Didn't realize that about hazelnuts.
HOW TO GROW AND HARVEST HAZELNUTS:
I googled "how to grow hazelnuts" and found a gardening blog that still refers to them as trees. 10-15 tall, and good from zone 9 down to zone 3 if sheltered. High in protein and fat. Must grow 2 and no more than 20 feet apart for pollination. THEN it talked about how suckers grow out of the trunk. Drought tolerant. Easy to harvest after they dry, split and fall off the tree. Small growers can easily harvest by raking them up or put down a tarp to collect. Shell then spread it in a well-ventilated area and very warm. Could take several days. All white color will now look darkened. Store unroasted. Can stay in freezer for 2 years or in a lidded-jar in the fridge for a year. OR store in a cool dry place for a couple of months (in lidded-jar). May take 4 years to get your first harvest, perhaps 10 years to get a huge harvest, and will bear possibly 30 years.
Maybe we'll do 2 hazelnuts on the northside of the property. Now, can my goats and chickens eat them?
HOW TO HARVEST PINE-NUTS:
Just checked my pine trees. The pinecones look small but open. Just googled "how to harvest pinenuts from my pine tree" and turns out that the open pinecones means they've already released their nuts/seeds. Dagnabit it! Okay, so here's what I found out: tree should have both closed and open cones. Carefully twist the closed ones off the branch, trying to not get the sticky sap on your hands. Put harvest in a bag. Pinecones have "scales" ... could be 1 or 2 or more nuts in between the scales, depending on species. Heat or dryness helps open the scales, thus releasing the nuts but it will happen over time anyway. To speed it along, spread them on a baking tray, and place in a 350 degree F oven until they pop open. Watch carefully to not burn. You will have some seeds on the bottom of the tray but to get out the rest, you could place the cooled pinecones in a clean bag and shake and bang it against a wall or on a table. Check to make sure you get them all. THEN you need to crack the shells ... kinda like sunflowers. Probably store in the shells until you need them, then crack open then.
No wonder they're so expensive! Not sure my 3 pine trees would bring enough income versus labor to justify doing it to make extra money. Perhaps we'll harvest the pineones at the right time, then put them in paper bags (sealed) and put them up. After a while, they should open and drop their seeds. Then it would be just cracking the shell to access the nuts inside. Might be a good idea to keep in mind for survival-type living!
HOW TO HARVEST ENGLISH WALNUTS:
Good info at
http://www.ehow.com/how_5743932_harvest-english-walnuts.html .. didn't realize they can grow up to 100 feet tall!
Can't find good info on harvesting almonds. Anybody have a good non-video link?
How do you start them? Like maybe from raw peanuts? Or do you have to buy plants? (PM me if you think I'm hijacking the OP!)
