Chesters1 top tips 356

[ayjay]

Strange that, as my impression is that hardly anything seems to go for the chestnuts locally (we don't have wild boar up on Ashdown Forest, but they are prolific in the lower Weald) We have stacks of grey squirrels, roe deer, fallow deer and red deer on Ashdown, but the chestnuts seem to just lie where they fall until either I pick them up or the slugs get them. Allied to that, when approaching the chestnut trees I have never seen squirrels or deer scampering away, nor any sign of any animals or birds feeding on the nuts.

 

It could of course just be the sheer numbers of nuts that come down - the squirrels and deer just can't eat 'em all There was a great chestnut paling and hurdle business at the end of the nineteenth century and loads of small coppiced chestnut plantations here and there about the forest. Most of these are now neglected, with the result that the trees have grown very large. About six of our favourite walks pass at least one such old plantation, and half an hour's chestnut gathering fills two anorak pockets each.

 

 

 

I've got a different theory now: on my usual walk, the enclosure is about 1.25 miles square and there are at least 50 Sweet Chestnut trees, I walked another enclosure yesterday and only saw one Sweet Chestnut tree, about 90% of the windfall pods there had viable chestnuts in them, so, I'm thinking that maybe the deer etc. that frequent the first enclosure are more used to finding and eating the chestnuts and make them a part of their diet.

 

I don't think I've ever seen anything eating the chestnuts either, I do see deer during the day, but rarely feeding close to the paths, I have seen a couple of people collecting recently, so maybe it's as simple as needing to be an earlier bird.

[Vagabond]

maybe it's as simple as needing to be an earlier bird.

There could be something in that. We usually walk before breakfast - this time of year about 7.30 and back by 10 am, - but even when we walk later in the day, we never see anyone else gathering chestnuts. We used to be a country village, but the social mix has changed. and we have got swamped with refugees from Surbiton (think Margot Leadbetter) who have pushed house prices "through the roof" and wouldn't dream of indulging in such peasant-related activities as gathering chestnuts, blackberries, mushrooms and the like.

[Vagabond]

Yesterday's walk yielded what are probably the last Ashdown chestnuts of the season - inspection of the trees revealed there were virtually no more pods to come down, thanks to the high winds of the weekend.

 

However, there may well be some nuts left on trees down in the valleys where there was less wind. That's next week's target.

[Vagabond]

However, there may well be some nuts left on trees down in the valleys where there was less wind. That's next week's target.

As it is now "next week" I can report that another bumper harvest of chestnuts was gathered yesterday down by the intriguingly-named "Spratt's Bottom" one of the valleys feeding the infant Medway.

 

By chance we also passed a crab-apple tree that was absolutely crammed with fruit, so about a stone of crab apples were also gathered, On the way home we called in at my deer-culling mate's house and added several joints of venison to the bounty. Oh, and a few mallard and pheasant also. All the meats went to join the wild boar in the freezer so we are not in danger of starvation this year.

 

Spent the afternoon processing the chestnuts whilst Norma made a cauldron-full of crab-apple jelly

 

Last night we dined on Deer-Harbourer's pie - like Shepherd's pie, but chopped venison and chestnuts instead of lamb.

[chesters1]

As it is now "next week" I can report that another bumper harvest of chestnuts was gathered yesterday down by the intriguingly-named "Spratt's Bottom" one of the valleys feeding the infant Medway.

 

By chance we also passed a crab-apple tree that was absolutely crammed with fruit, so about a stone of crab apples were also gathered, On the way home we called in at my deer-culling mate's house and added several joints of venison to the bounty. Oh, and a few mallard and pheasant also. All the meats went to join the wild boar in the freezer so we are not in danger of starvation this year.

 

Spent the afternoon processing the chestnuts whilst Norma made a cauldron-full of crab-apple jelly

 

Last night we dined on Deer-Harbourer's pie - like Shepherd's pie, but chopped venison and chestnuts instead of lamb.

What are you a barrow pushing cross between bear grylls and the local fruit and veg shop? LOL

The place we got ours from has been tidied up and the verge now clean of any freebies ,a few left on the tree but not worth the walk deliberately to get them

On the other hand just across the road last month was a great crop of red ,yellow and purple damsons ,several pies already made and some fruit at the bottom of chest freezer (under the 2dozen scotch pies we have in there) for next springs pies

Ran out of vaccuum bags for now so the rest was pulped and put into a large tupper ware box .

Blackberries were disapointing compared to last year the rain tended to give them fur coats this year and although promising before they ripened they are not worth the effort this year

 

Last year you were rolling about on millions of acorns this year your walking about on millions of beech masts ,last year every rowan was sagging under a huge number of berries this year theres a handfull

Edited October 30, 2014 by chesters1

[Vagabond]

 

Last year you were rolling about on millions of acorns this year your walking about on millions of beech masts

You are not kidding !

 

Here is pic of the acorns at just one location last year

 

 

Have also noticed the beech masts this year, but not found a sufficiently photogenic shot yet