[MassChestnutOrchards] Test Plots

[Mike or Penny Novack]

>  A few days ago I planted 10 nuts in a former garden area in back of 
> the house and put up BlueX shelters. Something knocked over shelters 
> and ate nuts. I replanted yesterday and mounted the trail camera. I 
> now have pictures of a healthy raccoon going after the nuts.
> I checked the fall plantings and no seedlings have broken the surface 
> yet but radicals are growing indicating the nuts survived the winter 
> freezing temps.
>  
> Rufin

That's great to have a way of determining WHAT sort of critter is 
getting the nuts in spite of the shelters, or even having learned what a 
shelter might cover, finding the rest that way.

Suggests experiments (from my days trying to grow bulbs the critters 
liked to eat). Small lumps of camphor, naphthalene, etc. buried close by 
the nut. That never worked long term with the bulbs as effect gone in a 
couple years but for keeping mammalian nut eaters off for a few months 
should work just fine. Or we could try seeing if a paste of cayenne 
pepper around the nuts helps. Without the camera evidence we wouldn't 
know to try as birds like turkeys not deterred by smell, etc.

Michael