Chestnut Harvesting

Last fall we bought some chestnuts at an Asian grocery store, they were delicious but they cost $4.99 a pound. In November we found a U-Pick place not too far away to get chestnuts. But, when we decided to go again this year, we forgot where it was - duh! After some searching we found one place but weren't sure it was the same one. We made a trip out there today to check it out and sure enough it was the same place. We have written the contact information down so we don't forget it again. Since we were already there we decided to pick a little bit to be sure they were as good as we remembered them; we wound up bringing 37 pounds home. Next Saturday we plan to return and lead a "field trip". We may have to pick some more for the cupboard! Sandra is roasting some as we write this and the smell is inviting so will stop now.

The trees were loaded with pods just bursting with ripe nuts. Some had fallen to the ground and were ready to pick up.

Heavy leather gloves are a necessity as the pods are covered with sharp spines that will go through even regular gloves.

You can use your hands to open the pods and remove the nuts or you can use your feet to step on the pods and squeeze them open so the nuts can be easily removed.

Most pods have two to three nuts along with a few unformed ones. Some have a larger number and some have a single large nut.