Hazelnuts or hazel, especially cultivated varieties, have been appreciated by many gardeners. The plant is unpretentious, begins to bear fruit relatively quickly, and hazel kernels have a high nutritional and commercial value. Therefore, planting hazelnuts in the fall is in the plans of many summer residents.
We will tell you in what time frame it is best to plant hazel on the site and how to choose a seedling. We will also give a brief landing guide.
The chemical composition of the plant
To begin with, it should be noted that hazel fruits have another name - "Lombard nut". In ancient times, many people were employed in the cultivation of hazelnuts. The product was credited with healing properties. People believed that he could save a sinful soul from God's punishment. But the secret lay not in the magical properties of the nuts, but in the unique composition of the product.
A useful product is easily grown at home. The main thing is to follow all the rules for planting and growing a plant. This produces its own source of vitamins. In terms of useful properties, it surpasses some common food products. Fruits allow you to get as much protein as it is in meat products. The calorie content of hazelnuts is many times higher than milk and bakery products. The product is much more satisfying than chocolate, but the sugar level in it is much lower. That is why he is so prized among people.
Why hazelnuts are useful at home
Hazelnuts can be grown at home. The main thing is to choose the right place for planting, so that the hazelnut begins to actively grow and bear fruit. Thanks to this, a useful product will always be present in the house, which can be used in various folk recipes for therapeutic purposes.
With regular use of hazelnuts, you can cope with chronic fatigue. This property of the product is useful at a time when a person has hard physical work or has small children. With constant exhaustion, the immune system deteriorates. This leads to the appearance of many unpleasant diseases. Hazelnuts are suitable for the prevention and treatment of such diseases.
Advice!
Many doctors recommend using hazelnuts to prevent cardiovascular diseases. To improve assimilation, nuts are recommended to be consumed with honey and dried apricots.
Despite the fact that the calorie content of hazelnuts is very high, doctors strongly recommend using it for obesity. The main thing is not to exceed the permissible daily rate. It is enough to get enough of it and not get extra calories. If a person often experiences stress, which he is used to seizing, then it is best to eat hazelnuts at such moments. It will serve as an excellent tool for maintaining a beautiful and fit figure, as well as relieve nervous tension and restore the functioning of internal organs.
Pests and diseases
In the forest, hazel nuts are very fond of eating forest dwellers, such as squirrels, wild boars, mice, woodpeckers. Hazelnuts growing in summer cottages, of course, rarely have such problems. But caterpillars, beetles, weevils and butterflies can cause significant damage to the hazelnut harvest.
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Diseases of hazelnuts, methods of struggle
And also hares, which, although rarely, run into the dacha to feast on delicious nuts. Walnut weevil and barbel are the biggest challenges for growing walnut bushes. If you do not get rid of them in time, some of the nuts will be irretrievably damaged.
To protect plants from them, it is necessary to carry out the following measures:
- digging the soil around the bush;
- harvesting wormy nuts;
- shaking off pests on the film and destruction;
- insecticide treatment.
Most often, hazelnuts are sick with powdery mildew, which appears in the second half of summer.
To get rid of it, there are such ways:
- spraying with lime-sulfuric broth;
- colloidal sulfur treatment.
And of course, to prevent diseases and the appearance of pests, it is necessary to weed the soil under the bushes in time, water as needed and remove the leaves and mulch before wintering so as not to leave pests and their larvae under the bushes for the winter.
Also learn how to propagate hazelnuts using cuttings.
How hazelnuts grow
Many people are sure that hazel can be grown only in the southern regions of Russia. If properly cared for, then it will bring a large amount of quality harvest. Shrub growers know that the culture does not tolerate changes in heat and cold, as well as a lack of moisture. This will lead to freezing of plant species or to a low, poor-quality crop.
If you properly care for the hazelnut, and also observe certain secrets of agricultural technology, then hazelnuts reproduce well and bear fruit in other regions. When the flowering has passed, a good strong core is formed, which has an interesting taste.
Reproduction
The nut propagates by seed and vegetative methods. When using seed propagation, the crop variety is not preserved. Planting hazelnuts from walnuts is used for mass cultivation and breeding of new varieties. To grow hazelnut seedlings, they take not overdried, well-ripened nuts. They are sown in spring or autumn in fertile soil to a depth of 6-8 cm.
During vegetative propagation, the characteristics and properties of the variety are preserved, fixed and transmitted. It is carried out by layering, rhizomes, dividing the bush and grafting. Hazelnut propagation by layering is carried out by rooting young shoots without separating them from the bush. If rhizomes are taken as a basis, 2-3-year-old root shoots are separated from the bush and planted. When propagating by dividing the bush during the thinning of hazelnut plantations, some bushes are uprooted. They are cut so that a root remains on each part, and planted in a new place. When propagated, it is grafted into cuttings in the spring. This method of reproduction is used for ennobling bushes.
How to plant hazelnuts from walnuts
Before planting a plant, you must choose the right hazelnut variety. It must be suitable for growing in a particular region, and also not be afraid of the local climate and weather conditions. The correct varieties of hazelnuts to plant in central Russia are:
- The president;
- Futkura;
- Circassian.
They have sheltered seeds that are suitable for local soils. These species of hazel grow much faster than their young counterparts. They begin to bear fruit from 7 years after planting. If you follow all the rules for care, then the harvest is of high quality, tasty with the presence of all the necessary nutrients in the composition.
Interesting!
After flowering, fruits are tied on the hazel. If there is no negative impact from the outside, then 2.5 kg of crop can be obtained from one bush. On average, it ranges from 700 to 1200 ripe nuts. Each of them weighs about two grams.
Description of hazel
Hazel is a shrub that grows from 2 to 5 m in height. Its distribution area is Europe, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The shrub is found in deciduous and coniferous forests.
The top of the plant is in the shape of a ball or oval. The surface of the bark is smooth, brown-gray in color. Shoots - thin, brown with a gray tint, have a slight pubescence over the entire surface. Rhizome is powerful, developing over 3 years. First, the main taproot is formed, and then the processes going to the sides.
Did you know? According to ancient Slavic belief, on the eve of Trinity, the souls of deceased relatives move into the branches of hazel
.
The kidneys are ovoid. They reach a length of 3 mm, and their color is red or brown. Light green leaf plates. The shape of the leaf is oval, with a sharpness towards the top and notches along the edges. Its length can reach 12 cm and its width is 9 cm. Nuts are single-seeded with a dense shell. The shape of the fruit is spherical, slightly pointed towards the top. The shell color is light brown or grayish.
How to choose a place to plant a hazelnut
Many people wonder how to plant hazelnuts correctly so as to get the maximum amount of useful harvest from each bush. Let's look at the basic conditions for achieving maximum results.
- The nature of the soil.
- Selected location.
- Illumination.
Each of these factors has an impact on the growth, formation and fruiting of the hazelnut tree.
If he is competently engaged in breeding, then a good plant can be grown, which will yield a lot of high-quality harvest every year. It is best to choose the land located on the northwest and northeast sides of the garden plot as the soil. Typically, these areas contain moist and nutrient-rich soil.
Interesting!
If the soil contains a large amount of salt, then hazelnuts as a plant will feel bad here. This will become the main obstacle for the full growth and development of hazel trees, as well as for harvesting.
How to plant a hazelnut
First of all, you need to start looking for good material that is suitable for planting and further growing a crop. Hazel can be propagated in several ways. Among them:
- seedlings;
- branches;
- seedling nuts.
It is best to propagate hazelnuts for growing seedlings. If you take seedling nuts, then after planting, it will take too much time before harvesting. In this case, you will need to spend some time on the formation of branches of fruiting bushes.
Planting is best done in the autumn. The ideal time to plant hazelnuts is October. If for some reason it was not possible to plant the bush in the fall, then this can be done in early spring, namely in March. The main thing is to water the young plant well. This is done even if the ground seems to be sufficiently humid after winter. Dry soil should not be allowed on the new hazelnut shape.
According to some comments from agronomists, hazelnuts propagate well by pruning. To do this, in the spring, last year's shoots must be bent to the ground. The branches must be planted in shallow holes. The depth of each of them should be no more than 20 cm. Then they are cut off, but not completely, and covered with earth. It is very important at this stage of planting to water the seedling abundantly with water.
So that the hazel grows straight and does not break under the influence of the winds, the shoots must be tied vertically to the pegs, starting from the moment when they grow at a distance of 10 cm from the ground level. If you take good care of the cuttings, then by the fall they will create a root system. Now they can be removed from an adult bush and transplanted to the place where the hazelnut plant will continue to grow and develop. With proper care, the first crop appears approximately 7 years after transplanting.
Autumn care of a planted seedling
Hazelnuts, planted in autumn, do not require particularly close maintenance.The main thing is to prepare a young seedling for winter and you can forget about it until spring. The first thing to do is to monitor the condition of the mulch, if necessary, replenish the layer or change it completely. In this case, it is important that the covering material does not come into contact with the shoots, otherwise mold will begin to develop on them.
If the autumn is hot, then over the young hazelnuts they construct protection from the sun's rays. For this purpose, you can use agrofibre, old unnecessary tulle curtains are also suitable. If cloudy weather prevails, you do not need to cover the seedling.
A week after planting, the hazelnuts must be trimmed. If this is not done, then excessively large shoots will begin to take away nutrients from the roots, thereby preventing them from fully developing. Each shoot is shortened by a third, it is better to cover the cut site with garden var.
If fertilizers were placed in the hole when planting, then there is no need to feed the hazelnuts at all. If the planting pit has not been prepared, then they start feeding the next year.
