American Chestnut Restoration Project

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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Thu Oct 24, 2013 1:59 pm

Why was he recommending against planting Chinese Chestnuts Manny? I only ask because I planted 4 last spring. :o Since I don't have 20 years to wait and see if they will blight or not I felt that Chinese was the only viable option left for me in chestnuts. Maybe I was thinking wrong. I know that we do seem to be very close to a blight resistant variety, it has been 100 years of research and breeding new cross breeds to get to this point. That is normally when the rug gets pulled out from under you. :lol: I hope that he is correct and we have a blight resistant variety in a year or two.
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby mannytheseacow » Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:57 pm

Not to worry, Guy. In the conservation world, we usually don't promote planting any non-native species. Pointing out the obvious, the Chinese chestnut is not native to your region or mine, though I doubt it will be an issue for you.

We have a lot of non-native plants that have gotten way out of control in my area (bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, phragmites, garlic mustard, etc.) as I'm sure you do, too. So much effort is spent just trying to eradicate these plants. They have a variety of issues- outcompete native plants, introduce disease or pests, develop shallow root systems that cause erosion, the list goes on and on.

I don't know that there is any particular problem directly with planting a chinese chestnut. It's just in the grand scheme of things, I think the forester feels that people's time would be better directed towards the American chestnut restoration effort- like what George is doing.

We also got to keep in mind that this isn't the tree planting police, and I think you are better off to plant a chinese chestnut than planting no tree at all! :)
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Thu Oct 24, 2013 3:13 pm

That makes sense Manny. Given a viable choice I would plant a true American Chestnut, but since I am older and don't have a long time frame left I decided to go for the Chinese variety. Once we have a truly blight resistant variety I will plant American Chestnuts for my Grand Children, but until then I will go another way.
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby Lollykoko » Thu Oct 24, 2013 4:07 pm

Manny, I will be expecting a sale sheet from my local Soil and Water Conservation guy in about 3 months. Apparently they set up something with local nurseries to provide trees and bushes of various types and age. Bare root stuff is available in quantity discounts, and pines are usually very inexpensive. We place the order early in the year, then pick up our choices in early April. Is that any way similar to what you're doing across the state line to the west?
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby mannytheseacow » Thu Oct 24, 2013 5:52 pm

Hi Lolly, Everybody does things a little differently, but yep, essentially the same thing.
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby George Collins » Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:54 pm

This winter has seen us working harder than at any point since starting on this permaculture journey. The thing that has made this tree planting season so difficult is the chestnuts coupled with putting up new, semi-permanent electric fencing for the hogs. Electric fencing, normally a breeze to erect, is made difficult indeed when one has to cut a path through a pine thicket. However, the end is now in sight with only about 30 more chestnuts yet to be planted.

Wanting to put as many as possible in the "hog-food forest" added yet another degree of difficulty in that all that are so placed must be caged to protect them from cows. So, when I say we planted 57, that doesn't sound like to terrible a number. And it isn't. However, clearing up the spots in which they were placed, along with building and placing the cages was a beast.

The last 30ish trees still to be planted should be relatively easy as they are being planted in an orchard type layout on 20' centers. I had wanted to put them all in the ten-acre hog food forest but, being out of room, we were forced to seek out another location.

That's actually a good problem to have for what it ultimately means is that, if everything lives, we now have, for all practical purposes, a ten acre plot planted as full as it can realistically be with trees that produce crops that are edible to both humans, hogs and all manner of wildlife.

I'm sure that future years will see the death and replacement of the occasional tree. I've left a couple spots open for the purpose of being able to put a few, as yet to be identified, promising specimens in. But even if those spots were to remain unplanted, it would not materially alter the effect.
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby Lollykoko » Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:34 pm

George, I am glad to see that you had a moment to stop and bring us up to date. I was beginning to be concerned about your silence. I am trying to plan just one food forest for this spring, about 15 trees, and it's going to be a lot of work. I can't imagine trying something the scope of your project, even with all of your helpers!
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Re: American Chestnut Restoration Project

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Sun Mar 16, 2014 4:14 pm

You deserve a big AT-A-BOY for all your hard work George. You have made your plan, and now you are working it step by step. As you see things take shape and the plan mature with time you will surely reap great benefits from all your hard work.
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