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Thoughts on hazelnut trees.

Posts: 213

Location: Beavercreek, Oregon

posted 12 years ago

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I'm slowly realizing that this new property were living on is practically a hazelnut forest. Are these trees great, just ok, or a nuisance? In any case I'm going to have tons of nuts soon. I'd be interested in any ideas on uses for the nuts, or the tree itself in regards to improving the soil, mulching, etc.

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John Polk

steward

Posts: 7926

Location: Currently in Lake Stevens, WA. Home in Spokane

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posted 12 years ago

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In another thread, you mentioned having/getting some pigs. The pigs would love those hazelnuts!
Good food for the pigs = good food for you.

Todd Hoff

Posts: 63

posted 12 years ago

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The oil can be used as fuel. See http://thesociocapitalist.com/2581/mark-shepard-interview-profitable-permaculture/ for more info.

Sam White

Posts: 246

Location: Wales, UK

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posted 12 years ago

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Hazel burns pretty well but it's useful for making hurdles, thatching spars, pins for straw bale structures, bean poles, pea sticks, rustic furniture, baskets and charcoal too. Oh, it's supposed to be soil-enriching too.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

paul sanass

Posts: 16

posted 12 years ago

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I have several of these trees that have loads of catkins early on, but I've yet to see any nuts! Is there anything I could do to help achieve a bumper crop in the future? TIA

Sam White

Posts: 246

Location: Wales, UK

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posted 12 years ago

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paul sanass wrote:I have several of these trees that have loads of catkins early on, but I've yet to see any nuts! Is there anything I could do to help achieve a bumper crop in the future? TIA

I'm not sure to be honest. I'd have thought that climate, weather and variety have an overbearing influence on the quantity and quality of nuts though... The hazels on our property produce quite a lot of nuts but they're rarely worth harvesting as they're too small - I'd look into planting varieties which have been selected for their nut-producing characteristics if you're wanting a worthwhile harvest (Cobnuts or filberts specifically).

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

R Scott

pollinator

Posts: 4062

Location: Kansas Zone 6a

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posted 12 years ago

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http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/09/better-than-nutella/

NUTELLA!!!

Plain hazelnut butter is also worlds above peanut butter.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

paul sanass

Posts: 16

posted 12 years ago

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Thanks Sam, they are Cobnuts, I couldn't remember the name ... must do a little more research.
Cheers

Marsha Richardson

Posts: 41

posted 12 years ago

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We have the American Filbert which has small nuts, about half and inch. The more you have around the better the pollination and the larger the crop you get. The nuts are small but we dry them wht the scapes and all and run them through our Dave Bilt nutcracker - fast as anything you have handfuls of little clean nuts. You can run them through an oil expeller and use the oil for cooking/fuel/primitive oil lamps/making soap whatever you can use oil for. The resulting pomace can be mixed into breads/pancakes or whatever and is delicious or you can feed it to the chickens and pigs. You can also just eat the nuts - I love them fresh and raw. I am trying to get European filberts going to have somewhat larger nuts and putting into hedgerows where they seem to thrive. It seems to take about 5 years for them to really start bearing well, mulch is important to prevent competition from weeds. Biggest problem here is getting them before the squirrels do. Like so many things in our food forest, we are not the only ones who like to eat the foods!

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 12 years ago

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I have 8 baby hazelnuts, had catkins last year but everything here froze. I love how they are growing into a beautiful little hedge, hope we do get nuts in the future as I planted all my different nut trees for proteins..

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Kevin MacBearach

Posts: 213

Location: Beavercreek, Oregon

posted 12 years ago

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My wife just told me that Oregon, where we live, is the only top producer of Hazelnuts in the nation. I had no idea. Well I'm looking forward to learning all I can about this versatile nut and plant.

Highland Creamery, micro-dairy & family farm.

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Paul Cereghino

gardener

Posts: 866

Location: South Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Cascadia, North America

posted 12 years ago

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Because they are wind pollinated, I wonder if it is like corn, where you need a big stand. They need to cross pollinate, so you must select two varieties where one is releasing pollen while the other is flowering. They are bred for producer-pollinator combos. Beware of filbert blight. OSU is breeding blight resistant and immune varieties.

Not only the aforementioned uses as poles, but they coppice well, meaning they spring back with lots of shoots after being cut to the ground. Stooling is the most efficient propagation method. You could make and sell clones.

Mike Dolan hand picks nuts slightly green, before the jays and squirrels move in.

Paul Cereghino- Ecosystem Guild
Maritime Temperate Coniferous Rainforest - Mild Wet Winter, Dry Summer

Kay Bee

Posts: 471

Location: Jackson County, OR (Zone 7)

posted 12 years ago

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Kevin - are you in one of the OR valleys, or in the hills?

I've put in 3 different types of blight resistant/immune filberts/hazels and they haven' done well for me in my southern OR location. I have a decent number of "wild" filberts in some of the more shady parts of our property. I am thinking to try and get some cuttings going of the wild filberts and also collect a few nuts this year and will try and graft on the "improved" varieties. Hopefully this will allow the native filbert roots to do well in our sparse topsoil (especially as my orchard gets more shady from other trees), and let the topgrowth provide more large size and quality nuts. I haven't been too excited by the wild filbert nuts that I have tasted.

"Limitation is the mother of good management", Michael Evanari

Location: Southwestern Oregon (Jackson County), Zone 7

Kevin MacBearach

Posts: 213

Location: Beavercreek, Oregon

posted 12 years ago

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We're in the hills. I haven't tasted the nuts yet but people here say they taste good.

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