Anybody any good growing Hazels?

[goodlife]

I just remembered I've got 3 bushes hidden away for planting..soon.. ::)
I've never grown any nuts and I was wondering what sort of space I would have to be give them  to allow them to grow and produce plentiful nut harvest (eventually)..
Another project... ;D

[goodlife]

[saddad]

Not for nuts... for coppice twigs/poles ...  :-\

[tonybloke]

ideally hazel should be planted at 3 metre centres, whether for coppice of nut production.

[petengade]

The hazel nut tree I planted 25 years ago used to be loaded with nuts, 3 years ago next to no nuts  so chopped it down, I know now why no nuts, squirrels were nicking them and burying them in gardens, now many of my neighbours have nut trees in their gardens, I am keeping quiet. Truth!

[goodlife]

Hmm..where I was thinking of putting them I will only fit 2 then..that should be enough for pollination..or not ???
Or maybe I just grow some hazel poles instead.. ::) Some nuts would be lovely though..and we don't have any squirrels neither..

[artichoke]

A friend of mine with a big garden has made a lovely hazel tree walk from 2 rows about 3m apart. The bushes/trees are about 2m apart (maybe more) and now that they are mature, grandchildren skip among them and hide - a very beautiful spot. The trees meet overhead as a tunnel.

At the bottom of my allotment site are several very tall, mature hazel trees from one of which we get big fat meaty nuts (the others are tiny). They are delicious if we get to them before the squirrels do, but hard to reach. Good luck with your nuts - are they a named variety? At my other site there is a tall, mature hazel hedge, but the nuts are so tiny they are not worth picking, sadly.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've got a large hazel just across the stream, and I get masses in the garden as well. They're easy to dig out though.

[goodlife]

No, they are not named variety..not as far as I know..chap in lottie has some in his garden (at home) that apparantely crop well every year..but he never get to eat them as squirrels get them first..and bury some of course..
When I mentioned about thinking of getting some from nursery..one day he came with these 3 plants..he dug them up for me ;D
I'm not really fussy if they are named or not..just getting some nuts would be lovely.

[goodlife]

another thought came to mind as well..my bees would love some hazel pollen too ;D Why haven't I thought this before..Its all win win situation..poles, nuts, pollen, screening my 'not so nice' neighbour out.. ;D Proper multi-using 'crop' ;D

[Digeroo]

Sorry slightly off thread, but it will be a good year for hazel nuts this year.  I have never seen so many catkins in the hedgerows.  I think you can also grow truffles on them.

[goodlife]

Ohh..I knew it..this going to get out of hands soon..truffels ::)..the chocolate sort? :P ;D
Yes..not that you mention..I've seen loads dangling down along road sides..but but it's not been that good for bees to get to that pollen..rain and/or cold every other day >:(

[Robert_Brenchley]

Bees will only do short trips in cold weather. there have been a couple of days so far when I've seen them bringing in full loads of hazel pollen, but normally they only bring in a tiny bit if they fly at all in hazel time. If you want to help them, plant the things close to the hives. Snowdrops and blackthorn are also good.

[tonybloke]

Ohh..I knew it..this going to get out of hands soon..truffels ::)..the chocolate sort? :P ;D
Yes..not that you mention..I've seen loads dangling down along road sides..but but it's not been that good for bees to get to that pollen..rain and/or cold every other day >:(

truffles usually grow on oaks
not at all easy to grow, either
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8098728/Secret-sex-life-of-truffles-revealed.html

[Vinlander]

Bees will only do short trips in cold weather. there have been a couple of days so far when I've seen them bringing in full loads of hazel pollen, but normally they only bring in a tiny bit if they fly at all in hazel time. If you want to help them, plant the things close to the hives. Snowdrops and blackthorn are also good.

Huge fluffy male flower, tiny female flower (nice if you've got a loup) - hazels are wind-pollinated.

Just a guess, but if bees take the pollen they would be giving nothing in return (not the usual state of affairs) - I'd not be surprised if the plant arranged it so it doesn't taste that good (to a bee).

Any experts out there?

Cheers.

[InfraDig]

The young coppicings make excellent hoops for netting or fleece in my 8' x 4' raised beds

[artichoke]

Yes, I'm encouraging a girl thingy willow that has set up house on one of my plots, for exactly that purpose, also for weaving boundary fences and other small constructions. It is growing very fast. And I often go down to the hazels at the bottom of another site (the one with good nuts) to get poles and withies.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Huge fluffy male flower, tiny female flower (nice if you've got a loup) - hazels are wind-pollinated.

Just a guess, but if bees take the pollen they would be giving nothing in return (not the usual state of affairs) - I'd not be surprised if the plant arranged it so it doesn't taste that good (to a bee).

Any experts out there?

Cheers.

Sure it's wind pollinated, but the point is, it produces lots of nutritious pollen. The bees don't ask the plant what it does with the stuff before they raid it! When we had that odd couple of warm days, my bees were fairly stuffing it in.

[calendula]

I have cobnuts not hazels but close enough - you not only need the catkins which are plentiful right now but also those little tiny flowers as well for good pollination - last year we had loads of catkins but the nut harvest was terrible for the first time, so it does happen and maybe the trees need a rest now and then - cobnut meringues are one of our favourites - be prepared to prune a lot to stop them getting out of hand, can take up a lot of room and can shade other areas but I am glad we have ours (2) quite close together and you'll have fun beating the squirrels - I tend to shake ours to get the nuts down a bit quicker

[artichoke]

"I'm encouraging a girl thingy willow that has set up house ...."

Where did that come from? I definitely wrote "I'm encouraging a willow..."

????

[goodlife]

 ;D girl thingy.. ;D Your mind has been working on other things.. ;D.