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The hazelnut has been hanging full of nuts for weeks and seems eagerly waiting to get rid of this heavy burden… Lighten them up by harvesting their nuts. But beware: Don't miss the best time and act correctly!
When are the nuts harvested?
The time when the nuts are harvested varies from variety to variety. There are early varieties that are already mature from mid-August. Most varieties take a few weeks longer. Depending on the weather, the region and the location, they mature between September and October.
How can you recognize maturity? On the one hand on the brown colored fringes, which are located on the protective cover. On the other hand on a hazelnut-brown nutshell. Another clue is the foliage. This should already start to discolour.
How do professionals go about their work?
Ideally, the fruits are harvested without the pericarp. To do this, the brown pericarp is slightly compressed. The ripe nut should then fall out. If this is problematic when harvesting directly from the plant, there are other methods:
- spread out a net or tarpaulin and shake the plant
- wait for the nuts to fall and pick them up
And then?
Harvesting the hazelnuts is not usually a big challenge. But what do you do with the nuts afterwards?
On the one hand, you can eat the contained seeds fresh.
On the other hand, you can dry them and make them last longer. Later the nuts z. B. for making:
- oil
- flour
- ice cream
- confection
- Bakery products
- or chocolate can be used.
If you can't use all of the nuts, please give the wildlife a treat with them. Whether it's squirrels, magpies, crows, or pets like dogs, rats, and songbirds, they all appreciate this food source. Furthermore, the nuts can be used to propagate this plant.
tips and tricks
Only ripe nuts can be stored well, because unripe nuts shrink over time and rot more quickly. In addition, during harvesting, attention should be paid to nuts affected by the hazelnut borer. Sort out these nuts, which you can recognize by small holes.