GG is several years into answering the question: can you grow chestnuts in northern Wisconsin? When we started the project, I thought our biggest strike against us was our minimum winter temperatures. But the only time we have had significant tree die-off is the when...
On the grand scheme of things a few acres of chestnuts on Washington Island sounds small. And it is. But small is mighty. Here are 4 reasons why a chesetnut orchard can have a big impact: Food: 1 acre of chesnut trees produces 1,000s of lbs of food each year. A...
This article was first published in the Washington Island Observer. Story by Andrea McCabe, Ground School Student 2022 A glimmer of hope for the future of chestnut trees throughout the Midwest is growing on Washington Island. The first chestnut tree blossom at...
2019 was an exciting year for the chestnut orchard. We planted 70 additional chestnut trees, bringing the total to 100 trees. It was very promising to see that some of the trees planted in the spring of 2018 grew six feet in one season! A handful of trees are already...
Chestnuts are called the Bread Tree as the nuts are similar to grain nutritionally. They can be eaten fresh or milled into a flour. Chestnuts were once a staple throughout much of the eastern United states, both for humans and wildlife, and today, they are a staple in...
