We have a few chestnut trees Mom and Dad planted. The wild ones were destroyed before the Great Depression. Many more blight resistant species were brought in and they grow very well.
They grow enclosed in a prickly burr that falls to the ground when ready. Inside can be four to six nuts. The horses love them, the squirrels love them and the people here like them, too.
The look of the bark, the leaves and the canopy remind of something timeless, almost prehistoric. Bev found the trees selling for almost fifty dollars for a three foot tree and the nuts sell for $16.95 a pound!!! And we have been giving them to the horses for treats!!
Bev was out early, with her tongs and feed sacks, picking up burrs for compost or firestarters in the fireplace. The nuts were saved in another bucket.
I guess we're not the only ones that enjoy chestnuts. These insects were finding something good on this pair.
Two five gallon buckets later, Bev is not finished...and this is not counting the ones that have been fed to horses.
Since chestnuts trees are few and far between, we hope to make seed bundles for the shop. Instead of Johnny Appleseed maybe we will be called The Chestnut Sisters.
