George Ingles

My Black Locusts have rather impressive thorns, but those are some SERIOUS THORNS!
... It makes me glad that the Honey Locusts I planted are a selected thornless variety.

I planted some Honey Locusts several years back, in hopes of providing fodder for pigs and cows.
My understanding is that the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds within the pods is the main food value of them.

My trees have grown very slowly and haven't made pods yet, so I cannot say from personal experience yet.

Tonight, I ate the first Chestnuts we have harvested from our trees!

They were prepared the simple way of scoring the shells with a knife, soaking them in water, then baking for about an hour.
Shelling them was mostly easy, though they were a bit crumbly and some stuck to the shells.

These are from European x Japanese hybrids, or maybe just European (my record keeping is .... not so good).

To me, they had the texture of a baked potato but more firm... or maybe a dry winter squash.
The flavor is something like a winter squash or sweet potato - but uniquely different.

I enjoyed them plain, and they were even better with a little sea salt.
I think they would be good for either sweet or savory dishes.

They are not like a typical Nut so much -- more like bread/potato/squash.
I think the next batch we will boil, as the removing from the shell might be easier I think.

Definitely my kind of food!

All this talk of Chestnuts got me curious, so I went out to check mine.
I found several pounds of big, beautiful marrons on the ground from two trees!

Not trying to hijack this thread from the OP's question... but regarding whether they will form nuts without irrigation - YES!

I'm about an hour inland from the coast (PNW).  The only watering they got was the few times it rained this Summer...
This is very encouraging to me, as it is the first year I have gotten more than a handful... so PNW Chestnuts w/out irrigation YAY!  
One of the trees is probably fifteen years old, the other is only seven years old maybe.
Neither is a Chinese Chestnut, though...

Fermented foods have become essential to me: Kombucha, Jun, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Miso, Rejuvelac, fermented vegetables...
I find that my body responds enthusiastically and positively to the bubbling goodness of live-ferments.
I also love soaking and sprouting seeds and nuts and grains.

I don't have a lot of Fridge space though, so there is a limit with how much I can store there.
When I want to save my fermented products longer on the shelf, I will add raw vinegar to the jar to stabilize it.

Just moments ago I started another jar of Jalapenos in brine.
I generally use 3 TBS per Quart of fine Sea Salt to Water for almost anything I'm lacto-fermenting.
My inner barbarian balks at precise measurements and weights in the kitchen, but I nearly always have success.

It seems to me that to survive eating only Nettles might require the transmutative powers of a Saint...
But what I've read, and my own feelings of improved health from including them in my diet, seems to suggest that they are wonderfully nutritious as part of one's diet.

I don't have a lot of experience with Chestnuts, but what you show is what I've come to expect in my conditions.
I have only one Chinese Chestnut in my first plot; the majority of what I have are crosses of European, Japanese, and Korean types.
I didn't start from seed; the trees I ordered were probably 3-years old when I planted them (twelve years ago maybe?).
I watered them the first couple of Summers to get them established, then let them go.

It took a long time (six+ years?) for them to get some real height - though they are unirrigated and often-pruned by Horses & Deer.
They seemed to appreciate volunteer chaperone Blackberry brambles joining them that keep the browsers at bay.
Now they tower over the brambles and have started making some nuts the last couple years (eventually I'll cut out the brambles).
My Chinese Chestnut hasn't made nuts yet though.

I'd say give it some time.  However, more knowledgeable growers may have specific advice that could boost growth rate.
Good luck on your endeavors.

I've enjoyed seeing your progress in this experiment - very encouraging!  
Squash is one of my favorite crops to grow and eat, and I dedicate a large block of my garden to it each year, in a mixed planting including Sunflowers and Zinnias and weeds.

Squash Bugs are tenacious in my garden, and I spend about a half-hour every other day from mid-June to mid-August crawling around squishing them.... and still they decimate most of this type.

My observation is that Squash Bugs greatly favor the C. Maxima types (Hubbard, etc) and secondly go after C. Pepo 'Zucchini' types, and sometimes Cucumbers even.  
They mainly don't bother the C. Moschata types (Butternuts, etc) and also don't bother the other sorts of C. Pepo in my garden.

I've considered abandoning C. Maxima (even though I've been trying to make a landrace).
Yet I wonder if I didn't grow it at all, would the Squash Bugs learn to favor the other Cucurbits?

Anyways, thank you for your pioneering and detailed sharing of your work!