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
Not for nuts... for coppice twigs/poles ... :-\
ideally hazel should be planted at 3 metre centres, whether for coppice of nut production.
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!
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..
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 >:(
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.
Quote from: goodlife on March 05, 2011, 19:04:05
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
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 05, 2011, 19:26:37
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.
The young coppicings make excellent hoops for netting or fleece in my 8' x 4' raised beds
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.
Quote from: Vinlander on March 07, 2011, 00:47:41
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.
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
"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..."
????
;D girl thingy.. ;D Your mind has been working on other things.. ;D.
My mind is always on "other" things, :-[
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 08, 2011, 15:49:56
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.
I was pointing out in a roundabout way that any hazel that produced pollen disliked by bees would end up with more pollen on the wind and a better chance of more offspring.
Evolutionary pressure - but easily trumped by human selection.
On the other hand the bees might be desperate enough to eat marginal resources - what we would call 'famine food'.
Cheers.
On the other hand the bees might be desperate enough to eat marginal resources - what we would call 'famine food'
Yes...bees do do that...generally they have their usual food targets..but if there is long term bad weather or other reason for food to be scarce they will go for those less desirable sources to keep themselves going. Actually Hazel is one of those sources..."faily low nutritive value but usually first the first fresh supply available"
Not so daft little bleeders... ;) Belly rules the world
Did you write 'pussy willow'? It's just the automatic sensor, which has such a filthy mind it sees sex everywhere.
If you are asking from me..no Robert...no girl thingy willow typing from me ;D
Quote from: goodlife on March 09, 2011, 07:33:39
Yes...bees do do that...generally they have their usual food targets..but if there is long term bad weather or other reason for food to be scarce they will go for those less desirable sources to keep themselves going. Actually Hazel is one of those sources..."faily low nutritive value but usually first the first fresh supply available"
Not so daft little bleeders... ;) Belly rules the world
This time of year, there's no pollen in the hives, and all the bees have is what's in their fat bodies. They're starting to build up the broodnest a little, so they've got grubs to feed. They'll be glad of anything. I haven't seen it this early, but I used to have a strain that built up the broodnest too fast, and every time we had a spell of bad weather in May I saw a lot of starved brood. First time, I thought it was EFB, and almost panicked.
Those few warmer days that we've had recently I've seen my bees flying like mad trying to get together what ever food there is available..
I'm glad that couple of years ago I decided to under plant most of my apples with crocuses, and there is some growing literally under the hive too..
I've never seen them so keen with crocus pollen but I suppose it helps when there is some on your door step.
I used to have one hive that I called 'mother of all hives'..it started really early and built up huge..I was in constant look out that they would not starve..never got much honey out of that hive but certainly it produced plenty of surrogate bees for new colonies.
Sadly I lot the lot last winter..to starvation..and there was plenty of emergency food available, but some reason they didn't take to it...one of those things ???
I was really disapointed with loosing that as I had queen in that was already 3 yrs old..coming 4..and I wanted breed from her and see how long she would keep going on..but it wasn't to be. How many colonies have you got Robert?
Only one at the moment; I want to build up a bit again this summer. I've awaited too long before breeding from a queen myself, it's infuriating. I think a case of doing it a bit earlier. I've found that very large colonies only give a good crop in hit summers; as soon as we get some bad weather, they eat it all again.