Thanks for the response. After visiting a tree that was dropping them a couple days ago, I came to the same conclusion. Dealing with those needles to acquire a large crop did not look like much fun. And after eating. A lot of work for not much substance. I was looking at them as something different to sell, but in the end not worth it.
Sorry for thread bump, but Iām planting trees at my new house and got me remembering this tree (Chinese Chestnut).
Had one at the house I grew up in during the 1990ās (Itās still there last I saw, but Iām not).
Was a nice tree, wider than tall, healthy. Iād guess at least 40 yrs old when we got there, but Iām no expert. We had a swing under it for awhile.
Donāt walk barefoot around it. The pods hurt.
My mother tried to harvest and roast the nuts a couple times, but there was some larva that infested basically 99-100% of them (Wasp/moth/not sure, google probably knows) so we never actually got to eat them. I write it off as completely useless for food production unless you spray it/manage them some other way. Had a bunch of black walnuts on the same property and they actually could be collected a bit (we didnāt do it often, but it was possible)ā¦ so it was just this tree that got infested like that. Didnāt damage the tree any, but completely infested the entire crop of nuts every single year.
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Probably chestnut weevils. After loss of most American chestnuts their populations were reduced, but they still subsist on chinquapins and non-native chestnuts and can be a serious problem in chestnut plantings. Most common control methods are sanitation (i.e., keeping dropped chestnuts picked up so the grub doesnāt get into the ground to complete its life cycle) and heat treating nuts.
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Sounds like youāre probably right there.
As for people not collecting black walnuts another member mentioned in '19, Theyāre everywhere around me too, and Iāve met ONE person in my life who collects them, and Iām going to fall on the side of people saying theyāre not worth the effort. With no special equipment available to me to assist with them, Iām HAPPY to pay store prices for Walnuts vs collecting, husking and shelling them myself. That said theyāre beautiful and sturdy trees, but I avoid them because of the juglone. Thereās a couple in my neighbors yards I canāt do anything about, but if there were any in mine, Iād take them down, use the wood (itās quite nice) and let the ground start the however many decade process of washing out the juglone.
To be fair though, Iām on a tiny little half acre plot, and trying to maximize the space. If I were sitting on multiple acres, Iād care a lot less about letting the black walnuts have their room.
Iāve gotten three volunteers along my property line in the past year and I cut them out asap.
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Iām bumping this topic because I have a related question.
Iām growing Qing (technically, Qing seedlings) and I like it. Itās vigorous, productive, and tasty. I donāt really need more chestnuts. But Iām always interested in trying new things. So this question is directed to anyone who has grown both Qing and other Chinese varieties:
Is there any variety that is better than Qing or at least equal to it overall but different?
I suppose the answer is, āYeah, lots.ā If so, could you rank them and maybe briefly discuss pros and cons. As an aid, let me stipulate that size is not a priority; sweetness and flavor matter much more.
I appreciate that if you say āVariety Xā then Iāll end up growing a seedling of X ā so 50% X. Iām not quite ready to wrestle with grafts of chestnuts. Iāll take the risk.
There are many that are better than or equal to Qing.
Qingās primary attribute is that itās sweet, even when the nut has just fallen off the tree. It also has good flavor, even when raw.
We did a taste test at The University of Missouri 4 years ago of about 20 cultivars and Qing did not finish in the top 5. Iām not sure it was even in my top 10.
Yixian Large and YGF were the two best. They both have sweetness and both simply have better overall flavor than Qing. Yixian Large also has a very large nut -
YGF nuts are not small either-
Flavor is a complex subject but basically Qing has a relatively simple flavor and simple texture. It does have very good sweetness which is why many people think highly of it.
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Not written up.
Most of the published Chinese chestnut cultivar discussions are about 20 years behind the times.
The nuts below are from the āElizaā cultivar. Great size, great productivity and great flavor. The University of Missouri has a small two year old graft of it. They probably wonāt get around to discussing it (if they ever do) for at least another 10-15 years.
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Jrd, thanks for that website. That is the best article on growing chestnuts I have seen so far. I am a little far north to get my hopes up, but have a number of trees planted. Not holding my breath on ever harvesting any, but with the weather swings, who knows? I have Chinese, 2 Layerokes, 5 Dunstans, maybe a couple others. Iām trying the Plantra grow tubes now to see if they help.
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You might want to talk to Buzz at Perfect Circle Farm in northern VT. Heād have relevant experience. @Buzzferver
Thanks. Iāll probably just let them grow a couple years, then decide how to procede if they make it that long. Iām to the age I shouldnāt be planting more fruit or nut trees, but it is an addiction.
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āBlessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.ā
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Except future property buyers rip it all out again.
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Yes, most do rip it all out. They donāt want any trees dropping fruits or nuts on their lawn.
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Some day they may find the grocery stores either all locked or all empty, theyāll regret ripping out the fruit and nutsā¦but you canāt tell some folks anythingā¦lessons learned by experience generally are the kind that finally do āstickā.
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