Up to date we have had no trouble with worm in our chestnuts. In fact we have not found a single wormy chestnut. This interests us appreciably, as when the old American chestnuts were common on our farm it would seem as if hardly a chestnut escaped a worm hole if you kept them long enough. If you ate the chestnuts immediately it wasn't so bad—the worms were probably too small to be observed.
We understand that in some sections Chinese chestnuts are attacked by worms but I repeat we haven't had one to date.
Our chestnuts are planted largely in Volusia clay loam on fields where chestnuts formerly flourished. This soil is not fertile, as soils go, and the trees will probably not grow as large nor will they grow as fast as if planted in a more fertile soil. At first we used a spacing of 36 feet but we now use 24 feet, which we think will be satisfactory for our farm.
Since the chestnuts have come into bearing and the project has become to some extent a commercial one, we are more interested in doing what we can for the trees. We are convinced that the mulching process is to be recommended. There is some sawdust to be obtained in this section and as far as it goes we have covered the ground under the branches of the trees with a mulch of sawdust about five or six inches deep. We will not know how successful that is for a few years.
We have planted the fields with a cover crop of rye grass and orchard grass, and this month are cutting it and throwing it under the trees. We have some adjoining fields which were in hay but which had rather run out. We are cutting these likewise and throwing the hay under the trees. We believe if we keep this practice up for a few years we will have a reasonable mulch under the trees. We have become interested in Reed canary grass. We have had a few sample patches of it and are going to plant a couple of outside fields with it to be used for mulch. It grows stronger than any other northern grass with which we are conversant, and therefore would produce more mulch. We are also giving the land two rather heavy applications of mixed fertilizer each year.
We think the chief thing we have learned about chestnuts is that the first few years the trees should be cultivated, fertilized, watered, and mulched. You cannot handle them the way you could, for instance, Christmas trees by simply sticking them in a field of grass. The first year they should be watered every ten days if they require it, and watered the second year if there is a real drought.
In closing we would say that as far as our immediate section is concerned, it is our guess that chestnuts are the only nuts which might appear to have commercial possibilities. Of course, at present, the nuts sell at quite a high price and I fear beyond their value. What will happen when the numerous orchards which have been planted in the last few years come into bearing is any man's guess.
We do not believe that the black walnuts would ever prove a commercial success here, although they normally do well. Of course the trouble is the competition of the wild nuts from other sections. On the other hand, if some one had the time to give to working up a market for the improved black walnuts, he might get some profit out of it.
If I were younger, I might want to try growing a number of Winkler hazel nuts. I think hazel nuts covered with chocolate make a very attractive candy, and here, in this section, the Winkler seems to be immune to blight and other troubles. This year, for the first time in our recollection, the frost got them and the crop is very light.
I do not know just what to say about the heartnuts. They might not have enough flavor to suit some people, but when eaten with salt I think they are delicious. They are very free cracking. We have one, the Lobular, which as soon as they are cracked can be shaken out of the shell. I am disturbed however over the bunch disease to which some of them are subject.