"When In Doubt, Plant A Nut Tree" - Reforesting America With Chestnut, Other Keystone Food Species

[hatrack]

EDIT

For Judd, the chestnut is a solution to environmental and economic problems facing the area. The chestnut is a perennial crop, meaning it doesn’t have to be replanted every year, so it’s a better moneymaker than the annual monocultural agricultural system that dominates so much of the American landscape. It grows easily in a variety of environments, from Maine to Florida. As a source of protein and carbohydrates, the chestnut – nicknamed “the bread tree” – can provide food security for communities. And they can be a boon for farmers: once chestnut trees mature, they can produce 50 to 100lb of nuts per tree annually, retailing from $3 to $16 per pound. Planting one, Judd said, means “you’ve got a real valuable, storable, nutrient-rich food you can rely on annually”.

Judd, who organizes his efforts through the non-profit SilvoCulture, which he helps to run, is not alone in his enthusiasm for chestnuts. His project is part of a surge of interest among food activists, academics and farmers in using nut trees to replace large-scale forms of agriculture and food sources, which dominate billions of acres of land globally and produce 11% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Nut trees, on the other hand, are easy to maintain once established and boast all the same benefits as other trees: they sequester carbon, stabilize and retain topsoil, buffer against flooding and other extreme weather events, and provide a habitat for wildlife.

EDIT

In Wisconsin, hazelnuts are taking off thanks to the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative, a non-profit that encourages growers to plant, harvest and sell hazelnuts. Further south, the University of Missouri Extension School is researching best practices for planting and selling black walnuts. And the Savanna Institute urges landowners to consider a variety of perennial nuts – especially the chestnut. The institute recently released a report saying that the “broad adoption of chestnuts could also help ‘flip the script’ on agriculture’s role in climate change”.

When many east coasters hear chestnuts, they might think about the American chestnut, a storied tree that dominated American forests and cityscapes until it was killed off by blight in the 20th century. Four billion trees died in what is often considered one of the worst ecological disasters in modern times. Now, some universities and foundations are attempting to reintroduce a blight-tolerant version of this tree to the American landscape. But Judd’s project doesn’t share that goal. The American chestnut produces small nuts, he said. His goal is to introduce a hardier, more productive hybrid variety, in the service of feeding people – chestnuts can be eaten whole or made into flours and purees for cooking – and encouraging environmentally stable land usage.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/24/push-to-seed-america-with-chestnuts

[brewens]

1. You don't think we have enough nuts in this country? LOL n/t

[mopinko]

2. been trying to convince the city to let me plant pecans on my parkway.

there is 1 hazelnut on their ‘approved’ list, but only for parks.
it’s stupid. they say its about debris, but there’s honey locusts everywhere.

[hatrack]

3. At least honey locusts are good for bees . . .

Not so good for tires, obviously.

[mopinko]

4. ya know, under daley chi was very climate conscious. now...

rahm went around tearing up naturalized gardens, handing out $600 tix.
now i dont even hear the word.

[NickB79]

5. I've got chestnuts, buartnuts, hazels, chinkapin and oaks on my property

Grew about 100 hybrid chestnuts from seed just to find 20 specimens hardy enough to survive and fruit in Minnesota. Now that they're fruiting I'll be growing seedlings from them. Same with my Japanese heartnuts (a species of walnut) and buartnuts (a Japanese heartnut/butternut hybrid) and hybrid European/American hazels, hundreds of seedlings just to let Mother Nature cull the weak when it hits -30F. Also have pure American hazel and Turkish tree hazels. Mongolian oak, shingle oak, white oak, chestnut oak, bear oak, dwarf chinkapin oak, and columnar English/swamp white oak. I've got a dozen chinkapin seedlings (a shrub species of chestnut) and another 100 seeds planted in the fall for spring germination. I'm definitely going to plant the new genetically engineered, blight-resistant 'Darling' American chestnuts as soon as they're available.

I collected a dozen pecans from Minnesota's only pecan grove this fall; fingers crossed they matured enough to be viable. Pecans can survive here, but our summers aren't long enough (yet) to reliably ripen the nuts. This year had an incredibly long growing season though.

I started young, thanks to my grandma taking me into the garden as a little kid, and then managing the family garden by the age of 12. I HAD almost 1,000 black walnuts I planted from seed on my dad's farm when I was 15. He sold the farm when I was 30, and the new owner clearcut it all 🤬 I stopped talking to my dad for 10 years, I was so furious at him.

And that's not even getting into all the fruit trees and native prairie species I have.

In case you can't tell, I REALLY like growing things from seed 😁 Other guys have a beer fridge in the garage; mine is filled with ziploc bags of tree, shrub and prairie perennial seeds!

[hatrack]

6. Thanks for the clarification on Buartnuts - never even heard of them before . . .

Do you say it "bartnuts"? And now I'll have to go use Teh Google to look it up.

[NickB79]

7. Thanks to butternut canker, it's the only alternative to pure butternut.

The Japanese genetics confer some resistance. Another native tree that, sadly, is being wiped out by an introduced disease

Oh, I almost forgot about my American beech seedlings, lol.