Hazlenuts and Damsons
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strawberry tart
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Its been a bumper year for both as far as I can see, My daughter and I started on the hazlenuts yesterday, (usual method fence post and hammer, scoffing as many as poss.) they are plentiful and some of the round ones are huge. The damsons which are wild but border my plot are absolutely weighing down the boughs Ive never seen so many and again like the hazlenuts are huge. I'm toying with the idea of damson gin. Is it a quarter bottle of pricked damsons covered with sugar and topped up with gin? I'll probably have a google but if anyone knows for sure. Strawberry Tart.
Hi Strawberry Tart,
You are so right about the Hazels and Damsons. I have several Damsons which are all laden and one tree has split in half with the weight of fruit.
I have lived here for 35 years and this is the best year ever for Damsons.
I also have a dozen Corylus Maxima Filberts and they too are maximum crop. I will not be picking them yet as I wait for the first ones to fall and that is still a couple of weeks to go. I lay polythene sheeting on the ground and shake hell out of the trees then just sweep them up. What's left the squirrels are welcome to but until them it is a race twixt me and the squirrels. Have shotgun will deal.
I also have about a mile of Hazel (Corylus Avellana the normal) Hedging and they too are laden with nuts.
At present they have been allowed to grow tall prior to pleaching this autumn. I pleached 500 yards last year and that all looks very neat now. This will be my last time at pleaching as I find it a bit too strenuous for me now. Thereafter it will be contractors.
JB.
You are so right about the Hazels and Damsons. I have several Damsons which are all laden and one tree has split in half with the weight of fruit.
I have lived here for 35 years and this is the best year ever for Damsons.
I also have a dozen Corylus Maxima Filberts and they too are maximum crop. I will not be picking them yet as I wait for the first ones to fall and that is still a couple of weeks to go. I lay polythene sheeting on the ground and shake hell out of the trees then just sweep them up. What's left the squirrels are welcome to but until them it is a race twixt me and the squirrels. Have shotgun will deal.
I also have about a mile of Hazel (Corylus Avellana the normal) Hedging and they too are laden with nuts.
At present they have been allowed to grow tall prior to pleaching this autumn. I pleached 500 yards last year and that all looks very neat now. This will be my last time at pleaching as I find it a bit too strenuous for me now. Thereafter it will be contractors.
JB.
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Primrose
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We bought some hazel nuts last week while on holiday. They were lovely and milky - probably the best ever. And we also bought some lovely fat damsons - almost as big as plums and so sweet you could also eat them as a dessert fruit, which is surprising when you consider how little sun we've had this year. We made 3 pots of damson jam while self catering and have bought home another batch to process, either in more jam or mixed frozen fruit compotes.
Johnboy - can you explain what pleaching is? I've never heard this expression before. Is it the same thing as coppicing?
Johnboy - can you explain what pleaching is? I've never heard this expression before. Is it the same thing as coppicing?
Hi Primrose,
Pleaching is to layer a hedge. It gets called several names up and down the country and Pleaching is our local name for it.
It would be interesting to find out what it is called in different areas.
JB.
Pleaching is to layer a hedge. It gets called several names up and down the country and Pleaching is our local name for it.
It would be interesting to find out what it is called in different areas.
JB.