Chestnut is a legendary character of folk epics and a decorative leafy culture that adorns the gardens and parks of Western European states and southern regions of Russia. This interesting tree has several varieties and names (edible, European, noble), united by one name - sowing chestnut.
We learn about the characteristics of the plant, its preferences and agricultural techniques of cultivation from this publication.
Beech stranger
Sowing chestnut is an amazing tree with which various peoples have various associations. For example, with the onset of autumn, the “chestnut season” begins in France, when fried fruits and other dishes based on them are sold at each intersection. Blooming chestnut is a peculiar symbol of Kiev, whose spring parks with alleys planted with chestnuts amaze the imagination with generous beauty and excellent decorativeness. And Bulgarian healers appreciate it for its high medicinal qualities, since all the aboveground parts of the plant are healing.
Spread
Southeast Europe and Malaysia are recognized as the homeland of this representative of temperate and warm latitudes. Sowing chestnut, whose winter hardiness is low, is found today in East Asia, is common on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast of America, but the plant does not survive in the northern climatic zones.
This tree is an enviable long-liver. In the world there are several plants living more than 1000 years, and in the foothills of the Caucasus, specimens are known that have crossed the 500-year-old boundary. The average life expectancy of a chestnut is an impressive period of time - 450-500 years.
Species features
All these types of chestnuts belong to the famous beech family and are tall trees reaching 30-35 meters. This plant is a real giant with a spreading wide crown and a straight trunk that goes up, the diameter of which can reach two meters. The dark brown bark covering the tree trunk is dotted with cracks, the depth of which increases with age. Extensively spreading branches create a voluminous and dense crown. The leaves of the chestnut are elongated (up to 25 cm), oblong with noticeable marginal notches, proportionally large. Their beautiful shape is emphasized by the dense structure and juicy dark green color. The foliage blooms in early April.
Sowing chestnut - a flowering tree. The spectacle is impressive, and you can see it in June. Small light flowers, collected in spike-shaped inflorescences, cover the culture, attracting the eyes of passers-by and invoking pollinating insects.
Fruit
The plant begins to bear fruit in October-November, with the beginning of leaf fall. The fruit of an edible chestnut is a real nut of a dense structure of a yellowish or cream shade. It develops in a protective sheath-cup, equipped with hard spines and protects it from various misfortunes. In each such shell, one or three nuts ripen, after which the plus splits crack, exposing the fruits.
Nuts such as edible chestnut are eaten, and their inedible varieties, such as horse chestnut, are excellent raw materials for use in folk medicine. The fruits have a sweet taste, have a slightly loose structure and a unique composition of nutrients.
Edible chestnut outwardly differs from horse chestnut with the slightly pointed tip of the box containing the cotyledon. After harvesting, the nuts are not stored for long, because they quickly dry out, become brittle and lose consumer properties.
Sowing chestnut: useful properties and application
The composition of chestnut fruits is unique; they contain a balanced set of minerals, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, macro- and microelements and their compounds. Unlike other nuts, chestnut contains a minimal amount of fat, which makes it a good product for diet food. The fruits of chestnut are rich in proteins, sugars, natural plant enzymes.
Nuts are valuable as a food product. They are used fresh or subjected to any culinary processing: fried, baked, boiled, added to bakery and confectionery. Ground roasted chestnuts are a great substitute for coffee.
In addition to fruits, the foliage of the tree also has special qualities, the high content of tannins and pectins in which it allows you to effectively disinfect and heal wounds, stop bleeding.
Sowing Chestnut: Growing
The culture is propagated by seeds or vegetatively by cuttings. The chestnut is pollinated by insects. Fruiting of different species also begins at different times. Some from the 3-6th year of life, others from the 25th.
It often happens that when planting a sowing chestnut in the garden, the gardener takes care first of all of the decorative component of the summer cottage interior, and secondly, he provides the children and grandchildren with a nut crop, since he is not always able to take the crop with his own hands. But experienced gardeners claim that from a 40-year-old specimen they easily collect 60-70 kg of nuts.
Sowing chestnuts take root well in sunny, sheltered from wind areas with neutral fertile, breathable soils. A love of culture does not tolerate drought, so care for young plants is very important.
Seed cultivation
As indicated above, chestnut is a native of warm subtropics and does not tolerate frost, but grows well in greenhouses and conservatories, as well as in home culture using Japanese bonsai technology.
You can get a full chestnut tree from seeds that have fully matured and fallen from the branch. High-quality germination requires long-term stratification that mimics the natural process. Seeds are placed in a container, sprinkled with dry river sand and placed in the refrigerator or basement. After 5-6 months, the chestnut seeds hardened in this way can be planted for germination.
They are placed in a substrate from a mixture of forest land and leaf humus. Each nut is planted in a separate container with a capacity of 4-5 liters. To facilitate germination before sowing, the seeds are kept in warm water for 5-6 days. They are buried by 10 cm. Stratified, they germinate quickly enough, within 15-20 days. Sprouted seedlings in the spring are transplanted to an open sunny area, the shaded corners of the garden are not suitable for chestnuts.
The landing site needs to be prepared in advance, to neutralize the excessive acidity of the soil, adding 500-600 grams of dolomite flour per 1 m 2 and digging up the upper fertile layer with humus. Before the seedlings are planted, they are quenched, taking to fresh air daily for two weeks. Rooted seedlings planted in open ground grow intensively. They will need simple but regular care.
How to take care of young plants
For regions with a warm mild climate, planting and growing chestnuts is not difficult, you just need to give the plant a little attention, performing the usual procedures provided for by the features of the species and agricultural farming technique.
Supporting the growth of young seedlings, it is necessary to regularly weed the soil in the trunk circles, loosen it and water the plant as necessary. Chestnut does not like drying out of the soil, but over time, it develops a powerful core root system, which is no longer difficult to extract water. However, rooted seedlings should not experience water shortages.
Edible chestnuts, the disadvantage of which is low winter hardiness, require winter shelters, even if they grow in ideal conditions of the Crimea. As shelters use nutrasil or other non-woven protective materials.
Pruning: sanitary and shaping
In addition to the usual grooming measures, the chestnut needs pruning, forming a crown, providing decorativeness and protecting against thickening and the occurrence of diseases of various origins. Pruning is carried out in early spring, removing damaged, sick, weak and growing branches inside the crown. The formation of the crown is carried out already on a more mature plant, building it in accordance with their own preferences and desires. Sowing chestnut, whose photo is presented in the publication, is a magnificent tree. However, a living specimen of this representative of beech trees, growing in its own garden, is a spectacular and desirable plant for gardeners of the southern regions.