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Old 03-10-2017, 02:03 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
George Shirley[_3_] George Shirley[_3_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2014
Posts: 851
Default october already!

On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to shell
and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree
is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my
part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same
taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said
they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have
never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the
chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees
and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore
through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This
year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6
weeks before harvest.

We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near died
from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and then wash
stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things "naturally"
when the world is full of things that want to screw up your garden.
Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for Houston and
all the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have
been grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't
spray that, it might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I
used to flag crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my
face. I think all that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like
being petrified or so0mething. VBG


When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the enemies
surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and fungus when I
had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard on Sunday mornings
and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug or fungus within a mile
after they were done.Â* I also suspect they did not have to spray that
often as it would take awhile before they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.Â* If
an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much longer
time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of chemicals
but in their judicious use.

I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the type
you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G After the
16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several different
chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in handling the stuff
and what we sold off to other companies had the proper paper work for
handling them. Unfortunately lots of small companies made really bad
chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two steppers, get a good bit of the
chemical, walk two steps and fall over dead. Like you I am cautious
about any over the counter or home made chemicals and read the cautions
part four or five times. Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or
so didn't help my health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even
the ones under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens
if you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!