![]() If you want advice on some strategies for success with your plantings, feel free to email me, or work out a time for a phone call to discuss what you have in mind. In 2018 did our first really large planting, with over 1200 hazelnuts in our smaller 7 acre field. Mark has been selecting breeding stock of hazelnuts and chestnuts for two decades, and was selling nut trees grown from seed of these proven producers. I started jumping through the hoops to import these trees into Ontario, partially selfishly, so I can plant them, and partially because I want to share the opportunity with you, to buy some for your home or farm. The basic idea is to keep farmers making money while making choices that are good for the planet. In that book, he puts forward a vision of transitioning our current farming system, which relies on annual crops, toward perennial crops. When I first got into nut trees, and researched about where to source chestnut and hazelnut trees, I learned about Mark Shepard’s book Restoration Agriculture. Willow Creek Permaculture imports our bulk fruit and nut trees from Forest Agriculture Nursery, run by Mark Shepard, located near Viola, Wisconsin (Zone 4). Note that these nuts will not typically be as large as Chinese chestnuts, but Chinese Chestnuts are hardy in only limited parts of Ontario. The breeding goals are winter hardiness, high yields, large nuts, pest and disease resistance and suitability for low-input and certified organic conditions. They include genetics from a variety of blight resistant or immune breeding programs. ![]() Our hybrid chestnuts also come from Zone 4, near Viola, Wisconsin. Ideas for niche products include gluten-free flour, or pasta, and a whole range of traditional European confections. Currently for sale for over $17 per kg for bagged un-shelled (at a local No Frills), like hazelnuts, these are a lucrative crop. It can be worth it to hand-pick them off the ground, but pull-behind nut sweepers for tractors, or even lawn mowers or golf carts, are an easy option. Most grocery store chestnuts are currently imported, but you can find them sometimes at local farmer’s markets. Fortunately, we have some blight resistant, and potentially blight immune, chestnuts available for planting. This is probably because of the Chestnut Blight that wiped out almost all the American Chestnuts over a hundred years ago. Many people don’t realize we can grow chestnuts in Ontario. Why choose our hybrid hazels over clonal varieties for some of your plantings? Keep reading! They have been selected for youthful bearing, high yields, pest and disease resistance, and suitability for low-input and certified organic conditions. The hybrid hazelnut trees we import are from robust hardy stock that’s highly tolerant and resistant to Eastern Filbert Blight, and have been producing reliably in Zone 4 near Viola, Wisconsin for fourteen years. ![]() Even if you sell all your hazelnuts for mixed nuts, the chances are high that nuts are always going to be a premium commodity over corn, beans, and wheat. There are also loads of ideas for niche products, such as hazelnut tofu. As of December 2023, a bag of in-shell hazels is selling for $17 per kg. Beyond the larger-scale confectionary industry, hazelnuts have tremendous potential as a direct-marketed or specialty product, whether at a farm store or farmers market. Hazelnuts are a growing crop in Ontario, with support from the Ontario Hazelnut Association, and Fererro, which has established a confectionary plant in Brantford, and are looking to buy Ontario hazelnuts. ![]()
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