Chestnut trees are amazing!
Located on 91.7 acres in the beautiful Finger Lakes region in central NY and nestled in the Owasco valley, we are a small farm dedicated to growing nut crops including, pure chinese chestnut, chinese hybrid trees, hybrid hazelnuts and heartnuts. It started out as a hobby to plant some trees that weren’t present on the land to support the local deer population. For several years, I planted numerous tree species that included pine, oak, persimmon, hazelnut, arrowwood, chinkapin chestnut and chinese chestnut trees. Out of everything that I had planted, the chinese chestnuts showed exceptional vigor and resilience despite the deer browsing. After my initial planting of 25 chestnut trees in 2012, subsequent plantings grew larger in size and gained momentum until I was eventually clearing brush, removing old fencerows, rock piles and other trees in order to make room for more chestnut trees. Currently, we are up to 1200 trees located on 15 irrigated acres within a fenced-in enclosure. Our goal is to produce and market fresh chestnuts to supply the Northeastern market.
Why chestnuts?
Chestnuts are an amazing tree capable of producing an enormous amount of nuts on an annual basis over the lifespan of the tree. Growing a crop in an orchard style format supports a healthy environment by eliminating erosion and it also reduces the need for harmful pesticides and herbicides. An orchard also supports an incredible diversity of insects and birdlife. It is also able withstand heavy rainfalls and absorb an enormous amount of water into the soil unlike a corn or soybean field.
The chestnut trees in the orchard are a mixed variety of pure chinese and chinese hybrids and are all cold hardy in zone 5b. We are fortunate to have deep, well drained, glaciofluvial soils that are conducive to growing chestnuts. What started out as a hobby has now turned into a venture to prove that perennial agriculture can be a viable operation. Who doesn’t want to reap a harvest, year after year, from a beautiful orchard that supports a healthy, biodiverse environment?
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