industry took a hard hit in the US.īut all was not lost for this beautiful tree! The chestnut industry in the US was saved by blight-resistant Chinese cultivars and Chinese-American hybrids, which are also perfect for food production, so Americans (and people throughout the rest of the world) are still able to enjoy this nutty treat. The disease was devastating, killing an estimated four billion trees. In 1904, a parasitic fungus arrived from Japan, and this proved to be a hard nut to crack for these American trees when they were overwhelmed with blight. However, chestnuts have had a tough run of things since then. Americans were completely nutty for these nuts! The American chestnut, or C. Until the early 20th century, the US had a booming chestnut industry. Thanks to the fact that these nuts are packed full of nutritional benefits and have a high calorie count for their size, they have served as an important food source for humans for ages. ![]() Cultivation and HistoryĪs I said above, chestnuts, or Castanea species, have been cultivated since at least 2,000 BCE. Note that some dislike the scent of the flowers, particularly those of the European variety, and the spiny burrs that contain the nuts tend to create quite a mess when they fall in autumn – so choose your planting location wisely. It’s an easy mistake to make if you’re out foraging – and an unwelcome surprise to find out 10 years down the line if you’ve planted nuts that you misidentified! The nuts these trees produce are similar in appearance to sweet chestnuts, but they are mildly poisonous. With green leaves that turn yellow in autumn, male and female flowers in the form of long yellowish catkins bloom in the late spring or summer, producing nuts when the female flowers are pollinated that are ready to harvest in the fall.ĭon’t confuse horse chestnuts ( Aesculus spp.) with the sweet varieties, because these are not edible. If you want your tree to produce a crop, there needs to be a second compatible pollinator growing within 200 feet.Ĭhestnuts can vary in overall appearance depending on the species, which we’ll cover in a bit more detail below – so keep reading! The nuts are high in carbohydrates but low in fat, a good source of dietary fiber as well as vitamin C and various B vitamins, as well as copper, manganese, and potassium.īefore diving in, there are a few considerations to keep in mind before you start growing your own chestnut trees.įirst, they can be huge – the tallest species can reach an impressive 100 feet in height – so make sure you check the height and spread of your selected species or cultivar before you plant, and determine where you’ll plant with care.Īnother important consideration is that a single tree on its own will never produce any nuts, as these species require another tree nearby for cross-pollination. The American and European species typically have a single leader, while the Chinese and Japanese species have more wide-spreading canopies and are often multi-leadered. Now that I’ve convinced you that chestnuts are wonderful, the only question is, how can you go about growing and caring for these trees yourself? Read on to find out! The chestnut really is a gift that keeps on giving. ![]() Thanks to their beautiful, rot-resistant wood that is used for everything from fence posts to house timbers, chestnuts are abundantly useful to woodworkers when they have reached the end of their lives as attractive ornamentals and sources of food in the landscape. This gluten-free alternative could help to provide the change you’re looking for. Wheat is not the most environmentally sustainable crop, thanks to its intensive production which typically includes regular tilling and pesticide applications, though it forms the foundation of many of our diets. This nut provides a perennial substitute for wheat-based products that’s also environmentally friendly. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products.
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