When to Harvest Beaked Hazelnut

Overview

Beaked hazelnut is a nut that is found primarily along the shores of Wisconsin. The nut grows on a bush that flowers in April and May. Beaked hazelnut bushes can grow as tall as 12 feet high. This makes it an excellent choice for privacy control. It also makes a great ground cover to protect against soil erosion. Beaked hazelnut likes growing in a sunny location but can tolerate some degree of shade. The plant is an important source of food for wildlife.

Harvsting Hazelnuts

Step 1

Plant your beaked hazelnut with the intentions of getting a full harvest in the ninth year of growth. It takes hazelnuts many years to fully develop into a mature bush with a good harvest. The bushes may begin to produce nuts by the fourth year but there will not be as many nuts on the plants as in later years.

Step 2

Begin harvesting the nuts as early as July. Most of the harvest will not be ready until August and September. Begin checking the nuts for signs of the husks opening. Nuts will be ready to pick when the husks open and they can be broken apart. For some hazelnuts, the husks will be moist and green, but the husks in beaked hazelnut will turn brown and dry.

Step 3

Harvest the nuts by hand as soon as they become ready. A blueberry harvester can also pick the nuts off the bushes by straddling the plants and pulling the clusters. If nuts are not harvested as soon as they are mature they will be picked off by animals such as squirrels. Place nuts in a cool, dry place until they have completely dried.

Step 4

Cut the beaked hazelnut bushes back down to the ground in their 12th year. It will only take 3-4 years for the bushes to regrow and start production again.