The hazelnut has been hanging full of nuts for weeks and seems to be eagerly waiting to get rid of this heavy burden. Lighten it by harvesting its nuts. But be careful: don't miss the best time and do it right!
When and how do you harvest hazelnuts?
Hazelnuts are harvested between September and October, when the fringes on the protective shell are brown and the nut shell is hazel brown. Harvest the nuts by lightly squeezing the fruit casing or shaking the plant.
When are the nuts harvested?
The time at which the nuts are harvested varies from variety to variety. There are early varieties that are already ripe from mid-August. Most varieties take a few weeks longer. They ripen between September and October, depending on the weather, region and location.
How can maturity be recognized? On the one hand, the brown colored fringes that are on the protective cover. On the other hand, on a hazelnut-brown nutshell. Another indication is the foliage. This should already start to change color.
How do professionals get to work?
The fruits are ideally harvested without the pericarp. To do this, the brown fruit casing is lightly squeezed. The ripe nut should then fall out. If this is problematic when harvesting directly from the plant, there are other methods:
- spread a net or tarp and shake the plant
- wait for the nuts to fall and pick them up
And after that?
Harvesting hazelnuts is usually not a big challenge. But what do you do with the nuts afterwards?On the one hand, you can eat the seeds they contain fresh.
On the other hand, you can dry them and make them last for a long time. Later the nuts can e.g. B. for making:
- Oil
- Flour
- Ice Cream
- Confections
- Baked goods
- or chocolate can be used.
If you can't use all of the nuts, please use them to make the wildlife happy. Be it squirrels, magpies, crows or pets like dogs, rats and songbirds, they all appreciate this source of food. The nuts can also be used to propagate this plant.
Tips & Tricks
Only ripe nuts can be stored well, because unripe nuts shrink over time and rot more quickly. When harvesting, you should also pay attention to nuts infected by the hazelnut borer. Sort out these nuts that you can recognize by small holes.