SOILSĬhestnuts prefer a well-drained (better drained than apple trees require) sandy loam with a pH of 5-6.5 but will grow in other soils. Areas that are too steep may be hard to harvest with machinery. Avoid areas with soil that stays saturated for long periods of time, such as creek bottoms or low areas that stay saturated during snowmelt in spring. Pick a location with good soil drainage and good air drainage such as on the top or side of a hill, to avoid frost pockets where cold air or late frosts settle at the bottoms of valleys. If your land does not fit the descriptions below, you will face problems with tree growth and production. If you want to grow chestnuts commercially, it is better to look for the right piece of land than try to force the trees to grow in a poor location. The following information will give you guidelines to choose the right location, establish your trees, and take your crop to market.

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS FARMING! There are no guarantees, and you will get out of the orchard what you put into it. The following guidelines will help you understand all of the processes of setting up and operating a commercial chestnut orchard. That is a nice return for a small orchard and seasonal work to harvest and ship! HOW TO ORCHARD CHESTNUTS One of our orchardists grows his crop organically and harvests 16,000 lbs on 10 acres, selling them to Whole Foods for $6.00/lb on average. This is a superior return to pecans, hazelnuts, and many other tree crops! ) Wholesale prices for large, high-quality chestnuts are $3.00-5.00/lb, and higher for organically grown chestnuts. ( Trees planted in colder regions such as USDA zone 5, may bear between 5 and 7 years of age. At maturity (15-20 years) they can produce as much as 50-100 lbs/tree or up to 2,000-3,000 lbs/acre each year. They begin to bear in only 3-5 years, and by 10 years can produce as much as 10-20 lbs/tree. VERY PROFITABLE ORCHARD CROPĬhestnuts can be a very profitable crop. Growers who produce high-quality chestnuts in America will have a virtually unlimited market available to them for many years to come. consumption at European levels and create a $300 million new agricultural industry for America. It would take 120,000 acres of chestnut orchards to supply U.S. consumption is less than one ounce per person per year, but one pound per capita in Europe and 2 pounds in Asia. American-grown nuts can reach the market sooner, fresher, and bring a higher price than imports, which are often low in quality, often because grocers do not know how to handle them and the nuts spoil at room temperatures.

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