Green Horizons

The last chestnuts have been harvested at the MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC). Some will be collected for research, but many pounds will either be sold at Clover’s Natural Market in Columbia, MO, and many other businesses in the Midwest, or roasted over an open fire at the MU Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) roasting booth.

UMCA Associate Director Mike Gold roasts chestnuts over an open fire at the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture’s Harvest Hootenanny which was held at their urban farm near downtown Columbia.

The roasting booth has already proven to be a success in Columbia. On Saturday, Oct. 1, UMCA faculty handed out free roasted chestnut samples at the 46th Anniversary Party for Clover’s Natural Market. Later in the day, the booth moved downtown to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture’s (CCUA) Harvest Hootenanny Fundraiser. Bags of freshly harvested chestnuts were sold for $5. UMCA faculty also travelled to Elsberry, MO to roast chestnuts on Oct. 8 at Forrest Keeling Nursery’s Great River Chestnut Roast. Samples were also handed out along with UMCA informational brochures and popular chestnut recipes.

UMCA faculty will also be roasting and selling chestnuts at the Columbia Farmer’s Market the first two weekends of November and at the Living Windows Festival in downtown Columbia on Dec. 2.