[cobnuts]

CW12CAT - sounds like walnut leaf blotch (anthracnose), it causes brown spots on the leaves. It may be possible to control it by carefully raking away all fallen leaves from under the tree and burning them, and spraying with copper based fungicides.

It could also be walnut blight (signs are small black spots on the tips of the leaves). Control by cutting out infected shoots well beyond site of infection and spraying with copper based fungicide.

If that doesn't work, grub out the tree and try something else.

Your ground may not be suitable for walnuts, or alternatively, the tree you grew from nut may be especially susceptible to leaf blotch.

There is further info on these and other walnut diseases in the booklet on walnuts published by the Agroforestry Research Trust. See earlier post.

[CW12CAT]

Thanks for swift reply. I will try treating with copper based fungicide and will check out the site you recommend. Thanks

[Blowin]

Rebecca - My Dad worked with chestnut all his life so some of it naturally rubbed off on me. I've also done a few Freshers Fairs in Plymouth!!!

Someone else mentioned the difference between growing and cropping. A few miles from here there are a few seriously mature trees but the number of fruit cases on the ground is pitiful compared with what I'd have expected back in Sussex. There the soil was a mixture of peat and clay and seemed to suit them.

For fencing stakes/posts only oak is better than chestnut but you'll need to plant a patch of trees, not necessarily all chestnut, so that they have to fight for light and thus grow straight. Having said that, it'll be a long term effort.

From established root stock - and you obviously haven't got that yet - chestnut is only cut every twelve years. It grows from 'stubs', i.e. one root system produces multiple shoots of which the strongest survive so it may be wise to cut your trees down when they're about 4-6 inches diameter at the base so that they then sprout more stems.

I hope you're not as old as me because I can't see you having a meaningful set of trees for around 30 years. I just hope Leitrim is more suitable than West Cork is.