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Post by Reagan on Jun 2, 2020 16:55:52 GMT -6
 After Dad helped with the spruce planting he kept talking about fruit trees. He wanted to buy big box trees and I kept discouraging it. So he texted yesterday and said he was showing up with chestnut trees. So instead of arguing I started digging holes. I strongly encouraged him to also show up with fence. He kept saying there is no way a deer is going to single out a few of our trees and eat them. After showing him a pic of a rock that I dug up, I told him fence is good insurance after the spending time and money on planting. He brought 4 ft fence so we improvised. The fence is mounted off the ground to protect the top of the trees. A deer could go under it but I don’t think they will want to get inside the cage. |
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Post by Reagan on Jun 2, 2020 17:03:28 GMT -6
 The first hole really sucked for rocks. The next two were easy. I think the Dunstan craze has died down but the old man wants to see some trees grow. It will be interesting to watch. Next year will will be a few fruit trees. Dad likes planting trees. Has been married 50 years. Was a coal miner so he is all about grid power. He also hates cats. Sounds kinda opposite of someone we all know. |
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Post by Bob on Jun 2, 2020 17:49:07 GMT -6
The first hole really sucked for rocks. The next two were easy. I think the Dunstan craze has died down but the old man wants to see some trees grow. It will be interesting to watch. Next year will will be a few fruit trees. Dad likes planting trees. Has been married 50 years. Was a coal miner so he is all about grid power. He also hates cats. Sounds kinda opposite of someone we all know. Watch your own bobber fella. |
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Post by Catscratch on Jun 2, 2020 20:07:47 GMT -6
That's a good deal... planting trees with your dad.
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Post by nhmountains on Jun 9, 2020 16:10:44 GMT -6
After Dad helped with the spruce planting he kept talking about fruit trees. He wanted to buy big box trees and I kept discouraging it. So he texted yesterday and said he was showing up with chestnut trees. So instead of arguing I started digging holes. I strongly encouraged him to also show up with fence. He kept saying there is no way a deer is going to single out a few of our trees and eat them. After showing him a pic of a rock that I dug up, I told him fence is good insurance after the spending time and money on planting. He brought 4 ft fence so we improvised. The fence is mounted off the ground to protect the top of the trees. A deer could go under it but I don’t think they will want to get inside the cage. That's great Reagan. How far apart did you plant them? I think they'll grow well for you there but, you want them close enough to cross pollinate. I'd do 30' if possible. The local guy here that I gave one to so it could cross pollinate his American planted it too far away so it hasn't worked yet. He didn't want to block his view so we waited 3 years for it to mature to find out they needed to be closer. Then he pruned it last year and took off all the fruiting wood. I'd say you'll be producing nuts in 2-3 years. The one I gave the guy I grew from seed and it produced burs in it's 3rd year. Was loaded in year 4 and then had none last year because he pruned it. Where did he get them from? |
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Post by Reagan on Jun 10, 2020 5:23:07 GMT -6
Dad picked them up from Walmart. They are Chestnut Hill Dunstans.
I was going to plant them in a line along the edge of my woods. Instead I switched to a triangle pattern where I paced off 11 yards between each tree. I hoped that would give me better pollination with each tree having 2 close by.
Dad has checked and watered them often since I haven’t been back. I’m not sure why he is suddenly into chestnut trees. My uncle had a farm in WV that had really mature timber. You could still see stumps from giant chestnut trees that had died 100 years ago. I think these trees are a way for him to leave his mark on the land.
Next year will definitely be apples and some more spruce and pine.
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Post by nhmountains on Jun 10, 2020 6:05:45 GMT -6
With full sun they should take off. Just don't let him over water them. With that mulch they probably only need to be watered once a week. If the mulch is moist then I'd pass. The only other thing I can see setting them back would be japanese beetles. Spray with sevin if you see any sign of them. They love chestnut leaves.
How close is this farm to you?
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Post by Reagan on Jun 10, 2020 6:41:23 GMT -6
I’m 2 hours away. I’ve been there more this year than ever due to the China virus. But work is picking up so I might go 2 weeks without a visit. He is 30 minutes away from the property
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Post by nhmountains on Jun 10, 2020 7:48:24 GMT -6
I was talking about the link. route9cooperative.comIt’sa chestnut farm. They were starts by Greg Miller years ago. Theysell nuts and seedlings too. Might be worth a drive by some time if they’re close? |
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Post by Reagan on Jun 10, 2020 7:54:11 GMT -6
I misread.
It’s about 4 hours from home. Maybe 3 from my land.
Interesting. I’ll check it out. That’s towards Amish country and I think my dad is going up there with mom later this summer. I haven’t been in that part of the state for several years.
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Post by jbird on Jun 10, 2020 8:53:11 GMT -6
Planting trees is a way to leave a mark on the land well past once we leave this earth. I planted trees with my grandfather and I plant trees with my kids. I tell my kids all the time, "maybe one day you and your kids will kill a deer that has come in to eat from the trees we planted today". I'm not sure they understand the significance of that, but maybe some day they will.
As for Chestnuts....you are starting a journey that I have put on hold. I started with 3.....they all did real well, and then the first one produced a few nuts and then died of root rot. The remaining 2 got burnt real bad this year with a late frost and look like shit. I had planted another 3 in another part of the farm....drier soil...much drier soil. One died from being too dry, one was abused by a deer and reduced to a 12" stick that is now recovering.....and the other one is hanging on by a thread. Due to the loss of the first one Chestnut hill sent me a few replacement whip trees. The late frost I mentioned has done a number on many of them. The whips I though was all dead, but they are resprouting from the base. For now I am holding off on more dunstans simply because I need to know they will make it. I need producers....and I have had far better results thus far (limited time) with crabapples and apples from Turkey Creek and growing sawtooths from acorns I got from Cat.
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Post by Sandbur on Jun 10, 2020 11:25:21 GMT -6
I have shot deer from stands in trees that I planted. This means I am getting old!
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Post by Reagan on Jun 10, 2020 18:19:43 GMT -6
I have shot deer from stands in trees that I planted. This means I am getting old! Since my old place wasn’t open I never planted a tree until age 46. I hope I get to hunt from one someday but that seems unlikely |
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Post by Reagan on Jun 10, 2020 18:22:59 GMT -6
So it looks like route 9 nursery is big in Chinese chestnuts. If a person were growing Dunstans would it be smart to avoid the Chinese? Does it matter? I’m thinking long term and possibly growing more from nuts I harvest.
My natural tendency is to not buy anything that is Chinese these days.
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Post by nhmountains on Jun 12, 2020 17:04:21 GMT -6
Dunstans have Chinese, European, and American in them. If I were doing it over I might just go all Chinese and save the money. Some theories had the Dunstans being more desirable because of them having American in them but, if you have open areas to plant an orchard then it won’t matter. There’s many varieties of Chinese though that could give you a longer drop time. Your zone should handle any variety. Some Chinese are more cold hardy than others. My Dunstans have survived-30 days here and there though. None the past two winters though. I walked around some of my land today. I wished I’d taken the time 7 years ago to baby them and make sure they had good light. Mine have been planted in small openings because that’s all I had. If you take the time to plant an orchard now I bet you’ll be happy in 5 years that you did it. There used to be a guy from Virginia (?) on the old Q sight that had planted chestnuts. Massey was his name. Seeing his trees got me me interested in them. My issue has been lack of cleared land and a shorter growing season. If you were zone 3 then you should forget about them.
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