Next up: Dunstan chestnut seeds inbound (trying it again!)

[Jim Boyd]

 

[Jim Boyd]

…and, no squirrel pilferage this time around.

 

[bilgerat]

Mine are growing fast !!!

 

[Jim Boyd]

Mine are growing fast !!! View attachment 1302397

Yes they are!

They look awesome!

Hoping in January, I am planting 45 or so and giving 10 or so away.

I am almost out of room for more trees until I get my buddy’s mulcher back over here.



Ok time to quit yapping. Gotta finish my Java and get to work.



Good luck with the trees!

 

[NCHillbilly]

Fencing and/or 5 foot tree tubes are a must !!! And spray like crazy in spring (now) for ambrosia bettles.

I planted two in my food plot a few years ago. A buck destroyed both of them.

 

[Jim Boyd]

I planted two in my food plot a few years ago. A buck destroyed both of them.

We def have that issue.

Lost a pear a few weeks ago - it had been rubbed hard in the fall but not quite girdled and then a strong wind blew it and snapped it off.

There are gonna be bumps in the road and there will be some losses.

I am good with that.

 

[arrendale8105]

These 6 I managed to get started are doing great.

 

[bilgerat]

any recommendations on the best tree tubes to keep deer from destroying them once they are put out in the field?

 

[Jim Boyd]

These 6 I managed to get started are doing great.

Yessir, those look GREAT!

love ‘em!

 

[Jim Boyd]

any recommendations on the best tree tubes to keep deer from destroying them once they are put out in the field?

BR

I have a mix up of tubes.

Most are the type that come flat and you roll them up and insert tab A into slot B etc.

My first ones were 60” and were too tall - the oaks shot up out of the tubes but the trunks were then too spindly.

I cut them down to about 36” tall.

I also have some one piece tubes that I bought this year that eventually, I will need to shear them long ways to get them off of the tree.

Not sure there is a right or wrong - the main thing is to have protection. I have some tubes that have holes in them and some of my trees were pushing limbs through the holes so I took the tubes off of 3 of them as a test. Came back a week later and 50% of the tree was gone,,,, so I put them right back on.

Good luck.

 

[Jim Boyd]

 

[Kdog]

View attachment 1302389

Now that is good tree protection cage!

 

[Jim Boyd]

30+ are out of the ground.

Can’t say they look great and they have been slow to sprout but I am not sure exactly what to look for.

 

[SlipperyHill Mo]

Planted 3 Dunstan Chestnuts from Walmart about 11 years ago. They are over 25' tall and producing well. Except for the late frost last year which set them back They are very tasty also. They really like full sun.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Planted 3 Dunstan Chestnuts from Walmart about 11 years ago. They are over 25' tall and producing well. Except for the late frost last year which set them back They are very tasty also. They really like full sun.

11 years is forever!

Great work!

 

[Jim Boyd]

I counted this am, there are 33 of 55 sprouted.

Hopeful more will do so.

The cage is not gonna be tall enough for some. Guess I will see if I can separate the nut from the tree and feel like they will be safe outside the cage????

 

[Kdog]

You can separate the nut from the tree and they should be fine once you do, but the squirrels may smell where the nuts were in them and dig for them.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Cautiously optimistic!