Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

You just have to pick them up...

Ron

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Mmm delicious.. I can smell them roasting from here :)

Great pics Ron, thanks for sharing. Harvey will be all over this thread soon enough.. ;)

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Yeah, they taste delicious, who is Harvey???


Ron...

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Our distinguished ladder climber member Harveyc, he grows chestnuts in California.
His chestnut farm website: Correia Chestnut Farm - American Grown Fresh Chestnuts From Our Family Farm to You; large hand-harvested Colossal chestnuts, recipes, instructions for roasting chestnuts, chestnut roasters, chestnut knives

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

That's like asking who's Richard or Gabe. :ha:

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Who's Ron??? :ha:

We harvested 529 pounds on Saturday, 514 pounds on Monday, and I predict 650 pounds today! My orthopedic doctor ordered MRIs of my left shoulder and left knee this morning so I just need to take it a little easy until we find out what's wrong, especially my order. I'll probably start taking orders in a day or two. The Italian Marroni varieties grown at my home orchard are still 10 days or more from starting to drop.

Ron, I'd like to see photos of the chestnuts you've got there once you start picking them up.

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Will do that Harvey, I was just joking, haven't forgotten you. All the best
with your leg and shoulder..

Ron

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Here you are Harvey, they are already falling but those on the ground now
are either shrimpled or not fully ripe/grown. Only a few good ones. The tree is still full but I think it bears way to much chestnuts. Will see if i can find bigger ones in 2 or 3 weeks cause its still early.





Ron...

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Thanks, Ron. Looks like C. sativa based on nut size and appearance. Are there multiple trees there in the general area? Some people claim that all chestnuts require cross-pollination but I am certain of at least a couple of varieties that are self-fertile while I also grow many varieties that produce no pollen at all (or extremely little). Some of the wild C. sativa in Italy are relied upon as the source of pollen for the Marroni varieties which are either C. sativa or possibly hybrids of C. sativa x C. crenata (Japanese).

That's a magnificent tree and I hope that I live long enough to see some of my trees one day appear something similar, though my pruning will most likely restrict size. We have some chestnut trees in California that large but not very many.

Did you catch the comments in the welcome thread with our member from Sicily? One day I hope to see the magnificent tree on Mount Etna with a trunk circumference of 22 meters. I've seen many photos of it but being there in person would probably leave me in awe.

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Hi Harvey, yes there is another tree nearby, maybe 10 feet away but its a much younger one. I do know however about fruit producing trees wich
are quite isolated. The chestnut of this one is quite round but I know
of other trees with bigger chestnuts wich have one flat side. Maybe
there are 2 different species growing here? Often there are 3 in a shell
out of wich 2 have enough size to eat them.
I am getting interested now myself and will do some more investigation
and will make pics from other trees.

I'll keep you informed

Ron

Re: Its a good year for the Chestnuts
 

Ron, I don't know much about what chestnuts are grown in Holland but even within sativa there are quite a bit of variations as seedlings seldom are very similar to the parent while mollisima (Chinese) do produce seedlings that are often nearly identical to the parent.