Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: tturc on August 14, 2009, 22:41

Title: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: tturc on August 14, 2009, 22:41
Does anyone know which nuts will grow in the UK, and whether there are any books or websites that give advice and information?

Seems to be plenty on veg and fruits, but nothing on nuts!
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: poultrygeist on August 14, 2009, 22:49
Hazelnuts
Walnuts

Eerrrmmm. Must be more.

Easy to grow but walnuts need a lot of room  :)

Rob 8)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: HilaryG on August 14, 2009, 22:50
Good question..........hazel nuts grow well in my garden, and taste great if I get them before the squirrels.  Also walnuts,  big tree though. Sweet chestnuts. Can't think of any others but I'm sure someone will know more.
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: tam on August 14, 2009, 23:14
Peanuts :)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: Kagganz on August 15, 2009, 07:06
I'm growing a peanut plant, it's the first I've ever tried, I've kept it in the greenhouse and it's looking healthy,  :D
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: tode on August 15, 2009, 08:04
If youve got the space, a walnut tree is great: no spraying (never sick, no pests), you dont have to climb up a ladder to pick em, and dappled shade underneath for afternoon tea   8)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: hamstergbert on August 15, 2009, 16:13
Sister in Law ( talented artist but mad as a box of frogs) used to scrounge some of our walnuts merely for the coating round the nuts which she boiled off into a rather odd looking but very effective sort of sepia colour for monochrome watercolour type pictures.

Was really nice having a baskets of walnuts from the garden at Christmas, but over time got less and less from it as each year more and more tree-rats stripped it.  Had to take it down when the main trunk split - still (6 years later) working through the offcut logs: the wood is really, really hard (hand axe to splt? forget it!)  Burns hot and very slow though.

Walnuts do seem however to exude something from their leaves which when washed down to the ground by rain makes the soil less welcoming to anything other than baby walnuts.  Suppose it is some sort of Darwinian thing.
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: tode on August 15, 2009, 16:21
Quote
Sister in Law ( talented artist but mad as a box of frogs) used to

 :lol: :lol:  I like that. Never heard it before   :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: 8doubles on August 15, 2009, 18:26
Sister in Law ( talented artist but mad as a box of frogs) used to scrounge some of our walnuts merely for the coating round the nuts which she boiled off into a rather odd looking but very effective sort of sepia colour for monochrome watercolour type pictures.

Was really nice having a baskets of walnuts from the garden at Christmas, but over time got less and less from it as each year more and more tree-rats stripped it.  Had to take it down when the main trunk split - still (6 years later) working through the offcut logs: the wood is really, really hard (hand axe to splt? forget it!)  Burns hot and very slow though.

Walnuts do seem however to exude something from their leaves which when washed down to the ground by rain makes the soil less welcoming to anything other than baby walnuts.  Suppose it is some sort of Darwinian thing.

As much as i hate saying anything in favour of the grey squirrel i now have 4 small walnut trees and one oak in pots that were planted in a friends garden by them.
I just have to  find somewhere suitable to plant them . :)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: poultrygeist on August 15, 2009, 18:39
Next door but one have a large walnut tree which gives us hours of pleasure watching the squirells rummaging around in. We too find loads of (mostly empty) shells around the place. We have found a couple sprouting before but they've never got to saplings.

The people never pick any but I've never even seen them so I need to get to know them and ask for some. Such a waste to have a resource like that and do nothing with it. Except feed the squirells of course  :D

Rob  8)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: 8doubles on August 15, 2009, 20:00
Around this area the squirrels don`t get a chance, the rooks strip the trees first and drop them at a road junction so the cars crush them. :)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: tturc on August 15, 2009, 21:54
Just been to the shop at RHS Wisley today.  They sell two leaflets, one about growing walnuts and one hazelnuts, which is apparently indigenous to the UK.  Both are trees though, and I need something that doesn't grow higher than a bush, so I may be out of luck.  Peanuts need to be covered (Eden Project has just started selling a mini biome with a peanut plant in it!).

On my fantasy allotment I'd grow macademia and almonds.
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: poultrygeist on August 15, 2009, 21:57
Hazel is really easy to keep small. We have it in our hedge and it's kept down to about 5ft. Not got any nuts on it mind you  :(

Rob 8)
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: Rosy on August 15, 2009, 22:04
We planted an almond treee last year but it got peach leaf curl and we thought it was a non starter however, we treated with copper sulphate as insturcted and we have a lot of almonds this year and no peach leaf curl. 
Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: cheshirecat57 on August 15, 2009, 22:28
I have just joined this forum so this is my first post - hello all  :)

I have been doing some research along similar lines and I believe there are three types of nut you can grow in the UK,  Almond, Filbert and Walnut but the further north you are the less choice you have. 

I think the best site I have found is rvrogers.co.uk (and follow fruit) as they provide a good description (I am not connected with them in any way). 

Our allotment site is currently clear of squirrels and I am concerned about encouraging them.  If I were to plant Filberts, which I would like to do, would this cause other allotment holders and problems?  For instance, would the squirrels attracted by the nut trees then go on to eat next door's onions, potatoes carrots, or whatever?

Interested in your experiences and views.

Cheers, 


Title: Re: Growing nuts in the UK
Post by: johny grower on August 23, 2009, 17:08
hey fellow nutter lol
ive found an hatched munkey nut starting to grow so i planted in its own 15 litre tub,
and was wandering do they grow like spuds. i.e do i have to keep top soiling over growing shoots.