How to grow hazelnuts

Hazelnut or hazel can be grown independently even in Siberian frosts. This compact shrub is unpretentious to keeping conditions and, with good care, gives a bountiful harvest. After planting three-year-old seedlings, the first nuts can be seen in 1-3 years.

Hazelnut varieties

For home cultivation, only 20 were bred varieties hazel. The following varieties are most popular in our country for growing in garden plots:

• The Adyghe variety belongs to the mid-season. It withstands frost and lack of moisture well, it is not spoiled by pests and diseases. The fruits of this variety have a wide-round shape and are rosettes of 4 or 5 pieces. The nuts taste sweet and tart.

• The Ekaterina variety was obtained in 1961. This hazelnut forms a sprawling bush with reddish leaves. The fruits grow large and long with a thin shell. The kernels have a dessert taste and reach a weight of 5 g. The ripening period of this variety is the last decade of September. This variety grows well in the south.

• The Masha variety is also frost-resistant. Its fruits have an elongated shape and a weight of about 2 g. The peel of these fruits is thin and delicate, and the taste of the kernels is dessert, with medium oiliness.

• The Isaevsky variety is distinguished by high frost-resistant qualities. It can withstand frosts down to -42 degrees well. This hazelnut has large, light brown fruits. The kernels have an excellent dessert taste.

• The Barcelona variety is distinguished by a large bush growth of up to 5 meters. The crown has a spreading shape with large fleecy foliage of light green color. The nuts are large with a thick shell. The kernels are asymmetrical and have a sweet taste. Fruits ripen in the first decade of September, the yield is usually very high.

Hazelnuts at home

As a site for hazelnuts, a warm, wind-protected place with an abundance of sunlight is suitable. The best choice for this is shrub place on the south or southwest side of the building. An alternative is to protect the seedling with hedges, which are located at a distance of at least 4 meters from it. Otherwise, the root system of the plant will suffer from a lack of nutrients.

Choose a flat area for the plant to make it easier to care for it in the future. Hazelnuts do not like an abundance of moisture, so a place where it is very humid in spring is not suitable for it. Also, make sure that the groundwater does not rise above one and a half meters from the surface.

The composition of the soil for a walnut bush does not require any special features. The plant feels best on chernozem soil and does not tolerate soil in sandy, swampy or highly acidic places. In this case, the planting must be treated with lime. It must be entered a year before the estimated date of disembarkation, 500 g for each square meter of land.

Immediately before planting, you need to dig up the area and weed out the weeds. In order for the seedlings to take root well, fertilize with superphosphate (200 g) and potassium salt (50 g).

Planting hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are planted in the fall in pits with sides of 80 cm and a depth of about half a meter. At the bottom of the planting pit, humus or compost and soil from an adult walnut bush are laid. The distance between seedlings should be chosen depending on the plant variety and the size of the crown of an adult bush. In general, it is at least 4 meters. Hazel trees need cross-pollination, so the plants should be located side by side and it is good if different varieties are planted. In the early years, the space between the bushes is allowed to be given under the beds with vegetables.

Before planting, the roots are cut to a length of 20 cm and moistened in a mixture of clay and liquid manure. Then the seedlings are placed in pits prepared in advance and covered with soil. In this case, the level of the root collar should be deepened by 2 cm and not covered with soil. This will help the plant grow and branch better. The soil should only be compacted in areas where roots are spreading.

Each seedling is watered with 2 buckets of water, a layer of peat or humus mulch up to 5 cm thick is placed in the space next to the trunk.The branches of the seedling are cut to a length of 25 cm.

Hazelnut care

In the initial period, when the shrub is just forming, special attention is paid to timely weeding weeds and loosening the soil. In this case, the soil should be dug very carefully to a depth of 8 cm, so as not to damage the root system close to the soil surface.

For an adult plant, weeds will not pose a danger. Then the easiest way would be to mulch the soil around the bush. This will not only protect against weeds, but also keep the soil from washing out and weathering.

For a good harvest, hazelnuts need abundant watering. It is best to water the shrub twice a month in dry weather. If the weather is rainy, there is no need to water additional hazelnuts.

Fertilizers need to be applied annually. From organic matter, hazel prefers humus, manure or compost in the amount of 15-20 liters and a small amount of nitroammofoska for each bush.

During the laying of fruits, the plant is fed with urea or other mineral fertilizers. If at the same time the plant grows on fertile soil, nitrogen fertilizers are not used. Otherwise, the shrub will begin to grow violently, and the yield will decrease. On poor soils, nitrogen fertilization should be applied in the spring, which will have a positive effect on yield.

For good plant growth and increased productivity, it is important to properly prune the bush. It is carried out in early spring or autumn. All unnecessary branches are cut out from the middle of the bush, leaving only 8-10 skeletal trunks. It is important to ensure good access of light to all branches in order to increase yields.

A few years after planting, shoots begin to actively grow. It can be cut completely, then the plant will form in the form of a tree. But you can leave some overgrown shoots, cutting out unnecessary ones. Then the plant will be formed by a shrub. After 15-20 years, it is recommended to rejuvenate the tree, gradually remove old skeletal shoots and replace them with new ones.