< Select A Different Album Chestnut Planting Spring 2005 March 26, 2005 Under the direction of Dr. Paul Sisco, Regional Science Coordinator for the American Chestnut Foundation, the Carolinas Chapter plants chestnuts harvested in the fall of 2004 at the Pryor Farm near Edneyville, NC. Click on any photo to enlarge it. Plastic is spread over each 300 feet long planting bed. The plastic will help control weeds. Dirt is placed on the edges of the plastic to hold it to the ground. A 300-foot measuring tape is stretched out on the plastic, and flags are placed every 7 feet to mark the location where nuts are to be planted. A hole is cut in the plastic, and a plug of earth is removed to create a hole in which to plant a chestnut. Instructions are given for planting the chestnuts: Place two handfuls of planting soil mix in each hole, select a chestnut, place it in the hole with root end, or flat side down, cover with another handful of planting soil mix, and insert a 10 inch long, 2 inch diameter aluminum tube half way into the planting hole to protect the chestnut from attack by voles and other varmints. Aluminum tubes are made on site by cutting 9 inch wide pieces of aluminum from 10 inch flashing material, rolling the piece into a cylinder, and securing it with tape. Chestnuts are planted per instructions and with the help of even the youngest. Flags are marked with a code to identify the parent American chestnut tree and the source of the pollen from which the nuts were propagated. An inventory is made of each planting bed so records can be kept of each tree in the orchard. Two months later, a seedling from a nut resulting from a cross pollination of the Max Kimmel tree grows vigorously. A translucent collar has been placed around the young tree to ward off browsing by deer. Soon, a wire fence will be placed around the young tree as further protection from browsing by deer. The Max Kimmel tree is pictured. It grows in the Waynesville, NC, area. < Select A Different Album < Home