Hazelnuts

One of my goals here on the farm is to eventually grow many different types of edible fruits, berries, and nuts. I don't know if we will ever be selling any, but I like the idea of having a diversity of things growing for our family and to share with friends. Imagine my excitement when I ran into a neighbor a couple weeks back who knew of someone locally who had hazelnut bushes for sale! Of course I called them right away. So this last Saturday we went down to pick them up. I got two very nice large bushes plus several smaller ones. The man we bought them from was very knowledgeable and friendly. He said they should be planted 8-10 feet apart and grow to about 16 feet tall. He recommended having 6-8 bushes for best pollination. He also said that they do not do well with grass growing around them. This morning we dug our holes and dug out the grass around them. We decided to plant them along the yard fence as a kind of hedge. We added a little bit of composted chicken manure fertilizer and planted the bushes. David and Matthew had a great time digging in the dirt, throwing the fertilizer around them and watering them. It was a great family project. By the time we were done though Matthew had accidentally been sprayed with the hose and was having a meltdown and they both boys getting hungry and tired. So we went in and had some lunch, then it was nap time for the boys.

Getting ready to plant on of the larger bushes.

David working on digging the hole bigger.

The last hazelnut bush in the back of the pickup.

The boys had a great time "helping"

Starting to bud

Digging in the dirt

Two little boys in two holes

David watering the hazelnuts after they are planted