Chestnut Trees and Chestnuts
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Oct 18, 2024 - Our 2024 harvest in progress. Fresh chestnuts are now available and in stock at BuyFreshChestnuts.com.

The Washington Chestnut Company offers fresh chestnuts for sale at BuyFreshChestnuts.com right from the farm in northwest Washington State. Orders can be shipped to anywhere in the USA, including California. Chestnuts grown in Northwest Washington experience a cool growing season resulting in sweeter chestnuts, just like the chestnuts from the mountains in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. The cool growing season also has the chestnut trees hold on to the nuts much longer than warmer growing areas. Later falling chestnuts is good for you because the chestnuts will not have been in cold storage for weeks, giving you the freshest chestnuts possible.

We use best practices methods to manage the orchard and the delivery of the fresh chestnuts to you. Our most important best practice is to help you enjoy chestnuts to their fullest. We look forward to being your chestnut farm of choice when you are in the market for fresh chestnuts.

Enjoying fresh chestnuts in your diet is a great choice. Chestnuts are low in fat, gluten free, high in fiber, and they taste great. It is hard to find a better tasting food item than fresh chestnuts. Chestnuts are also a very versatile ingredient for many types of dishes aside from just eating it fresh from the roaster. From soups to salads, main dishes, and even deserts, chestnuts can be a part of each and every one. To get started using chestnuts in your culinary dishes, order some chestnuts right from the farm where the chestnuts are grown by placing your order today.


Chestnut News

February 8, 2019 - Chestnut Tree Pollen in Orchards Its taken many years of observations to collect enough data and casual research to bring some sense to what is happening in chestnut orchards when the orchards are in bloom. The article "Chestnut Pollen Guide" provides chestnut orchardists and those planning a new orchard specifics understanding pollen in chestnut orchards.


August 25, 2018 - A new class of Hybrid Chestnut Tree - Washington Chestnut Company and several other organizations has been evaluating a new chestnut cultivar known as Szego. The Szego chestnut tree has many traits supporting the needs for both the commercial grower and the home orchardist. For growers east of the Rocky Mountians, their wish list would consist of these traits: Easy to grow, upright growth, excellent nuts set, chestnuts with excellent flavor and texture, the nut is easy to peal, and chestnut blight and phytophthora resistance. The Szego achieves these wish items in addition it also is an excellent pollen producer and the nut size is very large. Unlike Chinese grafted chestnut trees, the Szego does not usually drop the graft under stress conditions.

There is still lots of breeding work to be done to add more chestnut tree cultivars to the options for chestnut growers. "Many Thanks", goes out to all those involved in the breeding efforts of chestnut trees.


September 17, 2017 - Dealing with Winter Damage in the Chestnut Orchard
Winter can be some difficult times for chestnut trees. The good thing about winter in the chestnut orchard is there are almost no bugs chewing on the new growth. The bad thing is the cold can damage or even kill the trees. Read more about how harmful winters can be.


January 2, 2017 - Winning the Battle of Phytophthora in a Chestnut Orchard
One of the most devastating sicknesses for a chestnut tree is phytophthora. In a single growing season, a health chestnut tree can contract phytophthora, slide into poor health and die. Read more about phytophthora and chestnut trees.


February 19, 2016 - N in the Forecast
This article looks at data associated with the application of nitrogen (N) in chestnut orchards. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the soil and has the most impact on the performance of chestnut trees. Supplemental Nitrogen in Chestnut Orchards. A must read for anyone, hobby or commercial chestnut producer.


November 9, 2014 - Selecting a Chestnut Cultivar
The perfect chestnut tree for one chestnut producer may not be the perfect chestnut tree for someone else. How does someone just starting out with their initial planning a commercial chestnut farm get started? This article titled "Chestnut Tree Perfection: The Selection of a Cultivar" is a great place to start.


October 10, 2014 - Evaluating a New Cultivar
We propagate so many chestnut trees one would think we would come across a chestnut tree that produces better chestnuts than the parents. Almost all the cultivars we have in our inventory are "large and sweet" so to get a chestnut that is better than what is already available is a long shot. This year we do have a new tree worth giving more attention to. While evaluating this new tree we will give it a name of Aywonko (A 1 ko). Beyond the sweet and large, this chestnut has a great traditional European texture and a great chestnut flavor. On the down side, this year the nuts are difficult to peel. We will keep Aywonko around for a few years to see if the difficulty in peeling goes away with the age of the tree.


August 10, 2013 - Making Super Star Chestnut Trees
Remember those days when we were kids, we would say things like, "I want to be a movie star", "I want to be a fireman", "I want to be a model", "I want to be anything as long it is something special". Most chestnut trees are born from a seed resulting in what we call a seedling. Being called a "seedling" doesn't sound like something special, especially when we call some of the super stars... Read the entire Making Super Stars article


January 13, 2013 - Grouping and Sorting Chestnut Tree Cultivars
Selecting chestnut trees for your orchard can be a daunting task with so many different chestnut tree cultivars to choose from. This article might help you find the perfect selection for your orchard by grouping chestnut trees by some of the characteristics chestnut orchardist use to select their chestnut trees. Grouping Chestnut Trees


Washington Chestnut Company is a producer of fresh chestnuts from its orchard operations and chestnut trees from its nursery operations. The nursery operations offers over 30 named chestnut cultivars to commercial chestnut producers, retail garden and nursery centers, and direct sales to the public.
 

Online Orders

Orders for fresh chestnuts and chestnut trees can be made online on our e-store BuyFreshChestnuts.com


Storing Chestnuts for Weeks

We developed a process of cleaning and sanitizing chestnuts you can do for yourself so the chestnuts do not rot during storage for up to 8 weeks post harvest. Storing Chestnut for Weeks



Chestnut tree with large burrs

Chestnut burrs nearing harvest time


Blight Resistant American Chestnut Trees
Over the years people have called asking if we have the kind of American chestnut trees that is blight resistant. After consulting with the experts we have decided we will not propagate these trees. The primary reason is the seed and plant tissues would have to come from the Eastern USA where there are bad bugs, blight, and a few other things we never want to see in our orchards. The only place to get these trees is from the American Chestnut Foundation.

Taking Chestnuts into Canada
Residents of Lower British Columbia are allowed under USMCA to bring fresh chestnuts produced in Washington state to Canada. We work closely with the Ag inspectors to make sure our chestnuts meet all requirements to allow you to enter Canada with fresh chestnuts. If you would like to pick up some fresh chestnuts from us please call ahead so we can have your order ready for you when you arrive. Our phone number is (360) 592-3397.

What to do with chestnuts
Chestnuts are an incredible food item. Some people eat them raw, but most eat them cooked, kind of like potatoes. We all have heard of people who will eat a potato raw. Well there are people who eat chestnuts raw too. Chestnuts must be stored properly between the time the chestnuts are harvested to the time the chestnuts are consumed. For details about the important handling, preparing and cookng of chestnuts see our page on storing and preparing chestnuts.


Contact Information:
Washington Chestnut Company
6160 Everson Goshen Rd.
Everson, WA 98247
Ph: (360) 592-3397
Email: chestnuts.wa@gmail.com