Cooperative Living October 2020 - 12

FarmLife | Story and photos by Adam Culler, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
A Return from Blight
Growers are putting chestnuts back on the U.S. map
t's been 100 years in the making.
After a century, fresh chestnuts are
again available in Virginia.
The chestnut blight wiped out the
American chestnut tree in the early
1900s, killing an estimated 4 billion
trees.
But a handful of Virginia farms have
found a way to maintain blight-resistant
orchards. Marketing collectively as
Virginia Chestnuts LLC, they are
harvesting thousands of pounds of
fresh chestnuts each year.
Established in 2015,
Virginia Chestnuts owes
its start to David and
Kim Bryant of Nelson
County. As workers
cleared the pines for
construction of the
Bryants' house in 2003,
the couple started
thinking about a
business that would
allow them to use the land into
retirement.
The Bryants gravitated toward
chestnuts when David read an article
about a retired couple in Delaware who
were growing them. " I thought, 'Hmm,
chestnuts. We could do that,' and we
started researching it, " he says.
The Bryants purchased their first
chestnut trees in 2009 and planted them
by hand. In 2019, the couple had 1,600
trees on 23 acres at Bryant Farm and
Nursery. The operation is one of five
Nelson County farms that constitute
Virginia Chestnuts, including Breidablik
Farm, Helbert Orchard, Hopkins
Orchard and Seamans' Orchard.
FALLING CHESTNUTS
Chestnut harvest typically lasts
six weeks, beginning around the third
week of September and ending in
October. " The bulk of our chestnuts
fall in October, " David Bryant says.
" We continually harvest some every
day, often twice a day. "
The first crop is hand-harvested,
10 | Cooperative Living | October 2020
I
and later in the season the Bryants use
a special pecan harvester. Chestnut
harvesting equipment in the U.S. is rare.
Collectively, Virginia Chestnuts
harvested more than 11,000 pounds of
chestnuts in 2019, the group's best-ever
haul, and promptly sold out of its stock
before Thanksgiving.
" It's been great, " Bryant says of
the group's growth. " It's getting better
each year with the demand and the
realization that chestnuts are available
commercially and locally, and
production is increasing
each year. "
NUGGETS OF WISDOM
During the past two
summers, the Bryants
have hosted a chestnutgrowing
class that teaches
prospective growers how to
plant, harvest and sell their
products. The couple also
sells chestnut tree seedlings each spring.
" We're getting more into the
education side, " Bryant says. " We're
trying to introduce chestnuts to a new
group and grow demand for them
organically. Right now, we're selling
out what we have, so we're doing well,
but we're looking to expand. "
After selling the bulk of its stock
online last year, the group wants to
dedicate more of its product to local
sales after coming up short last holiday
season.
It's all part of the learning curve
working in an industry waking from
a 100-year slumber.
" We were planning on being at
different markets last year, but we
just ran out of product, " Bryant says.
" That was the biggest thing we ran into
last year, but it's educational. In the
early years, it's all an educated guess,
so no complaints. It's all good. " ■
CHESTNUTS ON AN OPEN FIRE
" Chestnuts roasting on an open fire "
conjures iconic images of roasting beautiful,
fresh chestnuts during the holiday season.
" Roasting chestnuts brings their sugar
content up, " explains Kim Bryant, co-owner
of Bryant Farm and Nursery in Nelson County.
The most important step in roasting
chestnuts happens before you start to roast ;
they must be properly scored.
SCORING CHESTNUTS:
The traditional way is to place a chestnut
on a cutting board with its flat side down.
With a paring knife, cut an " x " into the round
top of the nut.
If the nuts have a harder shell and don't
score easily:
* Soak them in lukewarm water for
20 minutes. Try either the classic " x "
or a straight line across the round top
of the nut.
* If you don't want to score your
chestnuts, place them flat side down
on a cutting board. With a paring knife,
stab into the top of each chestnut,
then turn the knife 90 degrees and
stab the nut again, creating a small,
deep " x " on the top.
ROASTING CHESTNUTS:
After washing and properly scoring the
chestnuts, place the nuts in a roasting pan
in a single layer. Place the pan over hot coals,
and turn the nuts frequently until the shells
begin to split open and the insides feel soft.
BAKING OR BOILING:
Chestnuts can also be baked. Preheat
your oven to 400 degrees, and roast nuts in a
single layer on a cookie sheet or in a roasting
pan for about 10 minutes or until the slits in
the skins curl.
Additionally, chestnuts can be boiled in
their shells. Just score them first.
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