Pumpkin Center, Kern County, California. This article is about the unincorporated community in Kern County. For the unincorporated community in Lassen County, see Pumpkin Center, Lassen County, California.
When to harvest chestnuts? Chestnuts donât ripen at the same time and chestnut harvest time can span as much as five weeks, although the nuts generally ripen in a 10- to 30-day span of time in late August and September. Allow the nuts to fall from the tree naturally.
Things You'll Need. 1  Step ladder. 2  Thick gardener's gloves. 3  Oven. Baking tray.  Pot of ice 1  water. Kitchen knife.  Basket or 1  container. Begin harvesting the chestnuts a week or more prior to the first forecasted snows of the winter season. Use a stepladder to get up to the burs at the end of the chestnut treeâs branches. The burs themselves appear closed early in the fall but should have split open by now.