Chestnut Management 2010

This has been a year of maintenance for the orchard. We planted another 100 trees, some that were to replace the trees that we lost from last year's crop. We had a loss rate of about 5% or 50 trees. Our cost per tree for planting has been on average $12.00 per tree. That includes the cost of the tree, fertilizer, tree tube, tree ties and bamboo. The cost of the tree was actually increased this year with the purchase of rebar. Bamboo did not make a good stabilizer for the trees as it began to rot off about 6 months after the first trees were planted. After each heavy rain/wind storm, we have to replace the bamboo with rebar for 30-40 trees. Some trees are laying on the ground and we try to get to them within 24 hours so that the trunk does not snap and so that the leaves are not damaged. We have some loss due to the trees falling.

The main cause of loss this year has been due to drought and pests. Crickets, beatles and grass hoppers have been eating the foliage. A light application of Seven helped, but was probably a little too late. We used a 1 oz to 1 gallon of water mixture, trying not to damage the plant in the process. Next year we will move to a 2 oz to 1 gallon of water mixture, and will begin a regular spray season earlier in the year.

Other heavy maintenance has been weed control and mowing. Our orchard is rough and we are working the land to improve water management. Weeding has been done with the weed badger which has been great for the tree rows. Next season we are looking for a good herbicide that can be used closer to the trees, since this is the worst concentration of weeds. Mowing has helped stimulate grass growth. We also fertilized the grass rows with turkey litter this year and it has made a great difference. Where we were unable to grow anything, some grass is now growing. We will continue to use this method to build up the soil quality.

For the rest of the season, we just need some rain. The rest of the year will be spent on planning, budgeting and learning about chestnuts and chestnut processing. We are open to suggestions if you would like to share one with us.

How Chestnuts Fall

A few weeks ago we saw the chestnut shells beginning to form on the trees. This week, we noticed that the shells were turning from green to brown.

Yesterday the shells opened, revealing the chestnut. And today, the shell and the chestnut fell to the ground. Success, at least for today.

The Chestnuts are Here...

Ok, only one chestnut has actually fallen. But still.

I've been very negligent on this blog, but now will be back with our updates. This summer has been extremely dry, even as I write this I am praying for some rain this week to finish up the season. The trees still have leaves and we're very grateful that they made it through the hot temps this summer.

Peace on Earth

There are many reasons why we choose to farm. But at the end of the day, this is it. Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas from Black Oak Farm.

Chestnut Tree Season

It looks like the new seedlings that were planted had a pretty good season. Last week we took a detailed look at the trees in order to mark the ones that did not make it. We had a 4% loss rate which was about expected. And we were very pleased to have such a mild summer with enough rain that irrigation was not necessary. I'll take some photos this week to show how far some of the seedlings have grown out of the tubes. We've been working on the fields this week with mowing and next we will be back to weeding carefully around each tree. In March 2010 we will replace the trees that did not make it and decide what needs to be done next.

One question we do have is about spraying. We did not worry about this too much because we did not anticipate much foliage on the trees. However, even the trees that did not exceed the height of the tubes have leaves on them. If anyone can give us some direction on a spray schedule and products it would be greatly appreciated. We have some general information on nut trees in general, but nothing specific to chestnuts. Thanks for your help.

Back to the Farm (ok, the Pool)

I haven't given up on the farm blog, or the farm. We've been a little distracted this summer with something not entirely farm related. This summer we installed a pool. Literally. Ourselves. Although this is not complete, we have done a few things that hopefully will benefit the farm.

First, we installed irrigation pipe from our creek to the top of hill where the garden resides. Yes, we used the irrigation pump for the pool, but really, we will be using this for irrigation beginning in the spring. Then, we had a hydroseeder come and seed the banks around the pool. This lesson taught us to let the professionals just do their job. We have grass around the pool, in less than 7 days. We did plant our own grass on the outskirts of the hydroseed, and then blew straw on it. Maybe we'll have grass in those areas in 70 days. Finally, we installed snow fence, hence the redneck pool photo. Installing snow fence is much easier than installing wood plank fence and it comes already painted, orange. We did this mainly because of small children and safety. Maybe we'll keep it. Nah.

Orchard Weeds

We had to do a little research to find out how we could efficiently weed the orchard without working 24/7. On-line we found an attachment for the Bobcat called a Weed Badger. Basically this is installed on the front of the skid-steer. It allows you to move the Weed Badger between the trees, without disturbing the trees. Sort of like a souped-up weed eater. You can see how clean the rows are.

Chestnut Growth

I haven't forgotten about the blog, we've just been pretty busy on the farm. Here are 2 pictures of the chestnut trees. We have a few that are actually growing out of the tube. Remember that the tubes are 5' tall. We were so fortunate to have all of the rain right after planting, and hopefully this will lead to strong growth for the rest.

Spring Rain

When the weather gets hot and dry, it always seems, to me, that it may never rain again. But of course, that's not the case. We've had a great rain this weekend, almost 2 inches since Friday. The trees will be in good shape when the sun comes out again. And since I planted the garden last week, I'm thrilled that it got a good soaking.

90 Degrees

We've had a pretty good stretch of very hot weather in April. It has been 90 degrees and hotter, Saturday through today, with temps beginning to lower by Wednesday. So how is this affecting the trees? Our concern about purchasing the tubes was about heat collection in the tube. However, although the tubes are called "grow tubes", they are ventilated. About 18" from the ground the ventilation begins and is about 12" from there. Hopefully this will be enough to allow heat to escape and prevent the tree from burning. We'll let you know in about a week how that is working out.

Fertilizer

Generally we try to do all of our tree fertilization in early spring, but shipping schedules of our trees, the fertilizer and the rain put us off a few weeks. This weekend, we added fertilizer packages to our tree tubes. Because our soil is so poor and much rain was on the way, we dropped the packages into the tubes instead of planting them with the plants (and because the fertilizer did not arrive until a week after the tree planting was completed). Sometimes you just have to work within circumstances that are out of your control. Above is a photo of the fertilizer pack. And yes, it looks like a tea bag.

Tree Tubes

Last year we lost the majority of our chestnut crop to deer pressure and drought. Not again. We decided to invest in tree tubes. There are orchards that choose to use these tubes to jump-start growth on their trees. Our primary goal was to protect them from the deer.

The trees that we planted are between 24-36" tall. The tree tubes are 5' tall. A 1/2 inch bamboo pole (6' tall) was installed next to each tree. The tube fits over the pole and the tree and then secured with 3 plastic ties. It was a very windy day when we installed the majority of the tubes, and they withstood the wind and heavy rains.

Without tree tubes, crop loss can be very great. With the tubes, we expect about a 4% loss due to weather and soil conditions annually.

Chestnut Trees Planted

So I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures of our new orchard. Here are the before and after of the tubes. As you can see, it is almost impossible to determine where the trees are after they have been planted. But once the tubes are on, we'll be able to do an accurate count of trees in each field. We'll be evaluating the success rate of trees in each field so that we can prepare for next year.

Chestnuts

It's been a while since I wrote about the farm, but only because we've been busy planting chestnut trees. We have planted about 25 acres in Dunstan chestnut trees.

Step one was plowing and tilling. The earth is so rocky and grassy that tilling is the only way to make the soil workable and give us a good soil consistency in which to plant. Step two was planting (yes, with a shovel). We did auger a few holes for trees on a steep part of the farm where the soil is not in good shape. This was done mainly to prevent the erosion during heavy downpours.

We started planing trees last week, March 30 and finished this morning. The next step will be tree tubes. The chestnut seedlings are 24-36 inches tall. We have ordered tree tubes that are 5 feet tall and prevent deer and other animals from destroying our crop. I'll blog about our crop from last year on another day - it's a little sad. I will say that the trees that survived all had deer scare tape on them. So a thank-you to the scare tape folks.

I'll post some photos after the tubes have been installed. It's hard to see the seedlings from a distance of more than 2 feet. And hopefully we'll see some budding and leafing in the next few weeks.

The Farm House

Ta-da! Ok, so we're about 95% finished the painting. Some touch-up work is needed on the roof and the back (and a little more on the front) and then we'll be done. Until a bird lands on the roof and paints a little more. That's Ok, goes with the weathering of the metal.

Roof Paint

If you are reading this blog and are interested in the paint we used on the roof, here are the details. We purchased everything from Sherwin Williams. The primer was called Kem Kromic and the paint was Sher-Cryl. These were both tinted to give us the barn-red color on the roof, and to actually match the barn. I'm very pleased with the way these products went on and should last.

Roof Painting

So I haven't posted any photos of our house, because after 3 1/2 years we are still working on it. This week we are painting the tin roof.

Tin has to age for a little while before being painted (probably not 3 1/2 years), but it was time. We rented a lift for the steep parts and to get us to the top roof. Most of the primer and paint have been sprayed on. Some of the smaller roof areas have been hand painted. I'll post more photos as we complete this project, another one checked off the list.

Before and After

Well, we've been on the farm almost 5 years. And even though we've done a lot of work in those 5 years, there is still more to do. But it's time to start getting rid of equipment that we have finished using.

The caterpiller 955 has been restored and is ready for a new home. Above is the before picture. and below is the after.

Greenhouse Recommendations

We are in search of a greenhouse that will extend our gardening season. Our goal is to grow basic plants, such as tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, etc. year-round if possible. We will also be using our greenhouse to experiment with our chestnut trees and seedlings. Any recommendations? There are many greenhouse distributors, but we want a quality product that will last many years. Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Steer Clear

Here at wild kingdom, you never know what you'll find when you get up in the morning, get home from work, walk to grill in the backyard - you get the point. A few of our neighbor's Texas Longhorns have been making themselves home. They have enjoyed the grassy fields, almost all the plants in the garden and like the feel of tip-toeing through my flower beds. But best of all, the manure is free. Needless to say, we'll be working on our fence this week. Maybe the cows can visit from the other side.