Sunday, October 20th at 10:00 AM EST
You’ve never had so much fun in your life! Please join us on Sunday for a chestnut shucking party at the Fortwood Street Greenhouse and Nursery.
Who: calling all Tennessee Chapter volunteers of The American Chestnut Foundation
What: a fun day processing this year’s harvest of backcross American chestnut seeds
Where: The Fortwood Street Greenhouse and Nursery, on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, located at 833 Fortwood Street, Chattanooga, TN. 37403 (in UTC Parking Lot 37)
When: Sunday, 20 October 2024, from 10:00 AM until the fun runs out
Why: In order to harvest seeds from our backcross hybrids we need to collect the burs the day before they open (because as soon as the burs open the nuts fall out and are eaten by deer, squirrels, wild turkeys and other neighbors)
How: To prepare the seeds for winter, we need to remove the chestnuts from their burs by hand (that’s the shucking part). The chestnuts are then carefully cleaned, surface sterilized, sorted, counted, and packed into a moist medium (sphagnum) to be stratified for four months at 40 F
Bring: A pair of puncture-proof gloves (if you have a pair), and dress for the weather
For more information, please contact Hill Craddock: 423-290-8924 or hill-craddock@utc.edu