With most of the frost sensitive vegetable crops finished growers are now concentrating mostly on cole crops and some of the root vegetables. Few problems have been observed and most of the crop will be harvested over the next two weeks. Producers in Niagara are reporting good yields and kernel fill of sweet chestnuts and Carpathian walnuts. Grafted walnut cultivars continued to be emphasized to landowners as genetically different from wild walnut. It is most profitable to leave wild walnuts to the squirrels.
Carpathian walnuts have the best chance for commercial production where kernel yields are highest.
Hybrids until this season were thought to be tolerant to blight infection. Michigan research is testing the Japanese chestnut 'Colossal' this year, hybrid seedlings are used only as pollinators. Due to activity of the chestnut blight observed the past few seasons, growers wishing to make a commercial go of chestnuts would do best by planting Japanese cultivars to prevent economic losses. A few maple producers have asked about reduced or no tapping this coming winter due to the second season of drought. Although we have experienced some fall rains, maples will likely be low on stored energy reserves this winter due to a stressed photosynthesizing period this past summer.