Growing nut trees on the farm

We have over 700 nut trees planted on the farm, including black walnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts.

[@seandacey8346]

Amazing information. Heatherton 120 says it all. Great video. Keep them coming.

[@christinalynn8143]

Nuts: Sustainable food source. 👏👏👏

[@heatherton120]

Keep the informative vids coming nicky boy I think it pulls alotta people in when they learn things about where an how their food an such is being produced or for people like me who grew up on a lil farm homestead it puts a smile on my face just watching someone still back there makin a go of it living the old fashion dream an puts a few tips an facts I didn't know from my time on the farm in my back pocket for when I do move home an start out doin the same kind of operation. Anyhow, love what ur doin wish ya all the best. Cheers

[@johnpettipas3763]

Good Afternoon , NICHOLAS EXCELLENT. ARTICLE. On. YOU. In. Today’s. H. HERALD.

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

Thank you John !

[@travisdavis1042]

Love what you’re doing here. Have you thought of intercropping native berry bushes and fruit trees as well as nitrogen fixing trees to increase diversity and provide for the habitat in your area? Makes the area more resilient and provides more crops for you/income.

[@travisdavis1042]

It also increases native pollinator habitat which in theory should increase fruit and nut production on the site.

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

Thanks for the comment ! So we are doing some inter-plantings between nut trees, in particular we planted high bush blueberries and black currants. In other areas we have established “wildlife” corridors across our nut fields . These corridors provide cover for wildlife to travel across other wise open areas and they provide wind breaks for our nut and fruit trees. We’ve also been frost seeding red and white clovers which provide excellent forage for cows and sheep and they provide plenty of pollen for the bees. Another benefit of the clover is it is a legume so it fixes nitrogen in the soil.

[@travisdavis1042]

@@nicholasmacinnis1486 two steps ahead of me! I’d love to see it all once everything warms up next spring.

[@billastell3753]

For what it's worth I planted my 1st hazel bushes in 2013. Although I had a few nuts in 2019 and none in 2020 in 2021 I had a bumper crop. There may have been 6 quarts on some of my bushes. Every last nut was eaten by rodents. This year I have a new dog so I'm hopeful I may get a few nuts. I'm in zone 5a in Peterborough Ont. I do have a video on KZbin showing the progress of my small hazel orchard in the early spring of 2021.

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

We are seeing lots of catkins this winter, hopefully an indicator of some nuts this year! Thanks for the comment.

[@billastell3753]

@@nicholasmacinnis1486 Where I am the biggest limitation I found was my first bushes planted were more ideally suited for at least 1 hardiness zone south of me. They survived fine and flowered but the pollen flower was killed by the cold. In 2015 I added 4 Dermis hazels from Grimo. Dermis is a northern hardy variety and it was obvious in the spring that the Dermis pollen catkins were fat and throwing lots of pollen whereas the other varieties were not. The northern pollen pollenated the southern varieties just fine.

[@gotthat1]

I have 35 acres upstate New York what type of tree would you recommend for lumber. Would poplar be a good choice or is there some thing better

[@johnpettipas3763]

Good Evening. NICHOLAS. Their. Is. A. NICE 👍. AGRICULTURE. TODAY. Insert. In Friday. MAY. 21st. H Herald.

[@tamaracklambwool319]

What type of hazelnut are you growing?

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

Hi there - sorry I didn't see this comment until now! We have several varieties planted here, most are northern hardy varieties. I will double check my planting notes and let you know.

[@seansean1709]

Do you know if chestnut trees are tolerant to the Juglone from the black walnut trees? Information on the internet seems to be conflicting

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

I can't say whether or not they are to be honest with you. We have both planted but we have our nut trees spaced out by 30 to 50 feet each so even if a Black Walnut produces some juglones it's unlikely to affect the next tree over. We haven't seen any damage to vegetation next to our more mature black walnuts yet. Some sources online suggest that problematic juglones is a response to poor soil conditions, so perhaps by planting trees in good soil and mixing lots of compost you can avoid having issues.

[@seansean1709]

@@nicholasmacinnis1486 I did not know that about soil quality and juglone. Ill have to look into that. Thank you!

[@seansean1709]

@@nicholasmacinnis1486 I put the black walnut about 50' from some Dunstan chestnuts so in 20-30 years I'll let you know how it goes lol

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

@@seansean1709 haha sounds good

[@billastell3753]

@@seansean1709 I don't know for sure but I suspect the juglone would not be much of a problem past the drip line of the tree. Roots don't extend out much farther than that in most cases.

[@johnpettipas3763]

PS. EXCELLENT. VIDEO. On. NUTS

[@nicholasmacinnis1486]

Thank you! I'll have to do an update soon. Hoping for a good crop this year.