Woody Agriculture Weblog
The Future of The World Is Nuts!(TM)

Posted by Phil Rutter, 2/5/10 at 4:43:37 PM.

We're moving this blog function over to Blogger- which is much more user friendly than the format here. You'll be able to post questions- and have a good chance of getting them answered- and be able to comment on other folk's comments, too.

Please go here: http://badgersettresearch.blogspot.com/

Read/Leave Comments on this Message

Sunday, August 30, 2009

The hazel ripening this year has been hard to predict, again. The very cool and sometimes very dry summer has definitely influenced the process.

Hazels here at Badgersett are now nearing peak ripeness- BUT

MANY of them are NOT turning brown, before they are "loose". When the nuts come loose from the husk with a moderate push; they are done with the plant, and should be picked as soon as possible to prevent animal theft.

If you are looking for the nuts to turn brown, before you check further for ripeness- many of ours this year are reaching the loose stage while the nut is still white, or green. Check yours now.

---------------

And- we have a new hazel hazard to announce. Meg was stung while picking 5 days ago- by an Io moth caterpillar. We've never seen one before this year- and we're not eager to see any more. This is one of only about 5 caterpillars in North America that are poisonous to touch- but the Io caterpillar sting is possibly THE most painful. Meg said the pain was the worst she's ever experienced, including childbirth. Her entire arm felt like it had literally been set on fire. For 2.5 days.

The red and white stripes on the side are unique to this caterpillar. The caterpillar injects venom with the spines- and it's very efficient at it. The spines are rigid, and sharp; and often tipped with a "glass" needle, that is invisible to the naked eye- but sticks in the victim and breaks off- delivering more venom, we assume.

THIS CATERPILLAR IS NO JOKE. Meg was stung on the hand, and it put her in bed for 2 and half days- mostly knocked out with painkillers.

That's unusual- but not unheard of; most stings are not that severe.

The good news is; when we called Minnesota Poison Control (our excellent local doctors had no idea what to do) - they had to look it up. It's not a common phenomenon.

But- the Io caterpillar is known to feed on hazels (as well as almost everything else in the forest); so the possibility of them showing up can't be ignored.

The best warning sign is probably a branch that has had its leaves stripped off; caterpillar feeding does leave that sign, and this is a pretty big caterpillar.

If you get stung- use scotch tape (or any) to pull any invisible needles out of the skin- put it on, and pull it off; use several pieces. Ice can help. A combination of Tylenol and Ibuprofen can help. Meg eventually had to have something stronger; she said the pain was worse than childbirth- it literally felt like someone had set her entire arm- on fire.

Today Meg was better; and out picking again- and unfortunately, she found another Io caterpillar. This on fell onto her cheek; out of a tall hazel. We're hoping since she just cleared her system of the toxin this one may not be so bad. But it burns, at this point. Ice, pills, and bed. ---------------------------------------------

In case you hadn't noticed- we at Badgersett find all these things out- first. And the hard way. So you don't have to. :-) Assuming you pay attention.

Friday, April 3, 2009

As you would probably guess from our long silence here, we've got all the problems we can handle here, and then some. Meg came down with another dose of "walking pneumonia" last fall, and it didn't start to really clear until March. At one point, the Mayo Clinic immune system specialist told her she was going to wind up in the textbooks- not what you want to hear.

She carries a lot of the load around here; so when she's down, it really slows things.

Right now- she's down again. We have a new puppy in the house- part of our effort to get several working dogs on the farm to help with livestock. The plantings here are now so large that coping with the grass between rows of nuts is no longer a theoretical problem- it's a huge cash expense. Time to really work on livestock integration.

This is relevant because- yesterday, coming down the house stair, Meg accidentally stepped on the new puppy at the bottom- with the result that her chin came down hard on a step; leaving her with a broken molar, and a fractured jaw.

Only a partial fracture- but painful, and the tooth will likely have to be pulled. As soon as the jaw heals enough. Meanwhile- it hurts. Chewing is forbidden; talking restricted.

One of the consequences- in case you have not heard elsewhere- we've decided we really cannot teach the Short Course this year- we're just too low on time and energy.

We'll promise that we WILL teach it next year.

Meanwhile- we'll work on answering urgent questions as we can.

Hope things are not too bad in your corner of the world.

Phil

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Hello Volunteers and Potential Volunteers,

The hazels are ripe! Following 1/2" of rain from several days ago, the crop has been ripening rapidly. At this point there is PLENTY ready to pick, and will be throughout the rest of the season.

What this means is, whenever you can make it, come help for a day or so of picking! We'll be working on it every day, though we do have some other chores on Sept. 2-3 which will be taking extra effort on our part. If you're already a skilled picker, really do come at any time.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH YOUR OWN CROPS: There is always a great deal to learn about the process here. How to pick little bushes in the open field is different from how to pick twelve-foot-tall bushes in shade. There are also major differences in how to find and prevent nut theft in these situations. You have a lot to learn, and we have a lot of ways to help!

In addition to just having a lot of nuts, we have a lot of exciting new material coming into production, some of which is uniform enough that we're keeping track of the nuts by row rather than by plant. We just need to get them before the crows do!

So, if you can make it, please try to let us know the day before so that we're ready for you. But if you can only make it without notification, that should work too! Ideal picking help times for us are Sept. 4-10.

Hope to see you soon!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Hello folks,

The hazel harvest continues to run on the late side here at Badgersett Farm, so there really isn't a very large amount of picking to do even yet. If you're already all set to show up tomorrow, there are certainly things to do! But our focus tomorrow is more likely to be on picking preparations.

The crop is ripening, and we expect a great many of our bushes to ripen within the next week. Look back here for updates to our status, and notify info@badgersett.com if you want to be on our volunteer mailing list! Brandon.

-----------------------------------

WARNING to folks with hazelnuts this year- the thieves are already at work. We've lost several whole bushes to a variety of pests, chiefly chipmunks and red squirrels.

There are a bunch of things to remember here. Hawk/Raptor roosts are a huge help with rodents- but they are useless if your grass is taller than about 3"; and useless if the raptors can't see, and fly, because of interfering tree limbs.

One thing you can always do- is be on guard. Rat traps will catch most chipmunks- red squirrels are much more difficult. Just being out there and being aware, will help. If you find a pile of nutshells at the bottom of a bush- you've got trouble.

We cover all this in the Short Course- controlling nut theft is a huge factor in whether you'll ever make a dime on our hazels- Philip