Hazelnut Time
Remember these little guys? Remember their story, how they were started on Martha and Garrett Maupin’s Donation Land Claim in Lane County to be planted here on Martha’s farm in Douglas County? The story is here. I was working on my great-great-grandmother Martha’s story, A Place of Her Own*, at the time and was sure surprised to find that link.
Well, look at us now (below). These trees are producing nuts that are headed to market.
We have a nice coop in our area, the Northwest Hazelnut Company/George Packing Company, Inc. They bring us bins, we fill them, they take them away for processing.
Here my son-in-law Robin Loznak checks out our first bin as we wait for the truck to come pick up our bins. He and my daughter Carisa partner with me on this project. He does most of the work now–mowing and harvesting–although on this first seven acres I spent several summers watering those babies by hand with multiple hoses. I almost knew them by name. I did that until they got too big for me to reach over them and drag the hoses across to the next row. At that point Robin took over the watering with a big water tank drawn by the tractor. He put in the next orchard, 15 acres, and installed a water system for that. This first orchard has dug deep roots by now.
Robin carefully eyes the bin while Troy Mueller from the Northwest Hazelnut /George Packing Company guides him in. The farm’s old 1933 vintage barn can be seen in the background of this photo and the one above it.
A few tidbits for the curious: Oregon grows 99 percent of all the hazelnuts produced in America. Turkey and Italy are the only countries that grow more than we do. Turkey grows by far the most at about 70 percent worldwide. This may be one reason hazelnut farmers are so welcome in the state. Every Oregon hazelnut farmer adds to the state’s market share. Besides just being helpful, friendly people.
Oh, and for people who are wondering. A filbert is just a hazelnut by a different name.
*A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin portrays the story of my remarkable great-great-grandmother who came west over the Oregon Trail. I grew up on this farm Martha bought more than 150 years ago. I’m now the second woman to own and operate this family treasure. I would never have done it without the help of my kids.
