Category Archives: Chestnuts

Planting Chestnuts for Deer?

Numerous articles and advertisements in outdoor and hunting magazines are promoting the idea of planting chestnuts for wildlife. It is true that chestnuts bear heavy crops of nuts that are very attractive to a wide variety of animals. On the other hand, some of the claims aimed at deer hunters are wild exaggerations, or downright lies. Chestnuts do not make good trees for attracting deer during most deer hunting seasons. Chestnuts tend to ripen very early for a nut crop. They begin as early as late August in the Deep South and even in the North they are usually all finished up by the middle of October, well before most deer seasons. Chestnuts are very attractive to deer, but only for about one month out of the year. After that, the deer will be off looking for other food. A few late-ripening chestnuts are available as grafted trees, and while these may be useful to both deer and deer hunters in the Deep South, such trees are utterly useless in the North. Chestnuts ripen and fall early for a reason – the nuts are absolutely ruined by freezing temperatures. Once the temperature of the nut falls to 24 F, the embryo is killed. When the nut thaws, it begins to decay. At that point, even the squirrels won’t eat it. How often does your deer season start before the first hard freeze in the fall?  
The American Persimmon is actually a much better choice for attracting deer to a property and then holding them there through the hunting season. Persimmon fruit is just as attractive to deer as chestnuts are – maybe even more so. While some persimmons ripen and drop their fruit at the same time as chestnuts, others produce a massive crop of fruit that begins dropping from the tree in November and continues all winter, right up until early spring. Freezing temperatures do not damage the fruit, and wildlife will continue to consume it all winter long. Deer are known to bed down near persimmon trees and listen for the sound of falling fruit. Hunters report deer often come running from several directions at the sound of a persimmon hitting the ground.
One thing to keep in mind is that persimmons come in male and female. Normally, only female trees produce fruit, and normally only when there is a male tree in the vicinity. 
Another tree that is exceptionally good at attracting and holding deer is the dwarf chinkapin oak, Quercus prinoides. Most oak trees don’t begin bearing acorns until they are at least 10 to 15 years old, and then only bear a good crop once every few years. Dwarf chinkapin oaks can begin bearing as early as 3 years old, and tend to bear a heavy crop every year.

Furthermore, their acorns are among the sweetest and most attractive to wildlife, of all acorns. The acorns are not damaged by freezing weather and remain palatable all winter long. The trees are broadly adaptable and will thrive just about anywhere except on poorly drained soil.
If you are interested in attracting and holding deer on your property during hunting season, give us a call or email. – Tom

Chestnut Growers Workshop

Practical Farmers of Iowa has been working with Red Fern Farm to put together a full-day chestnut workshop. This workshop will cover all aspects of chestnut production and marketing in the Midwest and will be held at the Iowa Arboretum, Madrid, Iowa, on February 2, 2019, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Topics will include site selection, planting and tree management, varietal recommendations, grafted versus seedling trees, harvesting and curing, marketing, and financial resources.

3 Chestnuts in opening bur.

Chestnuts are a valuable nut crop that can be grown in a low-input, chemical free agroforestry system that includes permanent ground cover. Depending on soil types, they can be an excellent crop for land designated as highly erodible. Seedling chestnut trees of superior genetics can begin bearing nuts after 3 – 4 years on a good site and with good management. At 12 – 15 years they can produce 3,000 or more pounds per acre. In Iowa, chestnuts wholesale for an average of $2.30/pound.

The profit potential of chestnuts has encouraged the planting of chestnut groves throughout much of Iowa. Roger Smith, manager and owner of Prairie Grove Chestnut Growers, buys and sells chestnuts.  In 2018 he sorted, bagged and sold over 84,000 pounds of chestnuts grown in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. He sees no end to the market potential of chestnuts and plans to plant an additional 20 acres of chestnut trees to his existing chestnut groves.

Speakers will include Roger Smith, Tom Wahl of Red Fern Farm, Aaron Wright District Forester with the Iowa DNR and Mike Gold, Associate Director of the Center for Agroforestry – University of Missouri. Preregistration is required and costs $10 to $60 depending on membership in Practical Farmers of Iowa. For more information, or to register, visit https://form.jotform.com/tamsyn/pfi-chestnut-workshop or call Debra at Practical Farmers of Iowa at (515) 232-5661.

You-Pick at Red Fern Farm for 2018

You-Pick at Red Fern Farm is by reservation only. You can call a day ahead to see if there is an opening or schedule your harvest day weeks in advance. We have lots of openings on weekdays, but weekends fill up quickly.

View of back of car after an afternoon of gathering chestnuts at Red Fern Farm.
Back of car after an afternoon of gathering chestnuts ( and other treats) at Red Fern Farm.

What to Expect: You can usually drive up and park close to the spot you will be harvesting. We have clean latrines, hand washing stations and picnic tables at each parking area. This is a safe area for children, but no dogs or cats are allowed (food security issues).

The grass will be mowed, but not as fine as a lawn. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. Our orchards are in a rural setting, close to “wild” timber. Bring bug repellent. Your children are welcome to observe and catch  the frogs, insects, spiders and snakes they encounter.  Please ask your children to be gentle and release all creatures before you leave the groves.

Aronia Berries:  (Done for 2018) Aronia berries are available free for you-pick. They will hit the peak of ripeness during early September. We only have a few bushs still bearing fruit. They are located in the shade of chestnut and heartnut trees. Call for more information.

Hazels: (Done for 2018) Hazels are available at $1.00/pound for un-husked clusters for you-pick. The season for hazels starts in late August and continues to mid-September. Hazels can be picked from the bushes or from the ground underneath. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into. It can take 30 minutes for one adult to pick clean one 10 foot tall bush and gather about 1-3 gallons of hazel clusters.

Theresa Wahldice holds 4 large pawpaws in pawpaw grove at Red Fern Farm.

Pawpaws:  (Done for 2018) Pawpaw season runs from late August to late October. Pawpaws are $3.00/pound when you pick them, $5.00/pound when we pick them. Bring buckets, boxes or crates. Ripe pawpaws are very soft and should not be stacked no more than 2 deep. Weekends are very popular, so call early to reserve a time slot. Tuesday – Thursday is an excellent time to have the pawpaw patch to yourself. It only takes about 15 minutes to get 5 – 10 pounds of pawpaws. Late afternoon is the best time to pick, but ripe pawpaws will be available all day. Recipes are available. There is no minimum or maximum for the amount of pawpaws you pick. We do ask you only pick what you plan to take home.
We have many grafted trees. If you want to see what grafted variety you like the flavor of best, bring a black sharpie with you. You can write on the outside of the pawpaw what the variety it is. When you eat it later, you can compare it with other varieties.

American Persimmon: Persimmons are available  at $2.00/pound when you pick them, $3.00/pound when we pick them. The season starts in early September and continues to mid-October. Persimmons are very soft when ripe. They should not be piled deeply in your gathering container. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into.
They can be gathered from the ground or picked from the tree. Slightly under ripe persimmons are very astringent. They will ripen at room temperature if picked early. We have nets spread under grafted persimmons in front of our house. You are welcomed to gather from the nets, the trees or anywhere in our groves.

Heartnuts: Heartnuts are available at $2.00/pound for un-husked clusters or $4/pound without husks (they husk very easily) for you-pick. The season for heartnuts starts in early September and continues to mid-October. The nuts are gathered from the ground under the trees. Theresa Wahldice lady holds 4 large pawpaws in pawpaw grove at Red Fern Farm.

Three ripening Cornelian cherries on grafted bush.
Three ripening Cornelian cherries on grafted bush.

Cornelian Cherries: (Done for 2018) Cornelian Cherries are available at $2.00/pound for you-pick. The season has been mid-August to mid-September. We recommend bringing a gathering cloth to spread under the bushes. The ripe berries are soft and sweet. Under ripe they are firmer and very tart. They will continue to ripen after picking. We have none available already picked (the family eats them up too fast).

Spicebush
:(Done for 2018) Spicebush berries are available for $8.00/pound or 50¢/ounce for you-pick. The season runs from early September to mid October. (Tom reported ripe, red berries on 9/7/17.) You only need a few ounces of these potent berries to add to a variety of recipes. Kathy uses them in pawpaw jam and persimmon margaritas.

3 Chestnuts in opening bur.

Chestnuts: (only small amounts left for 2018) We offer you-pick under our chestnut trees. The season often runs mid-September to mid-October. We provide tools and buckets for harvest and designate an area all your own to pick for a day. We weigh and bag your nuts afterwards. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. The best time of day to gather chestnuts is mid to late afternoon. Plan on coming after lunch and harvest up till sunset.
We have a very long waiting list of people who want to gather chestnuts on weekends. If you are new to our You-Pick, your name goes to the bottom of the weekend list. If you can only come on a weekend, it may be years before you get a chance to gather chestnuts. If you can come on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday you have a much better chance of getting to gather chestnuts. We have started scheduling people to come pick chestnuts on weekdays for 2018. Call or email us to get on our list. We can schedule you now for weekdays or call you when other dates open up.

Husband and wife team gather chestnuts with nut wizards.
Husband and wife team gather chestnuts with nut wizards provided by Red Fern Farm.

2018 Chestnut You-Pick Prices:
If you want to keep all the nuts you pay $2.75/pound for everything you picked up.

We discount that price by 25 cents if you come on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. On these days the price is $2.50

If you don’t want all the nuts, we will pay you 50¢ for each pound of chestnuts you gather and don’t take home.
Be sure to bring water and snacks. It takes about one hour for one adult to gather 25 pounds of nuts.
Maps and directions are available or call if you need help finding us.
We are outside a lot this time of year. Be ready to leave a message.

YOU PICK AT RED FERN FARM FOR 2017

You-Pick at Red Fern Farm is by reservation only. You can call a day ahead to see if there is an opening or schedule your harvest day weeks in advance. We have lots of openings on weekdays, but weekend fill up quickly.

What to Expect: You can usually drive up and park close to the spot you will be harvesting. We have clean latrines, hand washing stations and picnic tables at each parking area. This is a safe area for children, but no dogs or cats are allowed (food security issues).

The grass will be mowed, but not as fine as a lawn. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. Our orchards are in a rural setting, close to “wild” timber. Bring bug repellant.

Aronia Berries: (still available as of 9/29/18) Aronia berries are available free for you-pick. They will hit the peak of ripeness during early September. We have over 2 acres to choose from, with some shade from young chestnut and heartnut trees. Call for more information.

Hazels: (Finished for 2018) Hazels are available at $1.00/pound for un-husked clusters for you-pick. The season for hazels starts in late August and continues to mid-September. Hazels can be picked from the bushes or from the ground underneath. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into. It can take 30 minutes for one adult to pick clean one 10 foot tall bush and gather about 1-3 gallons of hazel clusters.

Pawpaws: Our pawpaw season is now past it’s peak.  There are still pawpaws available on the trees as of 9/29/17, but the season will be winding down soon. Pawpaws are $3.00/pound when you pick them, $5.00/pound when we pick them. Bring buckets, boxes or crates. Ripe pawpaws are very soft and should not be stacked no more than 2 deep. Weekends are very popular, so call early to reserve a time slot. Tuesday – Thursday is an excellent time to have the pawpaw patch to yourself. It only takes about 15 minutes to get 5 – 10 pounds of pawpaws. Late afternoon is the best time to pick, but ripe pawpaws will be available all day. Recipes are available. There is no minimum or maximum for the amount of pawpaws you pick. We do ask you only pick what you plan to take home.
We have many grafted trees. If you want to see what grafted variety you like the flavor of best, bring a black sharpie with you. You can write on the outside of the pawpaw what the variety it is. When you eat it later, you can compare it with other varieties

American Persimmon: Persimmons are available are still going strong as of 9/29/17 at $2.00/pound when you pick them, $3.00/pound when we pick them. The season starts in early September and continues to mid-October. Persimmons are very soft when ripe. They should not be piled deeply in your gathering container. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into.
They can be gathered from the ground or picked from the tree. Slightly under ripe persimmons are very astringent. They will ripen at room temperature if picked early. We have nets spread under grafted persimmons in front of our house. You are welcomed to gather from the nets, the trees or anywhere in our groves.

Heartnuts: Heartnuts are available at $2.00/pound for un-husked clusters or $4/pound without husks (they husk very easily) for you-pick. The season for heartnuts starts in early September and continues to mid-October. The nuts are gathered from the ground under the trees.

Cornelian Cherries: (Finished for 2018) Cornelian Cherries are available at $1.00/pound for you-pick. The season has been mid-August to mid-September. We recommend bringing a gathering cloth to spread under the bushes. The ripe berries are soft and sweet. Under ripe they are firmer and very tart. They will continue to ripen after picking. We have none available already picked (the family eats them up too fast).

Spicebush: Spicebush berries are available for $8.00/pound  or 50¢/ounce for you-pick.  The season runs from early September to mid October.  (Tom reported ripe, red berries on 9/7/17.) You only need a few ounces of these potent berries to add to a variety of recipes. Kathy uses them in pawpaw jam and persimmon margaritas.

Chestnuts: We offer you-pick under our chestnut trees. The season often runs mid-September to mid-October. As of 9/29/17 the 2017 season is starting to wind down, and we have discounted our you-pick prices as a result. We provide tools and buckets for harvest and designate an area all your own to pick for a day. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. The best time of day to gather chestnuts is mid to late afternoon. Plan on coming after lunch and harvest up till sunset.
We have a very long waiting list of people who want to gather chestnuts on weekends. If you are new to our You-Pick, your name goes to the bottom of the list. If you can only come on a weekend, it may be years before you get a chance to gather chestnuts. If you can come on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday you have a much better chance of getting to gather chestnuts. We have started scheduling people to come pick chestnuts for 2017. Call or email us to get on our list. We can schedule you now for weekdays or call you when  other dates open up.

2017 Chestnut You-Pick Prices:
If you want to keep all the nuts you pay $2.50   $2.25/pound for everything you picked up.

We discount that price by 25 cents if you come on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. On these days the price is $2.25  $2,00/pound. (on 9/29/17 we discounted our prices by 25¢ )

If you don’t want all the nuts, we will pay you 50¢ for each pound of chestnuts you gather and don’t take home.
Be sure to bring water and snacks. It takes about one hour for one adult to gather 25 pounds of nuts.
Maps and directions are available or call if you need help finding us.
We are outside a lot this time of year. Be ready to leave a message.

Tom Wahl on Site Selection and Care of Chestnuts

Tom Wahl spoke on site selection and care of chestnut trees at the Chestnut conference in Letts, Iowa on February 11, 2017. The conference was video taped.  This video is 1 hour and 20 minute long. It covers hardiness zones, drainage needs, Ph requirements and more for chestnut trees.  Information from the conference is available.

You can  watch the vidoe and others from the chestnut conferce on you tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aV_U0k-lmg

Commercial Chestnut Growing Conference

Handouts from the Commercial Chestnut Growing Conference held on February 11, 2017 at Letts, Iowa

Iowa Chestnut Primer

Establishment of Chestnut Plantings with video of Tom Wahl’s talk.

Woodland Suitability Table (Because of multiple errors, Tom Wahl no longer recommend using the Woodland Suitability Table)

Mike Gold’s Chestnut Cultivar Handout and video of Mile Gold’s presentation.

All videos of the presentation are availabe at Red Fern Farm’s You Tube Channel

Details on the past conference:
Tom Wahl and Roger Smith are working together to provide a program on growing chestnuts commercially in the Midwest. It  will be held at the Letts Community Room in Letts, Iowa on February 11 from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. Topics to be covered will include markets, cultural practices and economics. The outstanding potential for economic return of chestnuts will be stressed.

Chestnuts are a valuable nut crop that can be grown in a low-input, chemical free agroforestry system that includes permanent ground cover. Depending on soil types, they can be an excellent crop for land designated as highly erodible. Seedling chestnut trees of superior genetics can begin bearing nuts after 3 – 4 years on a good site and with good management. At 12 – 15 years they can produce 3,000 or more pounds per acre. In Iowa, chestnuts wholesale for an average of $2.60/pound.

The profit potential of chestnuts has encouraged the planting of chestnut groves throughout much of Iowa. Roger Smith, manager and owner of Prairie Grove Chestnut Growers, buys and sells chestnuts.  In 2016 he sorted, bagged and sold over 49,000 pounds of chestnuts grown in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. He sees no end to the market potential of chestnuts and plans to plant an additional 25 acres of chestnut trees to his existing chestnut groves.

Speakers will include Roger Smith, Tom Wahl of Red Fern Farm, Drew Delang of the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Mike Gold of the Center for Agroforestry – University of Missouri. Preregistration is required. The registration of $20 includes lunch, snacks and a 26 page primer on growing Chestnuts in Iowa. Registration is available on line at Eventbee.com .  For more information or other registration options call Kathy Dice at 319/729-5905. This program is being sponsored by Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Louisa County, Red Fern Farm and Prairie Grove Chestnut Growers.

You Pick at Red Fern Farm for 2016

 Pawpaws: We will have ripe pawpaws by mid September. Pawpaws are $3.00/pound when you pick them, $5.00/pound when we pick them. Bring buckets, boxes or crates. Ripe pawpaws are very soft and should not be stacked more than 2 deep. Call to schedule a time to stop by our house and we will show you the pawpaw patch. Weekends are very popular, so call early to reserve a time slot. Tuesday – Thursday is an excellent time to have the pawpaw patch to yourself. Picnic tables and portable toilets are close to the pawpaw patches. The grass will be mowed, but not as fine as a lawn. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. Our orchards are in a rural setting, close to “wild” timber. Bring bug repellant. It only takes about 15 minutes to get 5 – 10 pounds of pawpaws. Late afternoon is the best time to pick, but ripe pawpaws will be available all day. Recipes are available.

Aronia berries: Aronia berries are available at 25¢/pound. They will hit the peak of ripeness during early September. We have over 2 acres to choose from, with some shade from young chestnut and heartnut trees. Call for more information. Link to map below.

Chestnuts: We offer you-pick under our chestnut trees. We provide tools and buckets for harvest and designate an orchard all your own to pick for a day. Picnic tables and portable toilets are close to the orchards. The grass will be mowed, but not as fine as a lawn. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground. The best time of day to gather chestnuts is late in the afternoon. Plan on coming after lunch and harvest up till sunset.

We have a very long waiting list of people who want to gather chestnuts. If you are new to our You-Pick, your name goes to the bottom of the list. If you can only come on a weekend, it may be years before you get a chance to gather chestnuts. If you can come on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday you have a much better chance of getting to gather chestnuts. Call or email us to get on our list. We will call you when dates open up to see if you can come.

2016 Chestnut You-Pick Prices:
If you want to keep all the nuts you pay $2.50/pound for everything you picked up.  We discount that price by 25 cents if you come on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. On these middle of the week days the price is $2.25 pound.

If you don’t want all the nuts, we will sort the nuts by size and you will pay a higher price, but only take what you want.
Small: $2.50/pound,   Medium and Large: $2.75/pound,   X-Large $3.00/pound

And we will pay you 50¢ for each pound of chestnuts you gather and don’t take home.

Be sure to bring water and snacks. It takes about one hour for one adult to gather 10 – 30 pounds of nuts.

Maps and directions are available or call if you need help finding us.
But be warned, we are outside a lot this time of year . Be ready to leave a message.

Agroforestry – Comfortable Income from only 10 Acres

Sometime in December 2014 Tom Wahl made a claim on the Practical Farmers of Iowa list serve that 16 families could make a living farming on 160 acres using an agroforestry system. Below he gives more details on his claim. Edits have been added.

These figure comes from my own personal experience in growing and marketing chestnuts, plus yield data from the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry and from Kansas State University. The full answer would be long and complicated. I am working on a book (to be published by Chelsea Green Co.) that will explain this all in detail, but for now I will give the “short” answer.
As you could probably guess, the most important component in my agroforestry system is chestnuts. I have been telling people for years that one reasonably fit adult should be able to manage 10 acres of chestnuts by his or herself (labor for harvesting being the limiting factor). 10 acres of chestnuts, well managed on a good site, should be able to produce 3500 to 4000 lbs per acre of nuts, for a total of 35,000 to 40,000 lbs on the 10 acres. This would be for a “mature” level of production, but that can be reached in 12 to 15 years from the initial planting. In Iowa, the nuts wholesale for $2 to $3 per pound, so the 10 acres should generate $70K to $120K per year.

Chinese Chestnut tree loaded with burs.
Chinese Chestnut tree loaded with burs.

That is just for chestnuts. You could put a pawpaw tree underneath every chestnut tree. Pawpaws are natural understory trees and can produce 50% to 75% of a full crop even in fairly heavy shade. Dr. Patrick O’Malley estimates that pawpaws in Iowa should bear around 14,000 pounds per acre (in full sun). Pawpaws can wholesale for as high as $7 to $10 per pound. [we plan to sell you-pick pawpaws for $4.00/pound in 2015] Under the pawpaws and chestnuts you could add shade-tolerant berry shrubs such as gooseberry, currant, and honeyberry. On the ground, in the more exposed areas, you could grow perennial vegetables such as asparagus, rhubarb, and horse radish. In the shadier areas you could add high-value medicinal plants such as ginseng and goldenseal.
Even though this takes 12 to 15 years to reach this level (and that is assuming no disasters such as extreme weather events), this does not mean there is no income leading up to this point. Chestnuts can begin bearing in as little as two years from planting, and can reach 350 lbs per acre by year 5.
I am sorry that I can’t point you to university research documenting all of these figures, but there just aren’t any universities doing this. The best university info on agroforestry comes from U of Missouri Center for Agroforestry www.centerforagroforestry.org, including a 12 page summary on chestnut growing. – Tom Wahl

Table 1 shows a conservative projected production and income for chestnuts assuming 108 trees/acre and $2/pound selling price.

Year of growth

Pounds chestnut/acre

Gross income/acre

1-3

0 0
4 56

$108

7

432 $864
10 1,512

$3,024

15+ 3,348

$6,696

Table 2 shows a conservative projection for pawpaws assuming 108 pawpaw trees/acre (growing under chestnut trees) and $5/pound selling price.

Year of growth Pounds pawpaw/acre Gross income/acre
1-6 0 0
7 216 $1,080
10 756-972 $3,780 – $4,860
11 864-1188 $4,320 – $5,940
14 1,404-1944 $7,020 – $9,720
15 1,620-2,160 $8,100 – $10,800