Chestnut Harvesting Time is HERE

October is chestnut harvesting time in Oregon. We always go to a farm owned by the Carson family in Hillsboro, Oregon. They grow chestnuts, hazelnuts, and kiwi fruit. Today was the first weekend they were open for U-Pick chestnut harvesting. We have been the last two years and enjoy talking with the family and exchanging chestnut recipes. They have several varieties of chestnut trees, most are about 30 years old.
You need to wait for the nuts to drop off the tree and the enclosing spiny hull to dry and open. There are usually green and brown husks under the trees. You can collect nuts from either but the brown husks indicate that the nuts have begun to dry and the starch has started to convert to sugar. In both cases the nuts will need to be "dry-cured" several weeks before eating.

This year was a bumper crop as you can see from the clusters of nuts on this tree.

The pods begin to crack open when the nut is mature and will soon drop to the ground.

We had to wear gloves to protect our hands when picking up the pods or opening them. One easy way to open the pods is to step on them and release the nuts inside.

The spines are very sharp and will go through even leather gloves if you aren't careful.

Each pod will have between two and four nuts inside.

We harvested 20 pounds in about an hour. We will go again next week introducing some of Sandra's Taiwan friends to this fun pastime.

If you're interested and live in the area the farm is located at:

7110 SW Straughan Road, Hillsboro, OR 97123

So plug the address into your GPS or Google it and tell the Carsons that Michael and Sandra sent you.