Nuts! whole hazelnuts! Uuumph....!

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Nuts! whole hazelnuts! Uuumph....!
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Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 2:48 pm Post subject: Nuts! whole hazelnuts! Uuumph....!

Well, not necessarily hazelnuts.

Does anyone grow nuts in a smallish garden? Trees such as walnuts and sweet chestnuts seem a little large (though the Ken Muir site does suggest using root control bags - anyone used these?), but cobnuts might be a bit more manageable.

Also the agroforestry trust website (https://secure.agroforestry.co.uk/plants2003.html) has some interesting sounding nuts, e.g.

Yellowhorn - Xanthoceras sorbifolium is a large shrub, which bears ornamental white flowers followed by heads containing several edible small chestnut-like seeds of good flavour.

Bladdernut - Staphylea pinnata is a large vigorous shrub from Europe and Asia, growing 5 m (16 ft) high in 10 years. It produces thin-shelled edible seeds 1 cm across, tasting rather like pistachio nuts. Likes a moist soil and sun or part shade; hardy to -20°C

But, I'm always a little suspicious of these new-fangled things - would they really produce a reasonable crop?

Peter.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 2:55 pm Post subject:

How much space do you have?

You can get grafted walnuts that will make much smaller tress and fruit earlier too. Chestnuts can grow humungous but they're beauiful trees in their own right.

Hazelnuts sound good but I don't know anyone that manages to get any nuts off theirs unless they patrol against squirrels 24 hours a day.

Almonds are a good fairly compact tree

Martin Crawford (Mr Agroforestry) is a really nice guy and is extremely knowledgable on nuts I'm definitely going to be growing lots of unusual nut varieties (including pine nuts) when I get my land and I reckon most will be from Martin. He's trialled all the varieties he sells so should be able to advise you pretty well.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 2:56 pm Post subject:

I have two walnut trees in 12inch pots where they have been for about 4 years now. I'm experimentally trying treating them like bonsai for the first 5 or 6 years then letting them grow larger into eventually whopping big pots. The theory is that I'll end up with stunty trees that still want to bear nuts. (Or they might just rebel and take over the whole neighbourhood- but 4 yrs on it seems to be working ok)

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 2:58 pm Post subject:
Interesting theory Sally, dunno if it'll work though, I'd imagine the roots will just shoot away and try to get the tree to a size it thinks it should be as soon as it's in open ground. I'd definitely be interested to find out what happens.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:02 pm Post subject:
Me too! Its an experiment brought on by rash enthusiasm when I bought the saplings as 12inch high sticklets, and potted them up and forgot em until the following year. Theys had a smidgen of root pruning since then, but who knows what will happen when they get a bit of space. If they look healthy when the leaves come out this year I'll take some pics.

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:09 pm Post subject:

Tahir

I may be moving house, but not very much even then (and they're probably not suitable for the allotment, are they

).

Thanks for the tip re Martin Crawford. I take it that he'd be willing to advise a customer?

Sally,

I think that the more practical "bonsai" method is:

Code: 6029L
Root Control Bag

The recent introduction of Root Control Bags (RCB) means that you can grow large trees such as Walnuts, Chestnuts, Mulberries and Sorbus and not worry about how tall they are going to grow. The RCB restricts the tree roots, retaining the energy of the tree within. Only the white fibrous feeding roots find their way through the RCB. This prevents the tree from growing too tall and brings it into cropping earlier. If you move house you will be able to take your cherished tree with you even in ten years time.

Available throughout the year
Price: £5.95
Price exc. P&P

which is taken from the Ken Muir site (www.kenmuir.co.uk). However, I've not used one, so I don't know how it would work in practice,

Peter.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:15 pm Post subject:

He'd definitely be fine to have a chat with you, but if you're unsure buy some of his factsheets they're only a couple of quid and are full of the kind of info you need.

He's normally got his answering machine on but does (eventually) respond. I'd appreciate it if you mentioned you were recomended by us as we're trying to get him to do a piece on Agroforestry for us.

You can grow trees on allotments can't you? Bear in mind that none of the nuts is likely to bear fruit at earlier than 3 years old (chestnuts and almonds), some can take 15 years and the Monkey Puzzle takes 40-45 years to bear nuts.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:24 pm Post subject:

PeterHiett wrote:

Sally,

I think that the more practical "bonsai" method is:

Code: 6029L
Root Control Bag
Peter.

What will they think of next! Just did a wider web search on these and found a study comparing trees grown in them to 'normal' trees. https://www.superoots.com/articles_01.htm
Fascinating idea, will save up and treat my trees to some perhaps

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:24 pm Post subject:
Will do. As I say, I may be moving, so nothing's going to happen yet. I'll have to check out the fact sheets. As for trees on allotments, I hope that there's nothing against them. We've got 4, but only those very thin minarette (?) trees. A nut tree, however well-grafted or retained, would seem to be a bit of a different proposition, and, as you say, a rather long-term investment, Peter.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:58 pm Post subject:
I have one hazel tree and for the last two years it has produced more nuts than I could use. Not this year though, not since I learned how to make chocolates I can't wait for the nuts to come this year.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 3:59 pm Post subject:
How'd you keep the squirrels off?

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 05 1:25 pm Post subject:
Looking at Patrick Whitfield's Forest Garden book, he reckoned that it depended upon the distance between the hazel and big trees: 50m you get some nuts; 200m you get all the nuts Peter.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 05 1:26 pm Post subject:
50m? My garden's 40' x 30'

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 05 1:44 pm Post subject:
Ah, but how far away is the nearest big tree? Peter.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 05 1:48 pm Post subject:
There's a cricket pitch at the back of the garden and the boundaries are full of trees.

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