American Chestnut Restoration Project

[pa_friendly_guy]

I am not sure when the Chestnuts 1st start to produce, but the trees start to show signs of the blight at about 20 years old. That has been one of the problems with determining the bight resistance of various crosses. It takes 20 years to see the results. Where will you plant the chestnut trees? Do you plan on planting them all together or will you try to intersperse them with the walnuts, or perhaps fill in where some walnut trees did not make it? Your energetic planting numbers are always impressive. You are another one who makes me feel like a Piker because I am only planting 15 trees this year instead of hundreds, I think 15 trees of the different varieties that I have chosen will make a nice addition to the variety of fruits and nuts at my place though, and variety is the spice of life.

[George Collins]

The chestnuts will, if all goes as planned, be the crown jewel of our farm. As such, they get the environment most favorable to them. Everything else has to take a back seat. I would cut down any tree, disrupt any plan, go to any reasonable (and maybe a few unreasonable) lengths to ensure their safety and productivity.

Presently, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the 20 acres to the north of my house is a pine thicket. Before then, it had been the most beautiful stand of mostly hardwoods one would likely ever see outside a national forest. So happens that that 20 acres spans two hill tops: one on which my house sits which is red clay; the other, more northerly one is pure sand. Coincidentally, that sandy hill was the location where resided the last chestnut that was known to exist in this part of the world until the blight killed it. As chance would have it, chestnuts favor sandy soil.

That northerly situated, sandy hill is the first on the list for likely planting sites. Also, there they would be in a position so well protected, the only person likely to ever see them would be someone taken there for the express purpose of seeing them. That is to say, surrounded on three sides by a pine thicket/briar patch and on the fourth side there exists our neighbors who are red necks of the old school with a yard full of big dogs and a house full of bigger guns.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Big Dogs and Bigger Guns in the hands of Old School Red Necks would tend to discourage me a bit from trespassing. Maybe more than a BIT. I would have to make them Friends before I would consider trespassing, and then only with their help and guidance through their property, so that I wouldn't accidently stumble on the still,

[George Collins]

Murphy, the eternally hated, saw a frost nip about 25 of the little chestnut sprouts. Unbeknownst to me at the time was that the little sprouts were just pushing their way through the mulch. Since then, the slightest threat of frost-friendly temperatures saw them all well protected. Since then, no additional damage appears to have occurred.

Chestnuts though are notoriously resilient trees from what I've read and at least one has resprouted and appears to be rebounding. Hopefully all of the others that were nipped will follow suit in short order.

Lastly, I'm happy to report that those not nipped by frost are seemingly thriving.

[matt walker]

Looking good there George. I spot some Electronetting in the background too.

[pa_friendly_guy]

That is great George, it looks like they will be ready to transplant soon. Unless you are planning on keeping them in those pots for a year so they get a good head start. Either way you have a great start.

[George Collins]

Guy, the plan is to transplant them next winter. The reason I went this route was to give me more time to prep their final home site and defer the costs that have yet to be incurred during their critical first year in situ.

Matt, the electro netting was erected as an abundance of caution. I have imagined this nightmare scenario of coming home one day from work and seeing deer tracks around a bunch of treeless pots.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I can relate to that George. I am struggling with what to do with my spring nut trees that I have purchased and have now arrived bear rooted. I bought some plastic fencing that will protect from the deer. But I have been thinking about those tree tubes that you see around, I think they will be a lot easier to install, and at this point I am all about easy.

[matt walker]

I was ordering more electronet yesterday, and while I was making the order I noticed Premier sells tree protector sheath things. I don't think that's the technical term , but you get the idea. I ordered 20 of 'em, so I'll let you guys know how they work.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I just bought 15 of them Matt. I think they are called tree protectors. At least that is the name my extension agent gave then, I have also heard then called tree tubes, or tree sheaths. They are the little tubes that you put around trees to protect them. I bought the 5 ft variety because of the deer, they also come in shorter lengths. I got to thinking about messing with all that fencing and decided that this was just so much easier, and I am all about easy these days. My son is coming in Sunday to plant then, I don't even care how large a hole he digs for the trees. What ever he does will be fine with me.