Chestnut Nursery - Harvesting Air Prune Boxes

[@rochrich1223]

So that's the famous good neighbor Ian. We say hi.

[@FolkRockFarm]

Love it! We built our first air prune beds this past summer, looking forward to growing hazels and chestnuts in them next year. Thanks as always for the inspiration!

[@timgoodin42053]

Thank you, that is a great idea. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with the bucket of pecan seed and chestnut seed I have in stratificaiton in the firdge now, I am definately going to use this technique!!

[@barrypetejr5655]

Looks great Sean and HELLO Ian 😊

[@hugshoney3409]

I am always learning on your channel. Thanks so much!!

[@edibleacres]

Glad to hear it!

[@Gabi-lt4mx]

Hi Ian, the great neighbor.

[@SawyerWolfe2015]

Hi Ian 👋🏻 I’m a fan.

[@vballboy11]

Hey Sean!! I was wondering if maybe you could share with us the depth of soil in your chestnut beds? Also is this the same across all your air prune beds (paw paws, hazels etc) or do you have different depths for different species? Lastly one more thing that would be great for people is to know roughly how many you trees are grown in your beds...per sq ft maybe? THanks so much and Congrats to you and Sasha to your new family addition!!

[@edibleacres]

Thanks for kind words! Dimensions... these are 2x4' boxes... default 'base box' is generally 4" or 6" deep... we then put on 'risers' that are 4" each... Some beds get 2... so 6+4+4 is 14" deep and some are 10" deep with one riser. Experiment, but deeper is generally better... 2x4' would fit around 100 nut trees with GENEROUS spacing and would size up wonderfully. We run out of bed space so we pack in 200+ and it still works (thats what you see in this video)

[@vballboy11]

@@edibleacres THanks for the feedback. if you are able to answer one more thing I think could be valuable to myself and others... Have you tried just 6" of depth? One of the reasons I thought air pruning was done so as to reduce the length of the tap root, thereby making transplanting and moving easier without a long 12-14" tap root to deal with? Plus I thought that the shorter depth would promote more side branching earlier up the root mass? Also, any specific thoughts on paw paws and air root prune beds? Would love to see your paw paw unboxing and what those roots look like in your deeper 10-14" beds. Any feedback would be great! Thanks!!

[@MrThatguy333]

@@edibleacres I'm just commenting to so i can see the response to vballboy11, I started doing some air prune beds this fall for trees that need cold stratification & I plan on planting them next fall to grow my forest. I'm hopping that i didn't make them to deep all about 14 inchs, red alder, ceder, western pine, western hemlock, and hazelnut. I'd love to know if there is any research into what depth is best for what plant.

[@Gabi-lt4mx]

Amazing system. Thumbs up 👍👍👍👍

[@julie-annepineau4022]

Need to look up what size wire you use on the bottom of these. Thanks for the reminder. I have a selection of nut and fruit seeds that just went into the fridge for stratification that I want to put into this kind of set up next year.

[@edibleacres]

Some folks use 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom with strong battons, the description has a link to a video showing construction where we use a slightly heavier gauge setup with 1"x1/2" and that works quite nicely

[@MrThatguy333]

I've been using 19 gauge 1/4 by 1/4 and so far its worked but I've only done it for a few months now.

[@kissthechickensfarms]

Trenches and bunkers for the chickens when?

[@brianpalmer967]

Hi Sean, I'm wondering where you source your sawdust. I'm sure you've explained it in some other video, but I can't remember ever hearing it.

[@whitepawpermaculture]

Thanks for sharing! Have you tried this method for black walnut and/or white oak?

[@edibleacres]

Both should work quite well with this system

[@fengyun5310]

If you plan to ship/sell these plants next spring, would it be ok to dig them in spring, I was wondering what is the benefit to dig them out now?

[@edibleacres]

I don't like to have trees experience a full winter in an air prune box, as in with their roots exposed to so much cold underneath...

[@geriannroth449]

Can this method work for tropical fruit tree seeds too?

[@edibleacres]

I can't say first hand but it seems reasonable

[@wingking077]

Thumbbbbbs up, Outside is the place too be

[@Crina-LudmilaCristeaAuthor]

Awesome!

[@kerem7546]

do you wait for the first frost to harvest these seedlings or do you wait until their leaves drop/turn?

[@edibleacres]

Tough to make the 'perfect' call... With Chestnuts I like to have them experience one good freeze... They are then dormant enough to lift, even though the leaves are still very much on... Other plants like peach, etc will drop their leaves after first frost so they are easy to know when... Either way they can get soaked and heeled in and be fine generally...

[@adamriekert1984]

Are these Japanese chestnut? I hear the American Chestnut is attempting a comeback, but I would be amazed.

[@edibleacres]

These are mixed parent Chestnuts. Some Chinese and a mix of other types...

[@barrypetejr5655]

And also Thank You to Juan....(think I actually spelled it right this time)🤣🤣

[@scottbillups4576]

Are these blight-resistant varieties, or standard American variety?

[@edibleacres]

Blight resistant, with some American in them

[@joshua511]

Do you water them before pulling out?

[@edibleacres]

Nope... But I will say in the future there could be value in doing that if the soil is quite dry and/or the quality of the soil they are growing in isn't amazing or has a bunch of clay...

[@deecooper1567]

I ❤ the air pruning boxes ! Mind if I borrow you idea 💡? 👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@edibleacres]

Of course, thats what this is for!

[@deecooper1567]

@@edibleacres Thank you & have a great Thanksgiving with fam & friends 🦃👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@igneousc]

chestnut seeds are crazy expensive this year, anyone have any tips for getting some?

[@CorwynGC]

A treasure trove. Hoping to raid it next spring.

[@briangrantackert1732]

Woohoo!!!!

[@edibleacres]

:)

[@edibleacres]

You helped get these all up and running my friend :)!

[@az55544]

I have bundles heeled in, but don't dare mulch for fear of voles eating the precious trees.

Are these chestnuts edible?

[@CorwynGC]

They are a American Chestnut with some possible dubious ancestry. So, yes.

[@edibleacres]

100% edible and delicious. Mixed parents here

[@craigpalmer9196]

American?

[@edibleacres]

complex hybrids

[@craigpalmer9196]

they have done a lot of hard work glad they are where they are,thank you@@edibleacres