Greetings to All, (my apologies: I am not trying to hijack the thermodynamics of bees and the hive here; for those still interested in it, please ignore this post and proceed)
Around this time of the year, I often miss chestnuts, which I used to pick at the crack of dawn while growing up in a small village in South Korea, a group of thatched roofs nearly drowned among rice paddies, during my formative years there. And I am well aware of the blight that has nearly wiped out the magnificent giant of American chestnut trees. I am also aware of the groundswell to bring back chestnuts back to American landscape. Right top off my head, I can think of some benefits of planting chestnuts to honeybees and I would love see members joining in the effort: the fact that they once thrived here attests their soil suitability.
1. It produces dark honey, the axle grease honey like buckwheat honey; as we all know, the darker the honey, the more antioxidant it contains.
2. Planting chestnut trees is a long-term investment for future beekeepers.
3. Trees are in general more drought-resistant due to their deep roots.
4. You don't need a lot of acres to plant a few, which will support your backyard colonies for years to come.
5. Depending on the variety, you can choose the ones that suit your limitations (time to mature or the size of the trees)
6. The timber from chestnut trees is hard, long-lasting, their being one of the tallest trees in America.
7. The nuts are delicious, roasted or steamed (I prefer the latter).
8. The maturing time will teach us the importance of a delayed gratification.
9. There is an excellent market to sell the nuts.
10. The aroma of chestnut blooms are unforgettable: pungent, wet, strong, some even describe as "sperm-like" odor. When I described the smell as "estrogen-like," my daughters started Googling if estrogen had a smell at all.
11. Add more here (that's all I can think for now)
I would love to see all of us planting chestnuts so we can bring them back to American soil once again.
Respectfully,
Yoon
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