The 2024 hazel crop is in and the statistics are encouraging. Whereas the top 13 (10%) plants yielded 3 pounds or more in 2023, the top 14 (10%) plants in 2024 yielded 4.2 pounds or more. (The numbers stay similar in spite of more plants entering their bearing life stage because I have actively been eliminating about 10% of my plants with small nut size.) Increasing yield is to be expected with a young planting. Many of my top 10% are only in their 3rd year of production. My business plan has been based on plants producing an average of 4# at maturity, so to see that this may be realized is great. More specifically, the plants in the oldest age co-hort (4th year of production) averaged 3.8 pounds per plant. I must offer up a caveat, however. The weights quoted above are based on data taken 7 days post harvest – not dry weights, so I will be hoping for these numbers to grow even larger. Another reason for optimism is that we had a significant drought towards the end of the hazel development season. There were more blanks and more shriveled kernels, the plants’ response to not having the resources (I have no permanent irrigation set-up) to fill all those seed they’d initiated. Without the drought the numbers would have been higher yet.
Back when I planted my first hazels I was told that perhaps 50% would be “commercially acceptable”. If I define nut size of 1.5g to be commercially acceptable (it’s probably closer to 1.35g) then my oldest 8 rows are actually at 65%. I hope that by offering these seeds with their additional generation of improvement that perhaps the next plantings will be 80% or more commercially acceptable.
This year’s seed offerings include a number of return IDs from previous years, but also a few new entities. Ten of the 12 are from the top yielders (4 pounds or more). In the order form below the number of years the ID (mother plant) has been chosen as a top performer is noted as the number of asterisks given. The “week of ripening” can be used to determine if you wish all of your picking to be done at once or if having it spread out works better for your operation and if you prefer earlier or later harvest dates. In the images below each square is 1/4″ x 1/4″.
I am also offering smaller seed for wildlife plantings. The plants producing these seeds are slated for removal next year to continue the improvement of my seed offerings and nut harvest for other uses, but the smaller sized seed may be just what you would prefer for wildlife plantings. The quality control (individual weight checking) is not done on wildlife seed. They are sold by the quarter pound (approximately 90 – 100 nuts).
Treatment of Seeds – The seeds require a cold/moist “winter” treatment (a.k.a. stratification) to overcome the dormancy they are in at this time. There are no laboratories to test germinability of these seeds so I offer them with no guarantees. Within each seed lot I only sell seeds that are at least 80% of the average seed weight. The elimination of the low-weight seed helps ensure blank/empty seeds and those with a shriveled kernel are eliminated. The vigor of those sold is likely to be more similar as well so the resulting seedling groups are more uniform and easier to manage. The seeds benefit from 3 or more months of moist cold and each lot will arrive labeled with the date when they were first placed in stratification so the buyer can gauge how much addition cold they will want to provide. The longer the cold treatment the more uniform the germination.
Once the required cold treatment is given the seeds will start to germinate even at refrigerator temperatures. At this point I can no longer ensure the germinated and un-germinated seeds will each receive the conditions they need to stay healthy. The emerging root tips are easily damaged by movement and/or dryness. Thus, seed orders need to be received before February 15th. (At that point I will use germinated seeds for seedling orders and the rest will be disposed of.) *** IMPORTANT*** From my experience, about 80% of the seeds come out of dormancy the first year. The remaining seeds aren’t dead, they are just in a deeper state of dormancy and won’t grow that first year. Plan accordingly.
Seedlings – If you prefer to have me handle the germination and grow-on, the IDs will be the same but the time frame is shifted. Orders also need to be received by February 15th. I have limited growing space and time so I will only be growing enough seedlings to fill orders and my own needs – minimal extras. One half of the order total will be due with the order – the other half, plus any freight, will be due upon pick-up or before shipping.
The seedlings will be in 2″ diameter x 7″ growing tubes. They tend to be planting-ready by mid-June. Shipping is extremely expensive and requires serious time commitment to safeguard them during their trip. It is HIGHLY recommended that you arrange to pick them up. This can be cost prohibitive which then might indicate starting your own seeds is the way to go to fulfil your planting needs.
***My family vacation is the 2nd week of July and I don’t choose to leave my vacation farm helper in charge of seedlings, so they need to be gone by July 4th weekend at the latest.
