I've finally come to appreciate hazelnuts

[Martin Mikulcik]

I know, nutella is great, but when it comes to actually growing, why pick hazelnuts? To me they were just scrawny little understory trees in the woods that on their own never did a whole lot. They don't grow that big, they're overhyped, and in general i prefer black walnuts. I picked 250 gallons of walnuts in the husk off one tree last year. Not much is going to beat that.

But this year we paid closer attention to our bushes. Maybe in years past we waited too long and the squirrels would get them but they were loaded

And i realized there's distinct advantages of a nut bush vs a nut tree.

You're not at the mercy of the squirrels. Walnuts have such a hard shell and heavy husk they do well against squirrels but pecans can get devastated before a nut hits the ground. Hazelnuts are so short you can pick them for the most part before the squirrels can

They're native like black walnuts and American chestnuts so are very rugged plants. I can no longer ask my father how these bushes came to be, but my guess is he planted them off the wild filbert that was growing in the woods before we got it. Or a squirrel planted them and he appreciated it. That's something you might not consider but a lot of orchard trees will never spread, they get big and old and die. They might live 100 years but stuff happens. And a small bush is quick to replace especially if it's seeding itself in

And who doesn't like hazelnuts. They're a great nut that i discounted because I'd never given them a proper chance

I'll be planting more of these soon

 

[Sheal]

I've never seen hazelnut trees growing here in Britain, but I do like hazelnuts, especially when they're surrounded by this...

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I used to live in Goudhurst in Kent down a little road, Ropewalk, opposite the church at the top of the hill, the chap who lived in the big house that bordered the other side of the road opposite the church had filberts, cob nuts, hazel nuts, call them what you will, growing as a hedge. He always insisted they were the originals of a special type, but I am not at all sure it was true.
My great great great grandfather (I think that's the right number of greats) on my mother's side lived in Goudhurst, came there from the West country about the time Judge Jefferies was hanging rebels in the West, and changed his name from Woodman to Udall, a Yorkshire name, Yorkshire had been a loyalist county.. He is buried in the churchyard, his grave is marked by a plaque put there by an American cousin whose ancester emigrated and was one of the original mormons on the march west. He helped found Salt Lake City, Udalls are still pretty big in Arizona politics I believe. I digress.