Hello chestnut growers and harvesters of the PA-NJ chapter!
Lake Graboski, TACF North Central Regional Science Coordinator is calling on chestnut growers and harvesters to experiment using ‘catch nets’ to harvest chestnuts. This method could improve the ease and safety of harvesting chestnuts in many situations.
September, prior to nut-fall, nets of ¼” mesh smaller are suspended underneath the chestnut trees and a thin layer of leaves is thrown onto them. Indiana chapter member, Bill Deeter, has been using these nets to successfully harvest chestnuts for years.
Here’s a picture of one of his set-ups:
![](https://patacf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/catch-net.png)