How we’re going about the process
This conversion process is a huge undertaking, so having a strategy is important. First off, we need to source some plants. For this, we turned to Z’s Nutty Ridge, a chestnut and hazelnut nursery just to the east of our planting location. I’m thrilled to have a hybrid chestnut/hazelnut nursery so close to us (and in the exact same agricultural zone).
I reached out to the Jeff and Dawn directly and well ahead of time to put in an extra-large order for the coming fall. For our first planting, we’re putting in 100 chestnuts and 125 hazelnuts. I also ordered 500 hazelnut seeds, which I’ll be cold stratifying in the winter and planting in air-prune beds and growing over the spring/summer/fall of 2023 (more on this later.)
So I’m working with a space that is approximately 75 yards (225 feet) by 250 yards (750 feet). I left 50 feet of space around all the sides to discourage the presence of voles and other rodents in the orchard. Badgersett farm’s book Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts recommends giving 100 feet of space on all sides, but I don’t feel that I have that luxury given the space that I have available. To the north, I left space that may be used for camping.
Organization
In the image above, North is on the left. My rows go from north to south (or south to north, if you feel discriminated against as a southerner). With 15 foot spacing, I can fit 15 rows of hazelnuts or chestnuts. For the hazelnuts, eventually I want them about 3 feet apart to form a dense hedgerow. With the chestnuts, I want them about 15 feet apart from each other. So I can fit 50 chestnuts in a row, and I can fit as many as 250 hazelnuts in a row. Even with two rows assigned to chestnuts, that’s as many as 3,250 hazelnut bushes that I have room for!
Production and profit
It’s fairly safe to assume that at maturity these bushes will produce about 1 lb of hazelnuts per year (after they’re shelled). It’s very possible that they’ll produce more than that. If after harvesting costs and processing, I net a profit of $10/lb for shelled, roasted, and salted hazelnuts, this farm will represent a fairly respectable annual income of about $32,500/yr from the hazelnuts alone. As time passes, the hazelnuts will take less and less work each year. Eventually I’ll just be showing up to fertilize, then mow a couple times, and then to collect a harvest!
Generally speaking, I think it’s obvious that the hazelnuts represent a more dense use of the space than the chestnuts. That’s fine–I can do more with the leftover space around the chestnuts. Perhaps I’ll plant currants, or elderberries, or strawberries, or honeyberries (haskap), or any other kind of small shrubby fruit. The world is my burrito. But I have to focus on the staple crops first and foremost!
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