We have 8 trees on our property in SE Virginia. I just picked up hundreds of seeds. I have potted 25 seeds and leave outside to go through the winder. By spring, I shall see it growing. I have 10 acres and open field behind us. Like to fill in the back with chestnuts mostly for wildlife. Deer have a rough time through hunting season and at 68 years old and combat veteran, I am tired of seeing death. So, wild animals have some food. Apple trees also provide a favorite for them. My garden is 1 acre, I see possums, rabbits, skunks, snakes, squirrels, bald eagles, hawks, owls, and plenty of others. I sit out back with coffee and the skunks, squirrels, possums, and deer walk up right to me and say thanks. Chestnuts are a great food source for all. BTW, planted persimmon, asian pears, and peach trees also. All for our friends that slither and have 4 legs. They are about 30 feet high now.
Sounds like a slice of paradise! Nice job! I still harvest an animal here and there but definitely appreciate Nature and work to maximize my land’s food potential for wildlife. I’m gonna get some Asian pears too!
I got mine in the mail and did the same thing. I got my video posted this morning. I left a link to your channel in my description. Your videos have helped me. Thanks.
I really interested in growing the chestnut trees. we have two of them in our Fram property already. I picked them out from the ground under the tree. and doing some study about American chestnuts. I am going to try out I have some great seeds already. I am glad to see the VDO you posted. I thought the seeds can't be put on top of each other.. Haha silly me thank you.
@@johnsangl so bit of an update I got all of my seeds put in peat moss and in the garage for cold storage about a moth ago, no mold yet, yay! on that note after doing my video on the carboniferous I've realized why the peat will hinder fungus growth; Its acidic! like, acidic enough to kill a lot of plants... but chestnuts like acid so I'm not worried.
I had to watch this one again since I am going to do this with nuts from my best tree that was loaded. I gifted a dozen nuts to a neighbor who had lost a big tree and the other tree wasn’t getting pollinated. He told me the deer would hang back in the woods and when they heard the burrs and nuts fall they would come eat them up even in the middle of the day. My goal!
my wife put some chestnuts in a plastic container in the refrigerator and They sprouted so we planted them. That's all you need to do is put them in a plastic container in the refrigerator and they will sprout
True. They are not hard to sprout. If you want long-term replicable success with minimal molding issues year-after-year, you’d probably want a better plan.
It usually takes 2.5-3 months for the root to begin emerging from the nut. By the time I put them in soil under lights to begin sprouting, the root is usually 1.5-2 inches long.
Don’t necessarily want to tell you how to do what you’re doing but I think if you would get a spray bottle, put a handful in give it a couple sprays put a handful and give it a couple sprays put a handful in give it a couple sprays and so on it would be a little less messy and I think you get a more even wetness.
I appreciate the tip - however, if you’ve ever worked with pure peat moss, you would know that your method would fail miserably. Peat resists absorbing water which is why I have to mix it thoroughly first. Also, the goal is not to get more moisture. I carefully control moisture from the start to avoid mold. Thanks for watching.
@@johnsangl A GREAT way to get peat moss to suck up water, I boil water in a pot and once boiling, I take it off the burner and pour so much in a smaller bag of peat moss and mix it up, then pour more in and mix it up. Do this several times and the peat moss will EASILY soak up boiling water and then I close the bag up and let it sit overnight. Next day the peat moss will be moist and ready to use! ;-)
Last fall I picked up a bunch of seed from the grocery store and put 10 in the fridge for stratification. I checked them the other day and saw that a couple of them had sprouts that were 1/8 inch long, and there was a couple more that was starting to crack in the part of the seed when the sprout comes out. Having said that I think I'll be getting at least 5 of the 10 to grow. Now, my question is knowing what kind of tree will I end up with if the seeds were imported from Italy? Any ideas? Thanks
@@johnsangl Yes I am East of the Rockies in Southern ON Canada. We do however have surviving American Chestnut trees in my area. The one tree is estimated to be more than 70 yo, and is a strong healthy tree. This leaves me hopeful that these chestnuts might produce healthy mature trees. Several years back I was at a pumpkin farm not far from here and as we rode in the wagon around the farm the tractor stopped to show the kids the pumpkin field, and proceeded to point out the 2 chestnut trees that were standing in excess of 15 feet and were heavily loaded with burrs. We were told at the time they were Italian chestnuts. I've since learned that there isn't necessarily such a thing and are probably just European Chestnuts. I'm hoping these ones I got are the same thing because I know those trees I saw at that farm were doing really well.
Hey John do you wash the seeds before putting them in the containers? I’ve cold stratified about 100 seeds for CROPK and had to throw two out after a month due to a small amount of mold.
Awesome! I'm stratifying Chinese chestnuts and American chestnuts this winter. Do you know how to plant seedlings in already wooded areas? I have woodland with some open canopy, enough sun for tree starts I would say. Any advice would be appreciated!
Trees will need genetics that resist blight and that will likely make the trees shorter than your dominant wooded areas. They will be unlikely to successfully compete and become productive in that setting. American chestnuts can compete but will get blight and die back. The GMO American Chestnut is probably your best bet and isn’t released yet. You can still try though- that’s part of the fun!
@JohnSangl is it the blight resistant species just naturally shorter than the American? Chestnuts require full sun, so they won't exist happily as understory, right?
Hi John, This is an excellent video. When you transplant into pots and then into the field, does ph become a problem? Do you add suphur to keep the root area acidic?
You're planning on adding 300 more trees in your orchard or selling these trees? You'll soon need specialized equipment to pick up all those Chestnuts, or a dozen migrant farm workers.
Great process! This is a dumb question cause I know you’ve said it somewhere but how long is the minimum amount of time required to cold stratify the chestnuts?
Not sure the minimum, but I put mine in the fridge in mid-October and sometime later in January the root starts poking out. They’re ready to plant at that time. I hold off until early April to reduce the amount of work though.
love the video. im having trouble getting my seed to sprout in the fridge. it could be two things temperature and moisture your thoughts on this as i would like to be successful this year i have 100 nuts to stratify. im in nanticoke ontario off of lake erie zone 6b
You check for mold periodically. Do you remove all the chestnuts and then replace them? The mold issues I had this year had developed just in one bottom corner of the container.
I check every 3-4 weeks to ensure no mold has developed. Watch a video about that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZFlQI_ka5PI.html I used to put the Nuts under lights in February but they become too leggy and I get tired of taking care of them that long. Now I start them in Early April(our last frost is mid-May). Video of that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5y7aXDZmMJU.html Then I begin hardening them off outside. Video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_VwgIj4Ogr8.html
Hi John! Do you have any experience as to whether it is better to plant the large nuts or nuts that are sold as nuts for platning? there is a different in price and I wonder if there are any benefits? Thank you!
It’s a little late for this year - Options to buy seeds are Route 9 Cooperative in Carrollton, OH, Chestnut Ridge of Pike County - IL, Red Fern Farm - IA or HARC - MO. There are other good options, these are the ones I have experience with.
Have tried the same the same thing with walnuts . Stratifyed in fridge Nov1 , but no activity in any seed I have planted . Should I be seeing a root or some activity by now ? Do they have to be out of fridge for any activity to occur ? Would appreciate any help , brand new to this !
I check them monthly while in the refrigerator. I start them under lights in late March/early April and plant in the orchard or nursery about 3 months later.
I think having a mix of sources is good. I’ve only grown seeds from Chestnut Ridge of Pike County and those from my own orchard so those are the only ones I’ve had experience with. What government agency were you thinking?
Whatever works for you. Not saying my way is the only way. Starting indoors gives plants a head start when you live in Northern climates. Also can protect from rodents eating your seed.
I’ve never considered that. I do wash my hands with soap and water before starting. I have over 95% germination so I’ve never looked for additional ways to do it. They would keep the dirt from underneath my fingernails though!
