Chestnuts are called the Bread Tree as the nuts are similar to grain nutritionally. They can be eaten fresh or milled into a flour. Chestnuts were once a staple throughout much of the eastern United states, both for humans and wildlife, and today, they are a staple in parts of Europe and Asia. Chestnut trees can produce 4,000 pounds per acre, and start producing in as little as 3 years.

Chestnuts are a sustainable food harvest because they produce every year without needing to be replanted, thereby reducing tillage, helping build soils, and locking carbon in the soil. We are planting the best seedling chestnuts from commercial quality trees from the University of Missouri, Cornell University, and northern commercial chestnut orchards.

As our trees mature, we will go through a selection process for cold-hardiness and the ability to ripen nuts in our growing season. Our trees have made it through their first winter with 100% success rate, enduring lows of at least -14? F.

Want to get involved?

Tree Sponsorship: Your gift of $100 allows us to plant a seedling and care for it to maturity.

Memorial Tree: Your gift of $200 allows us to plant a tree in your or a loved one’s name, memorialized with a plaque displayed on the tree, and to care for it to maturity.