Fall Planting - Dunstan Chestnut

A walkthrough of the planting of our Dunstan Chestnut Tree in November when the trees go dormant. Step by step instructions from delivery to finish.
#foodplot #wildlife #landmanagement

[@pixaxeprepper384]

I am glad to see folks planting trees while many countries cutting them down. I plant from seed and do not use plastic tubes myself. Nature doesn't provide tubes. I just potted 50 seeds and buried in the garden half way down. In spring, they should be 5-10 inch high. Then I plant them in areas of open. I planted last spring here in Virginia about 25 trees and now they stand 2-5 feet. We have 5 mature trees that dropped a lot of nuts. Nice size nuts and we harvest for friends and neighbors. Some are ground down into flour and we used as dumplings, bread, cookies, and many recipes. Our 3 years old trees have their first burrs and not opened yet. We are using trees for wildlife as well. Each year, I check for rubbing limbs, This causes disease and I trim the one that is not growing outward. In spring, the trees give off a musty smell. This is the pollination period and it draws insects like lightning bugs. It last about 2 weeks. Watch out for Japanese Beatles. They eat the leaves and cause the tree to loose energy. I spray with non toxic repellent like 7 or seven. It works good. Good luck.

[@elricofarmer1561]

I used those tubes several times, will never use them again. I thought they were a good thing at first because they protected the tree from deer and caused rapid growth. Unfortunately, due to the rapid growth the tree is susceptible to wind damage later on because the girth of the trunk does not keep up with the vertical growth. Also, as the tree exits the top of the plastic tube unless you pull the tube back like a banana peel, the plastic girdles the trunk when the wind blows. I've used these things on dozens upon dozens of trees and had the same effect on most.
Going forward, I don't think I would ever use them taller than 2 ft and would supplement with a wire cage instead.