chestnut questions

Lois_Lane

It certainly hasn't affect the chestnuts in this part of the world (Milton Keynes) - OH and I went for a walk this afternoon and the paths were strewn with conkers and shells, and lots of them were really big.

LL

alikat_3

Lois_Lane wrote:

It certainly hasn't affect the chestnuts in this part of the world (Milton Keynes) - OH and I went for a walk this afternoon and the paths were strewn with conkers and shells, and lots of them were really big.

LL

Yep, loads of conkers at my end, too.

liz.._4

why not sell them on ebay? A few years ago there was a shortage and sellers were getting over £5 for a dozen (until the bottom dropped out of the conker market, ie the national championships ended!)

lindseykim13

was wondering how i tell the difference between conkers and sweet chesnuts i'd like to find some as they are tasty and free lol what time of year should i be looking for them and any pics/advice would be great, thanks

Pink.

Hi lindseykim,

There's an earlier thread that should help so I've added your post to it to keep the replies together.

Pink

moanymoany

They begin to fall off the trees from about now. The main difference is the shell. Sweet chestnuts have sharp spikes on the outer casing.

The leaves are different. Conkers have the 'hand like' shaped leaves.

This is all about the conker tree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum

And this is all about the sweet chestnut tree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Chestnut

Enjoy!

Pink.

If you have a look at google images you'll find lots of pics of both that should help you see the differences. sweet chestnuts horse chestnuts

Pink