GROW YOUR OWN NUTS

From hazels and walnuts to almonds, nut trees can be beautiful and productive additions to your garden. David Patch shares his expert advice on choosing the right varieties, planting, pruning and protecting your crop - and explains why squirrels may become your biggest rival!

-  David Patch

Nuts are a fabulous addition to the garden - but where to start? Hazel is the name given to any member of the Corylus family. There are 18 different species, which are spread across much of the Northern Hemisphere. The nuts from all are edible, but we will be concerning ourselves with the two which are native to Northern Europe - Corylus avellana (cobnut) and Corylus maxima (filbert). Although there is a slight difference in the shape of the nuts, the terms cobnut and filbert are generally interchangeable, and both come under the catchall name of 'hazel'.

MAKING A START

Hazels will tolerate a very wide range of soils and sites - they will pretty much grow anywhere. But they tend to produce fewer fruit on heavy, damp sites, so add a little grit or washed sand if your planting site is on the moist side. They do extremely well on poor, stony or sandy soils too.

Left to their own devices, they naturally grow into large, multi-stemmed shrubs, making an ideal windbreak. You can keep them under control by pruning. The method I prefer is to remove a little of the oldest growth completely during the winter months, cutting back to ground level.

This prevents the centre of the plant from becoming too congested and has the added benefit of providing superb hazel rods for peas, beans or sweet peas to grow up the following summer.

You can combine this with the traditional summer pruning method called 'brutting'. Bend the longer side-shoots of this season's growth by hand until they crack, but don't snap them off - leave the broken section hanging on. This allows more light to enter the centre of the plant, and encourages the formation of more female flowers.

POLLINATION HINTS