Каштан – легендарный персонаж народных былин и decorative deciduous culture, decorating the gardens and parks of Western European countries and southern regions of Russia. This interesting tree has several varieties and names (edible, European, noble), united by one name - chestnut sowing.
Chestnut sown - an amazing tree, with whichdifferent peoples have different associations. For example, with the onset of autumn in France begins a "chestnut season", when at each crossroads they sell fried fruits and other dishes based on them. Blossoming chestnut - a kind of symbol of Kiev, whose spring parks with chestnut-filled alleys, amaze the imagination with generous beauty and excellent decorative. And Bulgarian healers appreciate him for high medicinal qualities, since all the above-ground parts of the plant are curative.
Southeast Europe and Malaysia are recognized as their homelandthis representative of temperate and warm latitudes. Chestnut seeded, whose winter hardiness is low, occurs today in East Asia, is distributed on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast of America, but in the northern climatic zones the plant does not survive.
This tree is an enviable long-liver.In the world there are several plants that live more than 1000 years, and in the foothills of the Caucasus are known specimens that crossed the 500-year boundary. The average life expectancy of a chestnut is an impressive period of time - 450-500 years.
Все перечисленные виды каштанов относятся к famous family beech trees and represent tall trees, reaching 30-35 meters. This plant - a real giant with a spreading wide crown and a straight, upward trunk, whose diameter can reach up to two-meter values. The dark brown bark covering the tree trunk is covered with cracks, the depth of which increases with age. Vastly sprawling branches create a thick and dense crown. Chestnut leaves are elongated (up to 25 cm), oblong with noticeable marginal chisels, proportionately large. Their beautiful form is emphasized by a dense structure and a juicy dark green color. The foliage dissolves in early April.
Chestnut is a flowering tree.The spectacle is impressive, and you can see it in June. Small light flowers collected in spiked inflorescences cover the culture, attracting the looks of passers-by and invoking insect pollinators.
Fertilize the plant begins in October-November, withthe beginning of the fall of the foliage. The fruit of the edible chestnut is a real nutlet of a dense structure of a yellowish or cream shade. It develops in a protective shell-plush, equipped with hard thorns and protecting it from various misfortunes. In each such shell, one or three nuts ripen, after which the plum crackles, revealing the fruits.
Nuts such as a chestnut sowing edible,eat, and their inedible varieties, such as horse chestnut, serve as excellent raw materials for use in folk medicine. The fruit is sweet to taste, has a slightly loose structure and a unique composition of nutrients.
Edible chestnut looks different from horseslightly pointed tip of the box in which the cotyledon is located. After harvesting, the nuts are stored for a short time, as they quickly dry up, become brittle and lose their consumer properties.
Состав плодов каштана уникален, они содержат a balanced set of minerals, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, macro- and microelements, and their compounds. Unlike other nuts, the chestnut contains a minimum amount of fat, which makes it a good product for dietary nutrition. Rich in chestnut fruits are proteins, sugars, natural plant enzymes.
Nuts are valuable as a food product.They are consumed fresh or subjected to any cooking: fry, bake, boil, add to bakery and confectionery. Grinded roasted chestnuts are an excellent substitute for coffee.
In addition to fruits, the foliage of the tree possesses special qualities, a high content of tannins and pectins in which it allows effectively to disinfect and heal wounds, to stop bleeding.
Propagation of the culture with seeds or vegetatively - cuttings. Chestnut is pollinated by insects. Fruiting of different species begins also at different times. Some - from the 3rd to 6th year of life, others - from the 25th.
Chestnut sowing is well established on sunny,protected from the wind areas with neutral fertile air-permeable soils. Moisture-loving culture does not tolerate drought, so caring for young plants is very important.
As indicated above, the chestnut tree comes from warm subtropics and does not tolerate frosts, but it grows well in greenhouses and winter gardens, as well as in domestic culture using Japanese bonsai technology.
You can get a full chestnut tree fromseeds fully ripe and fallen from the branch. For a qualitative germination, a long stratification is needed, imitating a natural, natural process. Seeds are placed in a container, poured over with dry river sand and placed in a refrigerator or basement. After 5-6 months, so hardened chestnut seeds can be planted for germination.
They are placed in a substrate from a mixture of forest land andleaf humus. Each nut is planted in a separate container with a capacity of 4-5 liters. To facilitate germination, seeds are kept in warm water for 5-6 days before sowing. They are deepened by 10 cm. Stratified, they germinate quickly enough, within 15-20 days. Sprouting seedlings in spring are transplanted to an open solar area, the shaded corners of the garden are not suitable for chestnuts.
Place for planting should be prepared in advance, neutralize the excess acidity of the soil, adding to 1 m2 500-600 grams of dolomite flour and digupper fertile layer with humus. Before the seedlings are planted, they are quenched, taking them to fresh air daily for two weeks. Planted in the open ground, deep-seated seedlings grow intensively. They will need a simple but regular care.
Для регионов с теплым мягким климатом каштан It is easy to plant and grow a sowing campaign, one has only to pay a little attention to the plant, following the usual procedures provided for by the characteristics of the species and the cultivation farming techniques.
Supporting the growth of young seedlings, it is necessaryregularly weed the soil in pristvolny circles, loosen it and water the plant as needed. Chestnut does not like drying up the soil, but over time it develops a powerful core root system, for which it is no longer difficult to extract water. However, ingrained seedlings should not be water scarce.
Edible chestnuts, the lack of which islow winter hardiness, require winter shelters, even if they grow in ideal conditions of the Crimea. Nutrasil or other nonwoven protective materials are used as shelters.
In addition to the usual care activities, chestnutthe necessary trimming, forming a crown, providing decorative and protecting from thickening and the occurrence of diseases of different origin. Conduct pruning in early spring, removing damaged, sick, weak and growing inside the crown branches. Formation of the crown is carried out already on a more mature plant, building it in accordance with their own preferences and desires. The sowing chestnut, the photos of which are presented in the publication, is a magnificent tree. However, a living specimen of this representative of beech trees, growing in its own garden, is a spectacular and desirable plant for gardeners in the southern regions.
