CONNEAUT, Ohio – Nearly everyone knows about you-pick strawberries and you-pick apples. But you-pick chestnuts?

Those living in and around Cleveland, Ohio, are already familiar with Northridge Blueberries, a go-to farm along the banks of Lake Erie known for pick-your-own and pre-picked blueberries.

Now, the farm offers you-pick chestnuts, choosing from 100 chestnut trees on the grounds. The business is now called Northridge Blueberries & Chestnuts.

Owners Julia Barton and Patrick Turner are experienced farmers. They have operated Octagon Acres Farm in Conneaut for the past 10 years. Julia and her family raise Soay and American Jacob sheep, grow certified-organic vegetables and seedlings on their farm along the Lake Erie shoreline. And now, add chestnuts to their list.

When they saw the Northridge farm for sale this past summer, they had to check it out. Soon after they became owners.

“It’s a really special farm with several acres of chestnut trees,” Barton said. “We worked really hard clearing the orchard so we could offer a you-pick chestnut season.”

The chestnut season is under way. Barton expects it to run through the end of October as more chestnuts ripen.

No tree climbing is necessary or allowed at the farm. Protective gloves are used by pickers, who can wander among 13 rows of trees over 5 acres, collecting chestnuts from spiny burrs that have fallen from the trees. Sturdy gloves are used to nudge open the tiny outer shells and collect their two or three nuts.

“We’re excited to offer a tree-nut crop locally,” said Barton, who sells her chestnuts for $4.70 a pound for pick-your-own or $5,80 a pound pre-picked.

Beyond her own farm, Barton is the farmer services director at the Organic Farmers Association, where she champions policies that strengthen and support certified organic producers nationwide.

Northridge Blueberries & Chestnuts is open from 4-7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Buckets are provided. The farm is at 497 West Main Road in Conneaut.

About an hour’s drive west of Conneaut in Cleveland is Buckeye Chestnuts, another family-run, self-pick and grab n’ go Chinese chestnut farm. Operated and owned by Alan and Diane Apelt, the farm has been in production and selling chestnuts for five seasons. Their self-pick season is done, but they have plenty of grab n’ go for customers.

In 2000, Alan and Diane turned their greenhouses into a hydroponic cucumber operation after having grown tomatoes for many years. Their three grown sons chose career paths away from the greenhouse industry, putting the family at a crossroads of sort. That’s when the entire family decided to continue to use the land for farming by planting 400 Chinese chestnut trees, and in 2017 started what is now known as Buckeye Chestnuts, LLC.

Some enjoy chestnuts raw and crunchy. Others prefer roasting them in a fire, oven or microwave and enjoy their heat-sweetened, softer offering. Some prefer to boil the nuts.

“The chestnut trees are the easiest to manage on a day-to-day basis by myself,” Alan said.

Due to the maturity of the chestnut trees, 2020 was the first year that Buckeye Chestnuts had a successful harvest. Approximately 100 pounds of chestnuts went to market that year. In 2021, they doubled the harvest with continued growth.

Buckeye Chestnuts is at 4555 Grayton Road in Cleveland.

Jennifer Thornton, owner of Buttercream & Olive Oil cooking school in nearby North Royalton, is a huge fan of chestnuts. She uses them to make fillings and doughs.

“Chestnuts have a rich, earthy flavor that to me evokes autumn and the holidays,” Thornton said. “Their natural, slight sweetness goes so well in European desserts. When I lived in France, I would always indulge with one box of organic marrons glaces (a candied chestnut treat) at Christmas. In France, you knew the seasons were changing when you would smell chestnuts roasting from the street vendors.”

Thornton has been ordering chestnut puree from Fance and chestnut flour from Italy, but also sources locally from these two chestnut farms.

“We like to go the extra mile in our shop, choosing local and pick-your-own seasonal items to incorporate into our specialty pastries,” Thornton said. “It’s certainly more laborious, but folks appreciate the traditions that it brings back.”