About Us
Our Culinary Chestnuts
What's New
Route 9 Cooperative was formed in 2010 by the owners of five chestnut orchards in eastern Ohio, located on land once occupied by native American chestnut trees. Our member chestnut orchards cover over 100 acres and have been supplying their customers with fresh culinary chestnuts for many years. The need for a larger packing facility and unified marketing led to creation of the co-op. Prior to the co-op, Greg Miller had produced and sold chestnuts and chestnut trees under his farm, Empire Chestnut Company. The co-op now markets the chestnuts and trees grown by Empire Chestnut Company. Greg Miller serves as president of Route 9 Cooperative and remains an active chestnut farmer. See our more detailed story under history.
Over the years, we have grown several species of chestnuts and their interspecific hybrids. We found that the Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is the best in terms of its sweet flavor, ease of peeling, and adaptation to our growing conditions. We continually plant new trees and remove inferior trees. In the process, we evaluate new germplasm and constantly improve the genetic quality of the chestnuts and nursery stock that we sell.
We sell three sizes of chestnuts: small (60-75 per lb; good for snacking), medium (48-53 per lb; good for roasting) and large (34-39 per lb; good for cooking). All sizes have the same quality and flavor. They are carefully cleaned and graded to ensure more than 95% sound chestnuts at shipping time. Fresh chestnuts are available only during October and November.
When you receive your chestnuts be sure to refrigerate them right away. Otherwise, they can become moldy. Be sure to read our pages on storage and preparation of chestnuts.
ATTENTION CUSTOMERS: We have had many questions about shipping times and the status of orders. Our chestnuts are harvested fresh from the field, and harvest is very late this year. We ship your orders in the order they were received if we have the chestnuts available. If your order has not yet been shipped, it is because we don't have the inventory ready to ship your order. You will get a notification when your order ships! We have a very small crop this year and will not be able to fill all of the orders. We will let you know by the end of October whether or not we can fill your order. Thanks for your patience!
We had a great time last weekend hosting the Southern Ohio Chestnut Company and friends for a harvest extravaganza! We wish them the best as they grow their new chestnut orchard, and we look forward to working with them in the future.
ATTENTION CUSTOMERS: We are closed for u-pick for the season. We have a light crop this year. The rest of our crop has been allocated for online retail customers. We also do not have a retail store on the farm. Please DO NOT come to our farm expecting to pick without a previous appointment. We hope to have more chestnuts next year!
PICKING UPDATE: The picking is slow right now, but there are lots of nuts still up in the trees. The picking should be good later this week and the coming weekend.
ATTENTION PICKERS: It's time! There are lots of nuts to harvest! Get off your bottoms and come fill some buckets. 😉
Come to 4300 Germano Rd SE Carrollton, OH 44615