Various types of nuts & Rodent damage

I'm often asked what types of nut do they produce, so I'm going to try to show the various types I grow in my orchard.

Not all hazelnuts are equal.

These are just some of the many different types.

This plant that produced the hazelnuts on the left was bought at a local nursery and has a large crop of small bitter nuts every year.  I did remove this plant from the orchard this fall.                          

The nut on the right 2N-77 is a hybrid plant that's growing in my orchard. It produces a nice crop of larger great tasting nuts.  I'm probably a little biased, but they are good:)

The wild hazelnuts here are from northern Minnesota. They have a medium thick shell and a bitter taste. The plant is very prolific, tends to sucker up and is hard to remove once established.

Hybrid 5-61 is more tree like and does not sucker at all. It also has a medium thick shell and a good taste.

The big difference between these two hazelnuts is shell thickness.

Hybrid 1T-19 produces a nut with a very thick shell which is hard to crack and separate the meats (kernel) from the shell. The meats are also relatively small compared to the size of the nut.

Hybrid 2N-5 has a very thin shell that cracks easily with larger meats (kernel). 

A larger sized nut does not always indicate a large kernel.

Hybrid 7-12 is a flatter shaped nut, but it has a good buttery taste. The meats are a flat bean shape. I would have eliminated this plant if it wasn't for the good taste.

Hybrid 2N-74 has a rounder shape, thin shell and a fair taste. I like this one because it's round, cracks easily in the cracking machine and separates nicely in my aspiration system.

The big difference between these nuts is the pellicle, which is the thin papery skin around the kernel.

Hybrid 5-63 has no pellicle and is a little bitter, while 2N-121 has very thick pellicle, but has a good taste.

Mice Damage 😠

When the snow melted the past few days I noticed a lot of damage from mice. I've never had problems with mice before. They must be mini beavers. I might move them to a better location this fall where I can monitor the plants all winter. I think the leaves that blow in and the snow cover made a perfect home for the little critters. 

This is another picture of the damage. I'm hoping they resprout from the bottom.

I've also noticed some of the buds are starting to swell, which is way too early and they might freeze if we get any real cold weather.

I'll give an update on the mice damage when they start leafing out.

Right now I'm  busy setting up to start this years seedlings.